TIME: The Money We Give to Quake Victims Could Be Better Spent Before Disaster

ccrphaiti.org

website updates: http://ccrphaiti.org/

Preparations underway

We are currently preparing to leave for Port au Prince for what will initially be a three-month block of work in Haiti, and have identified some resources and technology that are still needed to assist us in our work there.

We are very proud of our past record of extremely low overhead as a non-profit, and our organizational goal is to continue that trend and be responsible and transparent with any money and resources that are entrusted to us. As we prepare for this trip, we are still seeking donations to cover our travel costs to and from Haiti, and also welcome any in-kind donations of services or goods that are able to fill the needs we have identified below.

Tents - There are still many people who are without even the most basic of temporary shelter as the rainy season approaches, and so the CCRP is currently exploring multiple partnerships within Canada to secure tents that can distributed to those most in need in Haiti.

Laptops - We are in need of two lightweight laptops/netbooks to aid us in our efforts on the ground in Haiti. With these resources and our background in radio and telecommunications, our teams will be able to share the reality of the devastation and rebuilding with Canadians and the rest of the world, to ensure that Haiti is not forgotten as the news cycle changes. They will also be essential to basic communication with our partners in Haiti, Canada, and the United States.

Digital SLR camera - As part of our commitment to accountability, and in answer to concerns from some Haitians regarding lack of transparency of some non-profits on the ground, we are in need of a digital SLR camera so that we can document the work of the CCRP on the ground.

Webcams - We are looking for a large quantity of webcams or similarly small digital video cameras, as we explore options for increasing security in the various internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.

Shipping services - With the collection of materials such as tents, we are also in need of shipping services from various points in Canada to our warehouse space in New York City.

As the CCRP is a registered charity in Canada, we can offer tax-deductible receipts for the value of all donations received.

The economic situation in Haiti is such that costs are much higher than typical in the region -- as a basic example of supply and demand affecting costs. Some basic needs (food, water, etc.) have been described as expensive to urban American standards, and as such, any financial and in-kind donations go a long way to helping us in our goal of assisting in the development of both short-term and permanent solutions to the problems facing Haitian communities today.

FUNDRAISER THIS WEEK!

We have a fundraiser coming up this Sunday.

Mathias Kom and the Burning Hell, one of the best bands there is, will be playing alongside Wax Mannequin from Hamilton. The vampires from Winnipeg will set the stage. This is largely because of the efforts of one David Dobbs and the goodwill of Mathias. We are tickled pink.

http://www.myspace.com/mathiaskom
The Burning Hell is the best thing since sliced bread. Mathias has played with his band in our houses , written songs for us, and is one of the folks behind the ukeleles for peace. http://www.ukulelesforpeace.com/

http://www.waxmannequin.com/
Wax mannequin has a terrific voice and the people I know with good taste seem to like him a lot and so do a lot of critical music writer types.

http://www.myspace.com/vampireslikeyou
It's fuzzy rock and roll music which cant be bad, but this is really its own cup of tea.

It happens this Sunday, which is the 14th of March at the Lo pub, which is on Ellice Ave just east of the University of Winnipeg. It costs 8 bucks which is a steal for any one of those 3 bands. We are hopin' it will cover the end of the cost of the last trip and then we can get to work on what's next.

Medical Volunteers

Some days ago a group of a dozen medical students offered their services. The precise wording, in french was as follows "Mon frere Bonne nouvelle j ai trouver une dizaine d etudiants en medecine qui sont qui sont prets a etre volontaire dans notre organisation. Faites de ton mieux pour trouver desmedicaments......"

We plan to deploy these people in the following manner-

Firstly, we hope to have them write a guide to survival of the rainy season without adequate shelter. Since there are over a million homeless in the area and drainage and sanitation are precrious in many parts of Port Au Prince. It is important to ensure that people have access to the information necessary to be able to do what they can with what is available to them in order to avoid outbreaks of rainy season diseases such as Malaria and Typhoid.

Secondly, we are attempting a bottom up deployment of these medical students to the most vulnerable neighbourhoods in the affected area. Our Director of Haitian operations has found a guide and will shortly be entering the Cite-Soleil and Bel-Air neighbourhoods in order to better assess how these med students might be brought to bear. The reason for this approach is as follows:
Diseases often take hold in areas with poorer servicing thus those areas should be concentrated on, especially with a preventative approach, so to be able to avoid any disease becoming an outbreak.

We understand that an initial preventative approach in an area and time of increased need will necessitate the practice of some hands on medicine, and although we do not condone the practice of medicine by those not licensed to practice it, we would like to keep our near-doctors equipped to be able to help as they can and as they find need by applying the skills they have. Here is what a request list from our near-doctors looks like. It is in French, but if you are the sort of person who may be able to put us in contact with such equipment and medicines, you likely do not need the list translated.



Medications- anti hypertenseur,anti biotic,anti parasitaires,anti fongiques
cutanes, analgesiques, anti viraux, anti fongiques gynecologiques, anti angoreux, anti
ulcereux, anti cecretoires gastriques, anti acides, anti emetiques, anti diarrheiques, anti depresseurs,
anti epileptiques, anti asthmatique,anti tussifs,anti diabetiques oraux, vitamines, anti septques externes.....
Materiels- Stetoscopes, sphygmomanometrie, Oxymetre de pouls, thermometre, Pen light, otoscope

Introducing the first of our Haitian Staff

We are pleased to finally get around to announcing the first of our Haitian staff, the people who will be determining the nature and direction of CCRP activities in Haiti. Aside from the below, we have people helping in logistics, transportation, communications and outreach.

Thierry Cadet- Director of Haitian Operations. Thierry was a management student at Ecole Superior de Technologie before it was destroyed. He was our primary guide on our first trip to Haiti and provided us with everything and everybody we needed at all times. Since we left Haiti, he has been recruiting medical volunteers, finding land and houses for community use, distributing supplies/food and scouting out future activities on behalf of CCRP. He will likely assume a place on our board of directors next month.

Theodore (Lolo) Beaubrun- Networking co-ordinator. Lolo is a Port au Prince community leader and musician. He is a member of the band Boukman Eksperyans. From wikipedia- "The band was at the height of its popularity in 1991 when the presidency of Jean Bertrand Aristide was overthrown in a military coup d'etat. Like many other artists and performers, Boukman Eksperyans fled the country to live in exile. During their time abroad, the band performed and spoke out against the military dictatorship of Raoul Cédras. In 1994, after Aristide was restored to power, the band returned to Haiti, where they continued to play concerts, record albums, and perform at the Carnival celebrations".

RELIGION

Aside from the large relief organizations, there is significant missionary presence which has appeared in Port Au Prince since the earthquake. Some of the groups mean well and are doing good work, some are attempting what is clearly some sort of food for faith evangelizing mission. We saw them in the streets on our way into the city from a Port Au Prince bus terminal in the middle of the night.

We were able to identify a couple of these persons affiliations and have found them to relate closely to persons having made disparaging remarks about Haitian cultural and religious traditions. From our work in Haiti we have learned that these traditions may be observed in some way or other, by the majority of the Haitian population. As this became more apparent, so too did the value of these practices to the people who practice them.

As an organization, CCRP is not in accordance with any of these attacks in any way. This unfortunate vulgarity lays bare the motivations of far too many relief workers in Haiti. Any attempt tie aid to what is essentially an attack on local cultural traditions smacks of Machiavellian fraud. Now, it is not as though Haiti is being overrun by white missionaries, but food for faith has attached to it strings. These strings can reach into the economic, and legal realm in ways that can affect the lives of Haitians in a profoundly negative manner,

This underscores our assertion that a self-reliant, locally lead approach to rebuilding the parts of Haiti damaged or removed by January's earthquake is the only feasible manner in which to achieve meaningful, sustainable solutions to the challenges Haiti now faces following such a disaster.