From Painted Soul: Poverty has a Face: a Human One

Poverty has a Face: a Human One

An Excerpt ==

It has shocked me that a few things have not occurred and although these thoughts may be simple and definitely do not and can take into account the whole picture, I still wonder (aloud) if or have or why not certain things are not happening:

Satellite communication providers should be refocusing their ‘bandwidth’ to Haiti to allow for SatComm to connect any and all Aid Organizations and Providers to each other; and also connect Haitians to each other and to the ‘outside’ world. Isolation is a deadly disease and especially for a small impoverished nation such as Haiti. Certain channels could be dedicated to Military Only; Medical Only; Haitian Government Only; and Local/International NGO Only – and then have a line that allows them to communicate with each other.
Have Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon sent phones and equipment and people to Haiti?
Why not create One Stop WEB PORTAL that links ALL rescue workers and personnel from the US Military, the United Nations, on the Ground NGO’s, and most importantly, local Haitians, that would connect ALL and give access to all aid groups currently in Haiti. Coordination efforts could become easier if all involved in this rapid relief and development undertaking had one place to go to find out where the needs are, where supplies were, what has been done, what needs to be done, who is doing it, what organization is where in order to allow for a coordinated/collaborated response: one that is swift, adequate, effective, and has a measure of quality control thereby saving more lives, saving time, and being responsible stewards of the money given.
The Haitian people, disaster or no disaster, deserve the right to self preservation and self determination. THEY should be a part of any and all rebuilding and redevelopment efforts. For if we “tell” them how to rebuild, then we are merely perpetuating outdated colonialism.
Most importantly, all of us need to remember one thing: There is no “Us” in “Them” – There is only “Us!”
This is an Historical Moment for the Globe: This is an Opportunity to let Haiti be a “Best Practices Model” for rebuilding and combating poverty. The International Community could assist the Haitian People in rebuilding their nation with the best of what the world has to offer combined with the best of the Haitian People – a Haiti rebuilt on the foundation of Broad-based Sustainable Development that is Community-oriented. This could include promoting a vibrant community-based economy that has multiple entry points for the Haitian People into regional and global economies, and also reforestation, adequate roads, streamlined NGO/Local/International cooperation, more ubiquitous satellite-based communications, an intense focus on learning and education, cottage industries, agribusiness development, and participation from all Haitians. This is the world’s chance to do it differently: assisting Haiti in detoxing from “living” off of Foreign Aid so that Haiti’s economy is not kept alive by international welfare dependency (a.k.a., International Foreign Aid).