haitianhappenings

What a great interview!  A few key points:

1. Education is the key to start the recovery in Haiti.
2. There is less rubble and the recovery is coming along but many are still living in tents ("without shelters").
3. Education is not just for the person getting educated but for others (who will be helped) as well.
4. As a Haitian, it is very difficult to volunteer in Haiti due to misunderstanding and lack of money.
5. Collaboration is  necessary to get Haiti to where it needs to go in the future.

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If you have volunteered with All Hands in Haiti either after the Hurricane in 2008 or after the 2010 Earthquake, there is a good chance you know Robinson.  He has a presence that makes him hard to miss.  Indeed I think everyone likes him.  He is a great example of how Haitians are helping Haitians in the recovery.  Not only does he volunteer with both physical labor and translation, he also helped form a musical school and an English School back in his hometown of Gonaives.  Here is a good video on the Emmanuel Music School.  HIGHLY Recommended!

The quality of the podcast is not the best (it was WAY too early and I was barely awake at the start, but fortunately the roosters on the other end of the line woke me up)...Unfortunately they occasionally drowned out the conversation.

If you would like to contribute:

BonaResponds will send donated school supplies to Haiti (so far about 50 total pallets of supplies, food, and even medical supplies have been shipped) and HaitiScholarships will help pay for teh education of Haitian Students.

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Alexandra Armstrong is a California lawyer who is the co-founder of HaitiScholarships (htttp://HaitiScholarships.org) and has been active in many volunteer organizations. She has volunteered in Haiti twice since the earthquake.

She speaks on the importance of education to break the cycle of poverty in Haiti and how you can get involved via donations or by volunteering.

(about 11 minutes long).

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Welcome to the BRAND NEW HaitianHappenings podcast. It is brought to you by HaitiScholarships (http://HaitiScholarships.org) and BonaResponds (BonaResponds.org). The purpose of the podcast is to give people a sense of what is happening in Haiti and to be able top follow up on their donations to see how they are helping Haitians.

We will try to do a different podcast weekly (maybe more, maybe less) depending on time and interest.

Kicking off the podcasts will be today's interview withJean Kendy Estimphil of Leogane Haiti. I had the pleasure of meeting Jean Kendy last year in Haiti and he has helped both BonaResponds and HaitiScholarships immensely both in translation, being our person on the ground for distribution of supplies and helping to determine what needs are being unsatisfied.

He has volunteered with All Hands (Hands.org) and Resilience International (http://resilienceinternational.org/people) as well.

His current project is to start a trade school in Leogane names The People's Institute to help train people in carpentry, plumbing, electric, as well as English and computers. The basic model is that volunteers would come in for a few weeks to teach a class and then pass it off to the next volunteer for another topic. He has arranged a place for the teachers to stay and has a room to teach in. Next steps? Getting volunteer teachers (go, you will love it!) and supplies. SO if you have any tools you do not use and want to donate, contact BonaResponds or HaitiScholarships and we will make sure they get there! (You donate, we ship )

He speaks today on the need for education in Haiti, the challenges that many face when they have no money to afford school, as well as his new school (The People's Institute.

We apologize in advance for the sound quality in parts. It really should have been edited, but Jim insisted we put it online, so here it is, errors and all. (Hey we put up with him since he helps to pay the bills).

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