Haiti: Help wanted. Make that needed.

I posted some time ago about coverage, or lack thereof, on the ongoing relief efforts in Haiti. News organizations did parachute in for brief coverage marking 6 months since the deadly earthquake that devastated an already devastated country. Then they left. The challenge remains.

My daughter is in Haiti this week on a mission trip. She's working with orphans in the northwestern part of the country. One project involves building a new facility but first a large hill must be leveled to facilitate construction.

So bring in the bulldozers and earth movers right? One problem: No such equipment is available so workers will level the mountain a shovelful at a time.

One shovelful at a time.

Our daughter, in very brief phone calls home, told us about a young child left abandoned at their doorstep. She said they weren't sure of how young the child was, perhaps two. It obviously hadn't been fed much so it's hard to tell until they nurse the child back to health.

Haiti. One shovelful at a time. One child at a time. And they're running out of time.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters LLC
"We get the conversation started about you"

No PR for Haiti

Remember Haiti? It was in all the papers. For awhile. Then came that dang mess in the Gulf. From Page One to nothing.

My son-in-law just returned from a mission trip to Haiti. My daughter leaves for a similar trip later this month.

There is no more unique nor poorer country in the hemisphere. What's most interesting is that my son-in-law hasn't said or posted much about his experience there. I'm guessing he's still letting the experience sink in and I have no doubt he will share his story in a thoughtful and impactful way when the time is right. He did tell me yesterday that the earthquake damage in Port au Prince is beyond description.

Learning about preparations for their trips did teach me one thing. You just don't show up in Haiti and offer to help. The rules are pretty strict and for good reason. It remains a dangerous place, the government or what passes for government, is corrupt and not capable of doing much. The aid groups working there have learned from experience what to do, and more importantly what not to do.

The humanitarian need remains huge. The good news is there are groups who are well trained to deal with what needs to be done now and moving forward. Even better are the good people willing to journey to Haiti to accomplish it all.

As to the point of this blog, it's a shame that coverage of Haiti has gone from wall to wall to nothing. Yes, there is news being made elsewhere, but Haiti is an on-going problem that has festered for over a century. There are stories still to be told. Many stories. Here's to the media returning to do just that.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters LLC
"We get the conversation started about you."