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Jacmel pou lavi

“Jacmel for life”… that’s how it feels, at least. Haiti and Jacmel and the people I met there are still in my thoughts every day. I suspect they’ll be in my heart forever. Why am I mentioning this?

Several of my fellow GVN volunteers will be going back to Port-au-Prince to join GrassRoots United, a disaster relief organisation that is running some awesome long-term sustainable projects. If you still want to help Haiti, do check them out!

Burning trash

I have also heard from Blake, another former volunteer who just returned from two months with GRU – they worked on a couple of projects in Jacmel, and it seems “our” camps are cholera-free, which is great news! Because the land owners want to close the camps, people are slowly moving away, but hopefully this is a good thing and they find more permanent homes. I will give the rest of my donations to returning GVN friend Debra, so she can use it to help those people who were our neighbours.

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Anniversary


Anniversary
Originally uploaded by Evamaria N

One year ago today the earthquake devasted Haiti, an already struggling nation.

From October to December I had the privilege of working in volunteer projects run by the Global Volunteer Network GVN, which was an amazing and life-altering experience, as you all know. My brother works for a regional newspaper, Basellandschaftliche Zeitung and took the opportunity to interview me – the end result sounds much better than the actual conversation. *g*

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My Haiti blog as pdf

Following my dad’s suggestion I turned my Haiti blog into a booklet of sorts – he’s not that comfortable reading on the screen, so he wanted something printable. I even added some pics to break up the text. 🙂

Download: pdf, 1.2mb

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Haiti book rec

Tracy Kidder - Mountains Beyond Mountains One of the best books I read while in Haiti (and I read a lot – probably about 40, something I never manage at home with all those distractions!) was Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, about Dr. Paul Farmer, the founder of Partners in Health, whose work in Haiti and elsewhere is absolutely astonishing.

At the center of Mountains Beyond Mountains stands Paul Farmer. Doctor, Harvard professor, renowned infectious-disease specialist, anthropologist, the recipient of a MacArthur “genius” grant, world-class Robin Hood, Farmer was brought up in a bus and on a boat, and in medical school found his life’s calling: to diagnose and cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. This magnificent book shows how radical change can be fostered in situations that seem insurmountable, and it also shows how a meaningful life can be created, as Farmer—brilliant, charismatic, charming, both a leader in international health and a doctor who finds time to make house calls in Boston and the mountains of Haiti—blasts through convention to get results.

On Audible I found an interview with him, for a show called ‘Fresh Air’, that was done in 2003, in case you want to get an inkling of why this man rocks: mp3 on Sendspace, 25mb (via anonym.to)

Crossposted to my personal blog.

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New layout

Changed the blog layout – it felt like time. After all, it’s almost the new year… If you find it confusing or have suggestions, just let me know!

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Haiti videos on Youtube

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