Haiti - Nine Months After Earthquake, Israeli NGOs Remain Involved


Children in Haiti benefit from aid given by Israel's organization, IsraAID. One of the first to send humanitarian aid to Haiti following the earthquake that ravaged the country, Israel and its NGOs are still there - committed for the long haul. Credit: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs via Flickr, September 21, 2010.

Nine months out from the country's devestating January 12 (2010) earthquake, the Haitian recovery and reconstruction record remains dismal [1]. However, persistent in efforts to ameliorate the country's suffering, Israeli NGOs remain active in recovery efforts, essentially bringing to Haiti expertise in areas ranging from rural agriculture and development to methods of addressing stress and psychological trauma [2].

A news page at Tevel b'Tzedek [3] tells how the thinking goes:

"When the earthquake in Haiti struck, leaving three hundred thousand dead and a million and a half people homeless, two of our Nepal program graduates felt that Tevel b'Tzedek had a role to play . . . ." [3]

Tevel b'Tzedek goes on to report opening in two Haitian camps three ad hoc schools for 460 children, and putting up in three camps tents large enough to function as community centers "for spreading crucial information and for a range of activities that help the earthquake victims once again feel a sense of belonging, learning and even joy" [3].

Sue Gallant, publishing in September (2010) on Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs web, notes that Israel's Trauma Coalition (ITC) has secured funding toward three ends: "Organizing the community to improve sanitation in the makeshift camps and finding donors for sanitation equipment; bringing back to school the many children who haven't rejoined an educational framework; and helping to establish a restaurant for the numerous injured people who are physically unable to wait in the long queues for food" [2].

Sent a 'what's new' earlier today, a representative from Nathan - Irelief, Einav Levy, wrote back (left as received):

Last month the last team came back after 10 delegations that worked there since the earth quake.

These teams dealt with medical aid, social support, medicin and enpowerment of the community.

In October 11 th, next team is being launched to Haiti to work in the field of rehabilitaion.

Next month another team will go in order to work on children's slavery.

In december we will start a program of agricultural education, and in january we suppose to
open a community clinic in Cape Haitien.

The news out of Haiti has not been good. According to one source, a volunteer with an American church associated with an orphanage in-country, suggests much may be laid at the feet of a landed aristocracy that has kept itself empowered and wealthy with little regard for the island's population overall.

The Associated Press has stated bluntly, "Wealthy landowners vow the "new Haiti" will become yet another vast slum unless the government rebuilds on their terms."[4].

Still, what one may do, one does, and this in keeping with a kind and progressive ethics and humanitarianism.

Gleaned from Gallant's article, here is a short list of Israeli organizations continuing their involvement with Haiti in the improvement of its conditions.

Israeli Organizations Involved in Ongoing Haitian Recovery and Redevelopment (Sampling)

IsraAID: The Israel Forum for International Humanitarian Aid

(Israel) Community Stress Prevention Center

Nathan - I Relief – The Israeli Coalition for Disaster Relief

Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development

Israel Diplomatic Network: MASHAV - Israel's Agency for International Development

Tevel b'Tzedek: Jewish Social Justice in the Developing World and At Home

Cited Reference

1. Wikipedia. 2010 Haiti Earthquake.

2. Galant, Sue. "Working for change in Haiti." Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. September 21, 2010.

3. Tevel b'Tzedek. "Tevel b'Tzedek in Haiti".

4. Associated Press. "6 Months After Haiti Quake, Land Disputes Grind Recovery to a Standstill." Fox News, July 11, 2010.