can haiti really be saved?

Today, July 12th, 6 months after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, take the time to read this article in Relevant Magazine.

READ IT HERE.  page 48. "Is there any hope for Haiti now?"

This article takes you through the history of Haiti-- how did it even get this bad in the first place? After 300 years of slavery & 10 years of war, Haiti got their independence. But they had to pay for it. 90 million dollars. Haiti was crippled from the beginning.

Today marks 6 months after the quake and people want to know where all the money is going. Why isn't Haiti fixed yet? Imogen Wall says, "This is not reconstruction- it's construction.".

More from Imogen Wall, "We would like to get as many people out of tents as possible before the hurricane season, no questions asked... But even getting people out of tents is not that simple. Building permanent homes is, in most cases, not feasible yet."

He goes on to explain that the Haitian government is responsible for approving a building code, which they haven't done yet. And until they do, no permanent structures can be legally erected. Another challenge is land rights. Very few records exist of land ownership in Haiti, so it's difficult to prove ownership. Which that's for people that owned land in the first place- which was rare. Most people rented. So what do they do? 

It's a very well written and well researched article. 

It also touches on the local church, voodoo, removing the rubble, why build transitional shelters, humanitarian diplomacy, education & planning for the future.

Please, take the time to read it.