A message from Haiti's Country Director

As we approach the first anniversary of one of the most tragic events in Haiti’s history, it is important that we take stock. What have we achieved so far? What have we learned? What could we have done better? It is also critical that we remain accountable to you, our donors and supporters, and show how your contributions to Plan are making a difference. We still have far to go to build back a better Haiti, and while the early generosity of Plan donors still supports our work, the future needs for financial, technical and human resources remain enormous.

Immediately after the earthquake, there was an outpouring of support. Haitians helped their neighbors and families. Work colleagues took great risks for other co-workers. The Haitian Diaspora provided enormous moral and material support. The international community and people across the world gave generously and made commitments to support Haiti. In the background — beyond the glance of the media that keeps us on our toes — people made special efforts to re-establish communications systems, provide health and essential services and ensure that the monetary, banking, and commercial systems remained functional. Organizations like Plan receive a lot of public recognition in emergency situations; but the behind-the-scenes work of volunteers and other institutions — including commercial enterprises, both large and small — are the foundations on which we build our emergency response programs.

As the early days passed, the magnitude of the disaster and the amount of time, resources and effort needed to recover and rebuild became startlingly clear: billions of dollars and at least 10 to 15 years of ongoing effort would be needed. We also realized that building back a better Haiti would require the coordinated and synchronized contribution of emergency-response organizations, local, national and international governments, major donors, business enterprises, social entrepreneurs and long-term development agencies. Recovering from major disasters is always complex and requires time, patience, and a significant amount of resources. Equally as important as the need for an effective emergency response is strong leadership and good coordination — without these, there would be increased chaos and all efforts would be less effective.

One of the big risks in crisis situations is that those who are directly affected are excluded from the design and planning of the response and rebuilding efforts. ‘Experts’ are everywhere, but we must not forget that there is equally valuable expertise within the affected communities and families. We do not underestimate the importance of including these voices, as well as those of young people and children. One month after the quake, some 1,000 children and youths participated in a national survey overseen by Plan, in which they were asked to describe their earthquake experiences in drawings or words and to prioritize their hopes for a new Haiti. The final report from this process became an invaluable guide that informed our response and longer-term strategies and those of other organizations. The children’s key message was the need for education; despite the crisis, they identified this as their most important priority. Plan’s work in Haiti has always prioritized education and we will strengthen this in our future work.

Disasters have a way of uniting people across geographies and cultures, and often bring out the best in humankind. In the days following 12 January 2010, the whole world embraced Haiti with an outpouring of support. I would like to thank all those who gave, and continue to give generously to Plan’s work in Haiti this past year. We trust that the continued support of our sponsors and donors will allow us to work with the people of Haiti to build a country that promises a better future for its children, one in which they can reach their full potential and where their rights and dignity are respected.

Jim Emerson
Country Director, Plan Haiti