Support Haitian-Driven Recovery
The money raised will go to community leaders and community groups in and around Jeremie, the biggest city in the southwest of Haiti, near the epicenter of the recent earthquake. The leaders and groups are well-respected in their communities and have worked for progress locally and in Haiti as a whole long prior to the earthquake. They are well placed to make decisions about how to best use what we raise.
Our goal is to support Haitians to respond to and drive the recovery of their communities. Jessica has known the community leaders and organizations for many years; these are long-standing relationships of respect, trust and friendship.
The leaders include doctors, lawyers, heads of local organizations, and others. The group was mobilized by Dr. Jamesky Blaise from Abricots, a town about an hour down the coast from Jeremie, who started a youth group as a teenager to improve his community. He has since become a doctor and just completed his social service year in Jeremie at the Hospital Saint Antoine. Dr. Blaise was offered a position to specialize at a university in the coming year, but has decided to defer to stay and work with his community during these difficult times. #Solidaritynotcharity # Haitiansolution
The group of leaders is currently making assessments of local needs and priorities. The money will be allocated to sustainable rebuilding and recovery.
Who we are:
Jessica Hsu: I have been working in Haiti since 2002 and have spent the majority of my time in Abricots, in the Grand Anse department. I am currently based in Port-au-Prince, but continue to stay in contact with and support different institutions that are based in Abricots and Jeremie which I have long-standing relations of mutual respect and trust. I have been working on the issue of effective aid since the 2010 earthquake, to 2016 Hurricane Matthew. Here is a recent article on August 14 earthquakes that I co-wrote with Dr. Mark Schuller on the August 14th earthquakes.
Ellie Happel: I first traveled to Haiti in 2003, and lived in Port-au-Prince for 6 years, from 2011 to 2017. Although I am now based in New York, I continue to work closely with Haitian social movement organizations in my role as a professor and supervising attorney with the Global Justice Clinic of NYU School of Law. And, I am in close touch with friends and colleagues in Haiti who provide advice and guidance about effective solidarity.
