Sirona Cares

Haiti: Telling the Strory of Strength and Dignity

Most of us live in a world so far removed from true strife that it becomes too easy at times to simply feel pity for those struggling in places like Haiti.  The foremost goal of our organization is to build sustainable communities.  This means that a community has a strong economic base and the ability to care for it's children.  In the meantime we provide assistance, training, and at times distribution of badly needed aid.  I know these people, and what gets lost after a tragedy like Haiti's earthquake is the fact that these incredibly resilient people do not want pity or charity, they want honor, dignity, and the means to survive and flourish in independence.  This does not mean that they reject our friendship, our partnership, or our good intentions; it means though that they are not helpless, they are strong, and it is their strength that will ultimately move them forward.  Sustainable development is critical, and I wanted to share some amazing images all taken after the earthquake that I hope inspire people to see more about Haiti than suffering. 

Shortly after the earthquake I was asked by a photographer who was going to travel to Haiti if she could check in on anyone for me.  I sent back a lengthy e-mail with locations and contacts because I was so anxious to find out how our partners were.  Karen Page, along with Nancy Farese and Liz Hale, worked to support NGOs in the field by helping tell their stories through photography.  Sirona Cares was very fortunate to have their beautiful work record our efforts.  Please enjoy these pictures taken by them, as well as our team, in February.

Sirona Cares: Empowering Local Students

At Sirona Cares we are very, very busy.  We're gearing up for our trip next Monday and as always there are many things to do.  Perhaps it is all of the craziness before the trip that makes the time in Haiti so positive.  We are there one week of every eight, and when we are in-country we can focus on our work in a way we cannot here.  I always say I only have five "normal" weeks in a row, then one preparing for a trip, one in Haiti, and one catching up after we return. 

This morning Farah Makras and I spoke to the Stuart Hall School for Boys in San Francisco.  That school has been incredibly supportive of our work.  They have donated time and relief goods, and their efforts have allowed us to do a massive amount of work preparing things for the Haitian people.  It was a pleasure to stop and say thank you to them for all of their hard work.  Yesterday I spoke at the Oakland College Preparatory School, another school whose students are taught to think globally and create change in the world.  I hope that I imparted a message that I try to give to everyone I speak to: no act of compassion is too small, and one should never allow themselves to think that they cannot make a difference. 

The example I always give is nail clippers.  the leading cause of death in children is diarrhea caused more often by hygene issues than bad water.  A set of nail clippers which costs only a few cents will save five children's lives once in the hands of mothers and care givers throughout Haiti.  With the rains setting in it is imperative that we get as many of these simple tools into the hands of people there as we can.  One student brought in 144 packs of clippers which had three pairs in each.  It is quite conceivable that that donation will have the impact of saving 2,160 children's lives. 

Because we are out doing things on the ground, and because we have such amazing in-country partners who achieve so much it can be misleading to think that the Sirona Team alone is doing amazing things.  My statement to the students I speak to is this:  We (Sirona) can only be change makers because we receive so much support from other like-minded people.  Without our volunteers, without our donors, without our partners we would accomplish nothing.  It's time to pack and wrap up projects before we leave, but to everyone who reads this, thank you so much for your support. 

Sirona Cares to be in Haiti May 3-10

We leave May 3rd arriving in Port au Prince May 4th.  The one week trips fly by.  We do as much as we can, and return 8 weeks later to keep projects moving forward.  It's never enough time to learn much Kreyol, and a freak rainstorm can wreck the best itinerary, so we do what we can, go where we can, and always know we will be back for what we missed.  With dramatic increases in cholera, TB and Malaria we will not be taking our kids on this trip.  We will take them in the future, but this isn't the right trip.

In February our goals were to solidify our distribution network for the aid we are sending from San Francisco and assess the situation of our partners on the ground.  The trip was a difficult one, it was hard to witness the devastation of the earthquake.  Because I live in the San Francisco area it was unnerving to walk through earthquake rubble and remember that it can happen anytime.  I give presentations regularly at schools and to organizations, and I cull through photographs to tell stories.  I am always amazed as I go through the February pictures to see only two types of pictures: rubble, and the incredible spirit reflected by the people I photographed.  See the girls swimming in the river?  It's almost impossible to imagine that they were affected by the earthquake, but they most certainly were.

Aside from speaking and fundraising I spend a great deal of time working on development work.  We have schools to rebuild, and that is at the forefront; but we also have an agricultural project which is on the verge of being adopted in many new communities.  The pace of post-earthquake work has forced a very quick learning curve, and many opportunities.  We're working on "sister schools" as well as "sister churches" to provide groups support; we're working on rural electrical development; the list goes on and on.  If it benefits our partners in Haiti and it is sustainable, we're probably doing something related to it.  We collaborate heavily to make sure we aren't re-inventing wheels.  Post-earthquake I think this type of collaboration is probably one of the most critical changes that has occurred.  Many of us who work in Haiti have become galvanized now and share resources with ease.  This makes us all more effective.

We will visit L'azile on this trip, a farming community whose focus is corn and coffee.  While Sirona Cares does not allow planting on food land, L'azile is in an area where rainfall will adequately sustain the jatropha plants, and coffee is hard on soil, so there would be an advantage to low density inter-cropping of Jatropha and Moringa to improve the soil as well as produce additional cash crops.  We will also finally visit Mission of Hope and see our partners there.  The farmers in St. Etienne have been busy planting seedlings from the nursery which was planted in January.  They are already requesting more seeds so we will arrive with them in May.

The earthquake was just over 100 days ago.  It seems years have passed, and regardless of the amount of time, only moments after the earthquake struck Haiti was changed forever.  Much was lost, but the world has turned it's eyes upon Haiti and they have opportunities to build a better country than ever before.  Their spirit is the one thing that the earthquake could not crush.  It will be so good to get back there, I'm counting the days (and packing). 

Sustainable Development vs. Charity

Not long ago Bill Clinton, The United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti, urged non-government organizations with a desire to help Haiti to put themselves out of business by fostering a self-sufficient nation.  "Every time we spend a dollar in Haiti from now on we have to ask ourselves, 'Does this have a long-term return? Are we helping them become more self-sufficient? ... Are we serious about working ourselves out of a job?'" Clinton said.  Sirona Cares has always embraced this philosophy.  Our program, piloted in rural Haiti, is both transferable and scalable.  We develop strong relationships with community leaders and help them find the resources to bolster the health and education of the children of their community.  Together we work to develop jobs for these children to grow into.  Our Jatropha and Moringa project is designed to elevate the income of the rural community without endangering food security or water resources.  We are providing the training and micro-financing to help the farmers succeed, and they are so encouraged by this project that regardless of their location (near the epicenter of the world's worst catastrophe), our St. Etienne farmers have begun planting seedlings which sprouted in January.  They are on time, and their success, if measured by their enthusiasm, will be fruitful.

We are also working hard for our partners to rebuild lost schools, orphanages and churches.  We are working to develop sustainable electrical infrastructure.  Our Haitian partners are now community leaders of much larger communities with unimaginable daily struggles.  Thousands of refugees have re-populated rural areas, where resources supporting children and education were woefully inadequate before the earthquake.  I think of it like this: charity is like putting a drop into a sea of need.  Sustainable development, on the other hand, is like throwing a stone into a still pond.  Once one community is sustainable that success can ripple outward into surrounding areas.  It's a benefit to many, rather than a few.  This ripple effect that will allow Sirona Cares to put itself out of business, in one community at a time, and work in new areas, and in new countries, replicating this model.

I find Clinton's statement intriguing.  Setting the bar at putting yourself out of business has created a lot of conversation amongst those working in Haiti.  For us, it's just what we do.  We have relationships with our partners in Haiti that will last a lifetime, but looking into the future I hope to be working in other areas and visiting these partners on vacation to discuss the plight of those still struggling in other parts of the world.  Haiti's people are incredible, truly awe-inspiring in their ability to not only survive, but keep moving forward.  We return to Haiti on May 3rd and I am counting the days.  

Sustainable Development work Unhindered by Earthquake

This picture of jatropha seedlings in our partner's nursery was taken on January 12th, hours before the earthquake.  The people in the photo were hours away from a life changing experience, imagine not knowing what was coming...

Throughout the ensuing chaos the seedlings grew.  The basis for our work in Haiti is to develop sustainable communities, we work on one side to develop a stable economic base through farming Jatropha on non-food land, and we support the children of the communities in which we work tackling their most dire needs one at a time until we have developed jobs and healthy kids ready for them. 

Regardless of the havoc that the January 12th earthquake has caused the partners we have in the St. Etienne area above Grand Goave have not lost sight of the possibility that these seedlings bring them.  As people struggled, these plants grew to seedlings more than a foot tall, and once again I am astonished at the fortitude of our partners because regardless of all that has occurred there they are forging ahead and planting these seedlings as planned, and on time.  The potential for change in Haiti is very real, and the will of the people there is strong.  This project is proving that even a disaster of a magnitude far exceeding anything people have endured before has not stifled the hope or energy of the Haitian people.  These seedlings will provide fuel for generators and diesel engines, the Haitian people will provide fuel for a changed country.