First weekend in Haiti

I'm a little behind in blogging [I swore off the Internet for a week], so a quick update about last weekend. We woke up Saturday morning and took a tap-tap ride to Jacmel with our lovely bosses, Andrew and Aaron. We went to Bassin-Bleu, a gorgeous series of blue waterfalls and pools set in the hills of Haiti south of Léogâne. Our local tour guides helped us climb up one of the waterfalls to jump off a rock about 40 feet above the water. Let's just say I won't be doing that again anytime soon...

After our hike, we went to lunch at Cyvadier Plage, a local hotel and restaurant that's quite popular among All Hands volunteers on their rest and relaxation breaks. We had a gorgeous ocean view and saw a side of Haiti that's certainly never on the news.

After we had eaten our fill of non-base food, we went to The Hotel Florita in downtown Jacmel, an amazing old hotel and cafe built in 1888. It was quite a playground for the photographers in the group. There's just something wonderful about old furniture, mosquito nets and anpil (Kreyol for "a lot") flowers.

We'd planned a late departure to enjoy the clear skies and stars along the ride back in our open-air tap-tap. So, of course, it poured rain and we were actually cold for the first time since arriving in Haiti. All in all, it was an experience and quite an end to a fantastic day.

our tour guides

the Haitians have mixed feelings about Baby Doc...

L-R from back : Aaron, Andrew, Mike, Anika, Me, Ben

our tour guide in the cave at the beginning of our hike at bassin-bleu

the courtyard of The Hotel Florita in Jacmel

 

a parade in downtown Jacmel

Aaron "rescuing" us from the rain

Help me help Haiti

I'm writing today in remembrance of the catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake which claimed 230,000 lives exactly one year ago. Sadly, much of Haiti appears exactly as it did only days after the disaster last year. 1 million Haitians remain homeless and 80 percent are unemployed.

I recently read this article about the reconstruction, or lack-thereof, and it truly broke my heart. While the recent political crisis and cholera outbreak have gotten a lot of press, Haiti is hurting in many other ways.

As you know, I'm planning to travel to Haiti next week to take part in relief efforts. My organization, All Hands Volunteers, has been on the ground in Léogâne, the epicenter of the earthquake, since only days after it occurred last year. They've already constructed three schools and are in the process of creating hundreds of life-saving bio-sand water filters, which, for only $100 USD, can provide clean, safe drinking water to an entire family for more than 10 years. All Hands has also instituted a cash-for-work program, paying Haitians to clear rubble and help rebuild.

As part of my support efforts, I'm also collecting donations. This is where YOU can help! You can make a tax-deductible donation today at http://allhandshaiti.kintera.org/emilyvantassel. These funds go directly to All Hands to support Project Léogâne. Every dollar counts! So clean out your couch or your change jar and give it to a good cause. For the small price of one night's bar tab or a week's worth of morning lattes, you can make a difference. See your hard-earned money doing good work through the pictures on this blog and at All Hands flickr and youTube pages.

Thank you in advance for your love and support, I'm surely going to need it! And thank you from All Hands as well!

I'm going to Haiti!!

So it's official, I'm going to Haiti! From January 2011 (one year after the catastrophic earthquake) through the end of April, I'll be in Léogâne, Haiti as an intern for All Hands Volunteers. All Hands is an amazing non-profit, enabling and empowering volunteers from all over the world to provide efficient disaster response. They've been in Léogâne since February 2010 assisting with a variety of projects.

Although the situation in Haiti has worsened recently due to the cholera outbreak and recent presidential elections, things like this video help me believe that the ever-resilient people of Haiti still have hope.