Haiti - Haiti Observer Blog

On Saturday, September 12, 2015, during the 59th Meeting of the Regional Commission for the Americas (CAM) of the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) between September 11 and 16 at Medellín, the second-largest city in Colombia, in the presence of Stéphanie Villedrouin, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Industries and important members of the Haitian delegation, 26 member countries have unanimously elected Haiti as the President of the Commission for two consecutive terms (2015-2017).

The meeting was a part of the 21st General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization. The Haitian delegation present in the meeting also took part in a high-level forum conducted jointly by the UNWTO and the Office of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), on a theme of "Tourism and Transport for Development". Stéphanie Villedrouin met various personalities for possible partnership on creative industries.

Read more →  

Madras is a tiny, poor fishing village near the corner of Haiti's northeastern plain where Christopher Columbus probably established "New World", the first European settlement in 1492. Even a few years back, the villagers used to live in a way, which could have been familiar with Columbian era - they had to rely on oil lamps for light in the night, go to bed early, gather salt and small fishes to dry in the sun to use as food. One U.S estimate suggests that more than 75% of the inhabitants in Madras live on less than $2.0 a day, and about two third of them are unemployed. Now Madras is one of the very few places in Haiti, where people have 24X7 uninterrupted, reliable power supply which not even the whole of the capital city enjoys. It is one of the more than a dozen small communities where Episcopal Church offers support and care. Episcopal Diocese of New York is working in this struggling community with about 40 children and young adults who have a desperate appetite for learning.The faculty of the St. Pierre Community School is dedicated to teach and give them minimal education who cannot afford to pay the $10 per trimester tuition fees.

Read more →  

Used so often in news taglines and stories, the identity of Haiti as the Western Hemisphere's poorest country is probably engrained in most people's knowledge, however, Haiti as the richest country in the Western Hemisphere was once the truth universally known.

Its old moniker was "Pearl of the Antilles", a name it got because of the natural beauty found in its high, lush hills and its richness of resources and culture. The colonial era saw Haiti known as the wealthiest of all the British colonies in the Caribbean. It was influential too, playing a role in the Louisiana Purchase and helping to increase the wealth, reach and might of the United States on the back of the Haitian Revolution.

Read more →  

The UN and government of Norway (GON) made a two-day visit to review South Coast Initiative (SCI) projects. South Department (SD) Delegate, Serge Chery, took UN Resident Coordinator in Haiti, Peter De Clercq, and the GON's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Representative, Trygve Bendiksby, on a tour of several project sites:

• Road infrastructure rehabilitation
• Roche a Bateau Electrical Cooperative facilities
• Port Salut Fish Market
• Saint Louis du Sud Millionaire River mitigation project
• Aquin Nature Interpretation Center

De Clercq acknowledged the Haitian government's initiative on the SCI, made possible by the technical support of the UN working in SD, in addition to the financial support of GON, the World Bank, the Inter-American Bank Development, and the European Union. He complimented SCI supporting the Haitian government's investment in the SD's infrastructure with six projects:

Read more →  

Minister of Interior and Territorial Communities (MICT), Major David Bazile, spoke recently at the occasion of the 3rd edition of the Gouvènman an lakay ou, held in the town of Milot, site of the Sans-Souci Palace, in northern Haiti. Having the mandate of working within the framework of sovereign duty, the MICT continues to help strengthen governance at the local level as well as practicing population supervision.

Bazile announced that, as part of this mandate, the 14 projects carried out last year within the Great North will be followed up by 16 new, major projects by his MICT office for the 2013-2014 year. With a staff of 12,000 the project has seen the town of Milot benefit from 3 of the projects so far, including the creation of new infrastructure to the tune of millions of gourdes.

Read more →  

Sa se yon video mwen panse ke anpil moun ap rinmin. Pandan ke moun nan peyi etrange ap montre foto ti moun ki grangou an Ayiti, moun ki pa gin rad pou yo mete tank ke afè yo pa bon, mwen panse ke se devwa pa nou pou nou montre lot kote peyi-a tou

Voye Videyo sa ba tout moun ke ou konnin, especialman sa yo ki dekourage ak Ayiti yo

Payi sa tre bel paceke li gin yon kalite rivage ke ou pa trouve lot kote. La vie nan campagn yo se yon lot merveil en Ayiti. Payisan yo koutoi, genti et yo konnin komman pou yo recevwa etrange

Read more →  

Haiti has a powerful history. We take great pride in our past.

Haitians declared themselves free from slavery in 1804, embarrassing the great Napoleon army.

The first independent nation of Latin America and the Caribbean, the first black-led republic in the world, and the second republic in Latin America in 1804 after a slave revolution close to a decade.

Haiti becomes the original Statue of Liberty with historical characters like slave leader Boukman, Jean Jacques Dessalines, Henri Christophe, Petion, etcc

In 1779, Haitians helped America gain its independence from Britain. A total of 545 Haitian soldiers sailed to fight in the Savannah battle. The Haitians soldiers are believed to have been the largest black unit to serve in the American Revolution.

Read more →  

Haiti has finally reached the point where the country could not go any further. The Island country of Haiti has been ranked as the poorest country in the entire world.

For a population of 10,123,787 people, 77 percent of the Haitian population is poor, the highest in the world. Its GDP is $7.35 billion (66th lowest) and per capita, the GDP is $726 which is 22nd lowest.

The world bank remarked that more than 50 percent of the Haitian population live on less than $1;00 a day and close to 80 percent of Haitians in Haiti lives on less than $2.00 a day

Read more →