Six months after Haiti was shaken further into disparity by a powerful earthquake, ONE DROP’s international cooperation and development director, Paul Laporte, and chief of operations, Danielle Valiquette, spent a week exploring the Caribbean's poorest country along with OXFAM-Québec.
For ONE DROP, the June tour served many purposes, including the assessment of existing support efforts and the search for local organizations with whom to partner for each component (a technical component, a microcredit component and a social arts and popular education component) of its tripod approach. Toto-B, a Haitian theatre troupe, is among the organizations ONE DROP is interested in working with to develop a touring, educational and entertaining show. The visit included cities such as Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and Miragoâne. “It is impossible for many us to imagine what is going on without seeing it,” says Paul. “The level of damage and the resilience of Haiti’s people are equally impressive.”
In July, following ONE DROP’s second visit to Haiti, it was confirmed that the intervention zone for the technical component would be the coastal city of Léogâne. Activities within this component will be carried out in cooperation with OXFAM-Québec.
Published on August 11, 2010