Haiti on the Horizon
One week to takeoff.
Let’s recap. Turned in my thesis, sent out some job apps, last minute reports for Engineers Without Borders, edits on an op-ed, edits on a publication, edits on other people’s publications, callback from Tevel B’Tzedek. I’m going to Haiti. Next week.
I will be spearheading a new project for Tevel B’Tzedek (TBT), an Israeli NGO, in Leogane, Haiti. The idea is to address serious gaps in drinking water quality and sanitation, in an attempt to prevent the further spread of cholera and other gastrointestinal diseases in a series of semi-rural and rural villages about 12 mi outside of Port-Au-Prince. I will also be lending a hand on a couple of other TBT projects in the fields of agronomy, community empowerment and entrepreneurship. This blog will document my efforts and experiences.
While googling for first-hand accounts from aid or development workers in Haiti, I’ve only found a few blogs, mainly by missionaries writing avuncular diaries full of hand-holding and theophany. My goal is to provide something a little different. I would like to focus on my project and its progress, to introduce some concepts of sustainable development and its pursuit, and to document my acculturation. My hope is that this blog will also serve as a forum for sharing information and ideas with others in (or out) of my field. Let’s see how I fare as a non-native species in the ecology of post-earthquake Haiti..
But first I have to get there, which means I have to move out of my apartment. Anyone want a cupboard’s worth of half-used spices?
(P.S. If anyone does know of a good blogger who shares some of my interests, let me know and I will link to them!)
