Haiti: Blog from the Field

Dave Spedding is Save the Children Canada's Director of Philanthropy

Wednesday July 13, 2010

After working for Save the Children for 4 years, yesterday I got to see our work in the field for the first time.  I haven’t been able to process all my thoughts and feelings yet - but it was a fascinating day.  I have definitely experienced a range of emotions over the last 24 hours.

I went to four different camps, and got to see the different types of work we are doing.  The first was a child friendly space. By North American standards it was simple and didn’t have the equipment and toys I am used to seeing at my daughter’s day care. The children were genuinely happy and most importantly they are supervised and safe. Our staff do wonderful things with relatively little. When I visited the Save the Children health clinic in Petionville serving 56,000 people, I was thrilled to see how our efforts were helping so many. There is no question though that there are also frustrations.

Nurse Lovely Raphael weighs Matilda Fortune as mother Matilde Fortune holds her inside

Save the Children's medical clinic at the Petionville Club camp in Petionville, Haiti.

(Photo by Lee Celano/Getty Images for Save the Children)

Logistical problems and difficulties caused by the lack of infrastructure at times slow our progress. The shelter and land issues are complex, and a permanent sustainable solution will require more than just rebuilding what existed before. It will require urban planning and  a massive construction project that will take years not months to complete. While it would be easy to point fingers, in the end we must all, governments, international agencies and NGOs simply do better and find even more efficient ways to help the Haitian people.

There is no doubt that what all of us do back in Canada is making a positive difference for children and families in Haiti.  Save the Children’s health care, nutrition, water and education programs all have success stories whether or not they are reported by the media.

Today is the full day de-brief, and discussion about the 5 year plan and action steps. Thursday I am off to the Dominican Republic to visit our programs there.