Rebuilding Haiti, One Home at a Time

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Monday, 25 July 2011

Collage Rebuilding Haiti, One Home at a Time
I am here in Haiti – my sixth trip – and I can hardly express the power of what I just experienced.

I just left the official opening of the Building Back Better Communities Housing Expo, a project that included organizations like the Clinton Foundation, Harvard University and MIT. I had the profound pleasure of joining Wyclef Jean and guests of honor former President Bill Clinton and Haitian President Martelly.

There truly are no words to capture what it was like to experience the spirit of Haiti manifest itself through this building project. To see sixty-two model homes representing the potential of Haiti was a metaphor for the transcendent nature of this country. Naturally, the designer in me gravitated toward certain models – I loved the ones that captured the organic, rustic essence of Haiti. But, what was brilliant about every model home is that each one met strict building regulations making them equipped to stand the test of time, through earthquakes and hurricanes. Even as I write this the sky is clouding over and a storm is moving in… the Haitian people need to be protected from the elements.

I was so moved to see the young people of the surrounding community gather around the expo to cheer on the President and thank him for teaching them the skills they need to rebuild their homes and their country.

The whole experience served as poignant commentary on the state of Haiti. It fortified my own mission to Hope, Hope and Rebuild Haiti.

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