#jphro

If you have ever visited our website, our social media pages, watched our videos, or read our program materials, you may have seen his work. Liam Storrings has been the eye of J/P HRO for more than four years. His incredible talent speaks louder than words, and through his lens, people around the world have been able to get a glimpse of J/P HRO’s work and the challenges faced by the Haitian people.

“I try to treat people like people. I studied photojournalism in college, and part of that included studying ethics. I also minored in anthropology and sociology. That educational background has helped me be conscious of the risk of "othering" - treating people, specifically Haitians in this context, as being intrinsically different from myself or people from my own culture. If I would not take or use a photo in the States, I do not take it or let it through the editing process here and I think that is pretty simple.”

Liam, now 26, grew up on the U.S./Canadian border in Vermont and spent a lot of time in Québec. Having been raised by two teachers, his mother an assistant principal and his father a music teacher, Liam gained an understanding of what it takes to become a hardworking, well organized, and conscientious worker. In high school, he was part of an exchange program with students from Germany; Haiti being his first experience in a developing country.

“I am J/P HRO's photographer and videographer. I'm out of the office a lot documenting programs and generating content for use on our social media platforms and also for donor reporting and fundraising. A lot of the challenges I face are in balancing the work. I need to provide coverage of our programs here in Port-au-Prince where I am based, but also of our work in Jeremie which is about six hours away by car ... Adding to that, sometimes there are last-minute requests for coverage, [along with] time intensive office activities such as video editing.”

Although he is young, Liam embodies the essence of J/P HRO. Working with the most vulnerable people on a regular basis, he has been able to capture their spirit, triumphs, and struggles, while highlighting J/P HRO's contribution to Haitian communities.

Sean Penn and JP HRO's "Haiti Takes Root" benefit auction takes place May 5 at Sotheby's, New York.

In order to promote hygiene and improve school health infrastructure, J/P HRO established the USAID-funded Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) project to serve as a model for health-related best practices.

The goal of our WASH program is to strengthen knowledge, attitudes, and interests of the 25 schools in Delmas 32. Our beneficiaries total roughly 3,500, including directors, parents, students, and support staff.

In phase one of the project, 10 schools were equipped with modern sanitary facilities. Remonne Etienne, 15, has memories of her old school toilets. “It was just a hole dug in the floor. The space was nauseous and dirty, with streaks of urine everywhere and we had to stand in line because it was a single latrine.” Remonne also explained how she caught an infection due to these conditions, which required 5 days of antibiotic treatments.

Many students in the beneficiary schools experienced poorly maintained toilets and facilities, such as these, prior to our WASH program implementation. For Aldy Cherestal, a 17-year-old at the l’Institution mixte de l’Espoir, the old toilets were “a nightmare.” Aldy says that even in the classrooms the odor from poor sanitation infrastructure prevented students from concentrating.

Despite the challenges and constraints, the WASH program has been able to provide improved sanitation for girls, boys, and staff in 10 schools.

The new sanitary facilities mark a new era. Teachers and students speak of “before” and “now.” The new sanitary blocks are: more hygienic, more spacious, more comfortable, cleaner, and more beautiful as described by the beneficiaries. Many used the word pride when speaking of this project.

Before Hurricane Matthew hit the home Tamara Casimir was renting and destroyed everything, she had a small business selling rice, charcoal, vegetables, oil, and sugar. During the storm, Tamara and her family took shelter at a nearby orphanage where they stayed for 4 months following the Hurricane. 

Tamara (29) with her sister Daphke Dossous (18), and children Farah Bernier (5), Jean Woodly Toussaint (13) and Chinison Bernier (7). 

When they had to leave the shelter, Tamara and her family briefly moved into their old home, but it was in such poor condition that they could not sleep securely at night.

Exterior of Tamara's damaged home

Thanks to our IOM-funded CERF project, we provided a rental subsidy that supported Tamara renting safe and secure housing. She currently resides there with her 3 children, sister, and 2 cousins.

Exterior of Tamara's current home through the CERF program

Tamara says that she is happy that she and her family can once again sleep well at night.

Saintvil Lovins, surrounded by awards from several competitions, recently sat down with us to discuss his career in karate and how our Community Development Center (CDC) program introduced him to the sport.

At the age of 11, following the devastating 2010 earthquake, Lovins began participating in karate lessons at our CDC. His coaches all recognized his talent and discipline. As time went on, his craft strengthened and he even became a karate teacher at the CDC, providing lessons for many children in the areas surrounding Port-au-Prince.

Lovins is now 18 years old and in 12th grade. His teachers and pupils say that he shows remarkable maturity for his age and they all equate this to his love for karate. “Through the practice of karate, I have learned many lessons, including self-control and how to best resolve conflicts,” Lovins says “I like to measure myself and test my limits.”

Today, Lovins proudly wears his brown belt and is eager to obtain the highest honor of a black belt. He remains determined, and follows this Haitian proverb "Si’w vle chanpyon, fòw pran kou pou aprann pare kou," meaning "we have to take some hard hits to learn how to block hard knocks."

Under the banner of the Haiti Takes Root Initiative, a unique public-private collaboration that promotes sustainable reforestation, J/P HRO launched the Canaan Urban Greening Program (CUG) in partnership with the American Red Cross (ARC) in April.

Canaan, a city that emerged after the devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake, is located on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Today, the informal community has rapidly expanded and is known as one of Haiti’s largest urban zones, with an estimated population of 200,000. 

Through the CUG Program, we have been able to implement green infrastructure in this urban community via our four main objectives: greening public spaces, greening infrastructure in no-build zones, expanding urban greening, and promoting sustainable urban agroforestry. 

Greening progresss in Parc Horeb

In early July, J/P HRO completed landscape level planning for two parks, Parc Horeb and Parc Union, as part of our first objective to green public spaces. Both parks include “mini-forest” plots that will feature innovations to encourage rapid growth of trees and shrubs, while simultaneously improving soil conditions and mitigating floods. We worked closely with Dr. Starry Sprenkle Hyppolite, a forester with extensive Haiti knowledge, to develop detailed planting plans and community trainings.

As part of our second objective, with our partner Acceso, we are developing strategies to pilot activities in several no-build zones. We are currently engaging local entrepreneurs to plant and cultivate trees in steep hillsides and ravines. Trees will also be planted along roadsides, where residents will be able to care for the trees, while at the same time delineating important roadways. Lastly, we are exploring the possibility of planting trees to discourage trespassing on larger privately owned lands in the area. 

Acceso’s nursery

Our third objective, expanding urban greening, aims to replicate greening activities across Canaan. In July, we celebrated two major steps towards raising visibility and resources in the area. As part of Citi Global Community Day, CitiBank Haiti’s employees and their families joined J/P HRO, the Haitian Red Cross, the ARC, and the community to plant trees in two public green spaces and at the homes of more than a dozen residents. We also received our first “Adopt-a-Park” sponsorship from the First Methodist Church of Baldwinsville, NY. The community was very inspired by the CUG’s vision of greening Canaan and the donation will be used to improve conditions in a small park.

Tree planting day in Canaan with CitiBank Haiti and the Red Cross

Finally, J/P HRO’s activities under the CUG seek to promote sustainable agroforestry as an effective way to protect the environment while strengthening livelihoods. This is extremely important in the informal community of Canaan, where residents face challenges related to both environmental degradation and lack of economic opportunities on a daily basis. In partnership with Acceso, we have been conducting market research on the moringa tree in order to establish an urban agroforestry pilot in Canaan. Thus far we have inaugurated 2 nurseries, produced 37,000 moringa seedlings and 6,000 castor seedlings, and organized 3 community meetings with the ARC in order to identify local agroforestry entrepreneurs. 

In June, J/P HRO Founder and Chairman of the Board, Sean Penn, took a trip to Haiti to visit staff members and many of our programs. 

He visited our community health clinic. Our work in community health is focused on preventative medicine through pre-natal education, dental care, screening services, and health education. In the month of June, 214 patients were seen for chronic diseases, 441 patients were seen at our dental clinic, and 408 children were vaccinated. Last year alone, J/P HRO reached 35,000 people through its comprehensive diabetes prevention and treatment program.

Sean also stopped by the Community Development Center (CDC) to see the completed construction of the center.  As part of our livelihoods program at CDC, 100 youth from vulnerable communities in Haiti received technical training in the following fields: computer repair, smartphone repair, motorcycle repair, installation of solar panels, and cosmetology. In addition to this training, local youth have benefited from entrepreneurship training at the CDC.

Then, he viewed the sanitary blocks constructed under our WASH program at Ecole Frantz Beda. The mission of this USAID-funded project is to promote hygiene and improve school sanitation infrastructure to serve as a model for health-related best practices. Thus far, ten schools have been equipped with modern sanitary facilities through our WASH program.

This was followed by a stop at Toussaint Louverture where Sean listened in a practice session of our music program. This class is part of our Music as a Second Language program supported by our partner Music Heals International. Through this program, students are taught how to read music, play different instruments, and are vocally trained. This program also offers to students a variety of special activities including participation in live concerts, music camps, and studio recording sessions.