Skip to main content

Haiti: MINUSTAH hands refurbished school to local authorities


The UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti's (MINUSTAH) Brazilian contingent handed the Ecole Nationale de Cité Soleil to the local authorities, after having rehabilitated the school. At a short, but solemn, ceremony, the Brasilians officially handed over the building that had been serving as the contingent's headquarters.

"The handover of this building to the authorities in Cité Soleil is a sign of change for the area," declared Colonel Barrosso Magno, commander of the Brazilian contingent. "The work we did here is not for the benefit of the soldiers, but for Cité Soleil's population."

In his remarks, the deputy mayor of Cité Soleil, Gustave Benoît, recounted the efforts made by the Brazilians to bring security to the zone as well as to improve the living conditions of the local people.

Recalling the different military operations that have taken place and the humanitarian activities that have been accomplished, Mr. Gustave thanked the Brazilians for their work with the local people. "Today we are able to say that Cité Soleil is no longer a lawless zone," he declared. "Everyone is able to come to Cité Soleil to help the local people, thanks to the efforts of the Brazilians and Haiti's National Police."

The event also showcased local support for the newly elected leaders. In fact, until now, the city council had been meeting outside the neighborhood. The City Hall is still marked with bullet holes, signs of the fighting that took place in Cité Soleil. However, the City Hall is functioning again, thanks to the efforts of the Brazilian contingent, the Haitian government, and the National Police. Electricity is still furnished by generators.

Despite the recent difficulties, the residents of Cité Soleil seem to be taking advantage of this new peaceful era. The movie theater has been renovated and the former "Jamaica Base" of the Evens gang has become a cultural center and a daily meeting place for youths, both signs that Cité Soleil is on the right track.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Life on the Congo - Roads & Kingdoms

ON THE CONGO RIVER, Democratic Republic of Congo— It begins with shouting. Almost everything here seems to. This time they are shouts of encouragement: “Vite! Vite!” —“Faster! Faster!” But the teenage girl in the pirogue , a type of dugout canoe, is unable to pull alongside the barge, which is making its way down the Congo River at a speed of about 10 miles per hour. Read more http://roadsandkingdoms.com/2015/life-on-the-congo/
Post a Comment
Read more

How Aid in Cash, Not Goods, Averted A Famine In Somalia

“ Increasingly, it became clear that a new flow of international aid, cash, and not goods, worked to mitigate the risks of an immediate famine. For now, in spite of acute risks in some parts of the country, Somalia has successfully averted a food crisis,” How Aid in Cash, Not Goods, Averted A Famine In Somalia 08 September - Source: IPS News - 594 Words In February, when the government of Somalia sounded an alarm to the UN about risks of a famine in the country, the UN’s Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), besides quickly shuffling a response team, was acting from a steep sense of history. The Office, instead of sending out massive aid packages, distributed cash vouchers to families who could spend it to buy goods according to their needs. The famine between the years 2010 and 2012, which killed more than a quarter of a million people in the country, offered important lessons to the aid community. This spring, when poor rainfall led to large scale crop failure
Post a Comment
Read more