Post Conflict Projects

Below is a letter sent by the NGO Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL: www.oursoil.org) to commemorate the first year anniversary of the January 2010 Earthquake in Haiti. --------------- Dear Friends of Haiti, One year ago this morning millions of Haitians rose to greet the cool January sunshine. They walked the streets of Port au Prince, on their way to work, through the damp corridors of the capital. The National Palace towered over Champs Mars and the bells of the National Cathedral greeted the market women who gathered long before sunrise. Thousands of mothers kissed their children goodbye for the day and hundreds of schools throughout the capital echoed with the voices of students eager to learn after the Christmas holiday. The parks of the city smelled of fried food and charcoal smoke. It was Tuesday, it could have been any Tuesday, but for over 200,000 people it would be their last. Twelve hours later as the sun dropped into the bay of Port au Prince the city

Today marks the first year anniversary of a tragic loss of our friends, family, loved ones and an insurmountable number of others who we may not recognise but would still wish to commemorate. That the memory of the efforts and contributions of our colleagues who perished on that fateful day may spur us on to continue supporting Haiti in its tumultuous struggles to rise from the ashes, we invite you all to observe a brief moment of silence at 1700 hours (5 pm) SDQ time. In the words of MINUSTAH SRSG Edmond Mulet: " While honouring the dead, also honour the living because the challenges ahead are still enormous." http://www.un.org/en/memorial/haiti/