Now playing: Doug Liman Blog: With Sean Penn’s NGO in Haiti, Hearing the Song of Need in One of the Poorest Places in the World

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Sean Penn’s NGO, Jenkins-Penn Haiti Relief Organization, has an amazing team. They are volunteers who have come from all over to help with the relief effort. Most are not professional relief workers but everyday, extraordinary people who have dropped everything to come down and lend a hand. Of the many wonderful people down there, there were a few people who we got to know pretty well, like Captain Barry, a tugboat operator from Maryland. Another two are Alison Thompson and Oscar Gubernati, artists and filmmakers from NYC. I jokingly call Alison “Lady Alison” (she was recently knighted by the Queen of England for her work volunteering in Sri Lanka after the Tsunami — a fact she seems to keep a secret). Alison and Oscar have made a movie about their tsunami relief experiences called Third Wave, which you can see on their website: thethirdwavemovie.com

What I found so inspirational about Alison and Oscar and Captain Barry is that they were just doing what they could to help the situation — not waiting for someone to tell them what to do. For example, Alison and Oscar were camping in the woods in the hills above downtown (there was no indoor place to sleep) when Alison heard music through the woods. She followed it and found tens of thousands of displaced Haitians living on the golf course of the Petionville country club with no support services at all. As she told me, “They sang me to them.” She’s a trained nurse, Oscar is a filmmaker, and Barry can steer a tugboat, and the three of them immediately started helping these people and attracting others to help them. You don’t need anyone’s OK — you can just roll up your sleeves and start doing.

As I’ve said before, shooting down there was difficult but also extremely moving. One of the locations for “We Are the World” was Cité de Soleil, Haiti’s largest slum, in the heart of Port au Prince. It may be the poorest neighborhood in the poorest town of the Southern Hemisphere. The slum is overrun by armed gangs, and it’s said that it took two weeks for aid relief to reach the people living in the shanty town. I never saw any signs of violence, and the people were nothing but kind and generous with me — but as dusk descended, the producers made a big point of getting us out of there. If ever there was a place that needed a spotlight on it, it’s City of the Sun. The guy riding in the car with me in this video is Conor Bohan, the founder of H.E.L.P., the Haitian Education Leadership Program and one of my long-time friends from college. I have another video post coming in which Conor picks through the remains of his office (the neighboring high-rise collapsed on top of the single-story house that was their office).

4 responses to Doug Liman Blog: With Sean Penn’s NGO in Haiti, Hearing the Song of Need in One of the Poorest Places in the World

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Geoffrey Cantor

Hello Doug,

Geoffrey Cantor here (Ari Fleischer in Fair Game).

I am on the board(s) (both advisory and that of Directors) of a Haitian Charity Organization, the Children Heritage Foundation. The website can be found by following this link. http://thechildrenheritagefoundation.org/

Here is a brief description of who we are and what we do.

The challenges Haiti faces are well documented. As a country, not only has it been ravaged by natural disasters. It suffers from a history of joblessness and dangerous streets, and has the unfortunate distinction to designated as one of the very few fourth world countries on the planet.

But there are lesser known stories of those who would change the cycle of unemployment and violence, who have a vision of a beautiful country, where the people have a brighter future. This is one of those stories.

The Children Heritage Foundation is taking the first step in realizing that vision. tCHF is a non-profit organization dedicated to the education and development of Haiti youth, and was established prior to the hurricanes of last year and this year’s devastating earthquake. Our goal is to offer an alternative path for the young people of Haiti. The Foundation will provide an educational program that includes an English literacy component along with technical training in computer programming and software development. This, in turn, allows for a larger and longer term goal–A shift to a culture of innovation, with new employment opportunities for Haitians, a stronger local economy, and a chance for young Haitian adults realize their potential. When successful, the Children’s Heritage foundation will become a pilot program for other projects in Haiti and throughout the entire Caribbean.

Our objectives are simple. In the short term, with the support of US IS professors and Globe University in Minnesota, the Foundation is to provide an accredited four-year Bachelors IT curriculum. This program is for older teens/young adults who will be taught in English as a second language as part of their training. Our Midterm goal is to provide a broader educational program, working in concert with like-minded programs in the region. Finally, in the Long term, we hope to facilitate a profound change in Haiti from its current state to a culture of hope and possibility, providing work opportunities through the creation of a Haitian-based IT Company. In two to five years, beginning with our first graduates, we see the potential not only for local job creation, but outsourcing opportunities from clients in the US and around the world in the area of Web-development.

Jose Pierre is the Director and Founder of tCHF, and he has enlisted the services of an eclectic advisory board, made up of engineers, educators, professors and business people from around the country. They represent diverse interests and talents, and its members are donating their time, energy, and expertise to this cause. We have a team of young people on college campuses around the country educating their peers about this small island nation. In Haiti, the American University of the Caribbean, based in Cayes, has donated classrooms for the program’s instruction. A team of students from Hunter College, of the City University of New York, developed the English proficiency curriculum.

In light of the crisis that resulted in the Earthquake, the CHF has shifted its focus, working with a hospital in Les Cayes, developing a computer program to assist in processing of the countless victims who have come there looking for help. Jose has been there as have other members of our board to provide hands on assistance such as interpretation and humanitarian support. We are also working to build a library there.

We have made contact with the UN through Eric Fault, and the Clinton Foundation’s Abby Gardener.

But we still need help. I was wondering if it might be possible to speak to you about Haiti and way in which we might work together toward a common goal of bringing a better life to the people of this small Island nation.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Oh, and I can’t wait to see Fair Game. I hope I did you proud.

All the best,

Geoffrey

Judi Frazier

June 24, 2010
Alison’s trying to raise funds to support 40 Haitian orphans.

She’s requesting amounts under $100 to be sent via Paypal.

Please see her Twitter stream @lightxxx for more info & to verify ID… since you don’t know me at all.

Let’s help her and make this info go viral!

Judi Frazier
(@rqskye)

mimi

Stop the colonization of black countries. Why aren’t you appalled by the fourth world education that black Americans are getting in the U.S.?

Love Haiti

I always like music specially when it speaks about ma around touches our heart, You in fact done such a job. any way i wanna tell an important thing for which we all should be concerned.
After an Heavy natural disaster It’s become back dated. And bearing unmeasurable sufferings. Still now it’s facing crisis from all sides, created from the Earth Quack as well as by nature. But It’s time to change the day, So request all of you to come forward to make tha days ahead distinctly.
I think at this moment HAITI really needs help to be rebuild.Outgoing Haitian President René Préval has set the presidential elections for Nov. 28, 2010.
According to ma justification,
Charles Henri Baker (born June 3, 1955) should be under consideration as a deserving personality,
who can supply the best support to this contribution.
Thank you.