President Fitzsimmons writes from Haiti

So much to digest... two days easily feels like two weeks in Haiti, as each day is so full of images and experiences. The most remarkable thing about being in Haiti, now eight months after the earthquake, is how much of the city looks the same as it did in the first months following January 12. In the city center, there are still piles of rubble everywhere and roads are partially (as opposed to completely) impassable. There is very little reconstruction evident. And there are still around one million people homeless -- the landscape continues to be dotted by tents everywhere.

The difference is that the tents have a much greater sense of permanence about them. In fact, many tents now have a door -- and actual wooden or metal door -- at the tent entrance and they are secured by a padlock. These tent cities have a complete social and political system, and a fully developed internal economy. There are hair salons, churches, and schools. Babies are birthed and weddings are performed. And an intricate informal sector has grown up around each large tent city to support the needs of those living within.
Is it possible to be "beyond impressed"? That was my reaction upon seeing the temporary school that has sprung up at the College Catherine Flon. Those following this blog in the past know that most of the school's structures either collapsed or were severely damaged by the earthquake. Now, all the buildings, except the one-story one, have been removed. 3,500 K-12 kids are now being educated in makeshift classrooms constructed of wood and thick plastic sheeting. I am attaching some photos to this post for everyone to see. Is the set-up ideal? Certainly not. But it is impressive how well they have used the space to accommodate the maximum number of students.
Today, we were there during a downpour -- with the sound of the rain on the plastic roof, we could barely hear each other. It is hard to imagine how the students can focus on a teacher's lesson between the loudness of the rain and sound of 50 students immediately on the other side of each of the three walls of plastic sheeting (chalkboard is fourth wall). But everyone seems very happy to have the school fully functional again.

Perhaps most aggravating was seeing the plastic sheeting -- it says "US AID" everywhere. My delight at imagining my government at work quickly turned to dismay when I found that the sheeting was initially distributed as a donation, but had been sold and re-sold on a black market before reaching this school - and many, many others. How unjust for them to have to pay to acquire what had been intended as a donation to start the re-building of the educational system!