Introduction by María Teresa Aveggio, Programme Manager, WACC

		Six months ago today, a devastating earthquake hit Haiti. Registering 7.0 on the Richter scale, the quake killed 230,000 people and injured another 300,000. It destroyed media stations and most of Haiti’s landmarks including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly and Port-au-Prince Cathedral. The US government, the World Bank and the European Union among others pledged more than $5bn in aid.
Source: maps.google.ca

An informal ‘inventory’ of some of the world’s media on Monday 12 July shows that six months on “pledges of billions of dollars in aid from the international community remain unfulfilled with only a fraction of the more than $5bn promised so far delivered. The delivery of crucial building materials has been delayed and the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission, set up under the chairmanship of former US president Bill Clinton, met last month for the first time”.

And the statistics continue to be, like the rubble that still dominates the city of Port-au-Prince, strewn across every article and headline: “Of the 1.5 million of Haitian displaced by the quake, only 28,000 have been re-housed , it would take three to five years to remove all the debris from Haiti if 1,000 or more tucks worked daily”.

And yet there are groups that despite personal and material losses continue to work and struggle for a better Haiti. One such example is the women and men involved in community media. Three of WACC’s partners, which are receiving help through WACC’s earthquake appeal – Rezo Fanm Radyo Kominote Ayisyen (Haitian Women’s Community Radio Network) REFRAKA, Sosyete Animasyon Kominikasyon Sosyal (Social Communication Animation Society) SAKS, and Groupe Medialternatif/Alterpresse – returned to the task of informing their fellow citizens using whatever means they had. In three videos shot by independent journalist and film maker Jane Regan during a recent visit to the country, these WACC partners speak about the future and their dreams for a new Haiti. 

Watch the videos here: http://www.youtube.com/AyitiKaleJe

In response to the earthquake devastation, WACC launched an appeal to raise funds to rebuild community communications in those areas of Haiti most severely affected by the earthquake. See details of the appeal here... 

For more details on the videos, contact:

Jane Regan
http://www.janevregan.org
+917-509-4575
 

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