Good news is hard work.

At the house earlier today, we were talking about how American news focuses on the negative and the sensational... earthquake, hurricane, cholera, election violence!! There is not a lot of positive energy being sent out about Haiti. There are not a lot of pictures of well-dressed Haitians walking to work or of mothers and fathers who walk their children to school every day (will post myself soon). Among a small group of us, we decided to tweet and facebook message only good news. For instance, today Chance, our guard puppy was finally able to return from the vet after being stranded there for a few days following her spaying.

Anyways, before I make good on my pledge to be positive, I will explain some of the regular challenges about living, never mind trying to get something done in Haiti. There are a lot of basic needs that can make life here frustrating or unpleasant. The big 3 are water (see previous post), transportation, and information.

Access to Transportation: Expats need a car to get around here. It's not as simple as just picking one up at the airport. A driver is necessary, too- preferably local- because neither road conditions, driving culture, or navigation are easy here. The U.S. Embassy advises all drivers to frequently change their routes. When I was here in May, we took this very seriously and ended up being stuck in the car for hours as we kept trying roads that were impassable with rubble. There are few road signs, no stop signs, and one traffic light. You must behave recklessly to avoid being stuck at a busy intersection. Port-au-Prince is a city of mountains and valleys, so all the roads twist and turn. Protesters have made roadblocks out of dumpsters,port-a-pots, and rubble. Very symbolic, but damn inconvenient. All businesses are closed, including the airport.

Prior to the riots

Even on good days, there are multi-million dollar NGOs that are without reliable transportation for their staff. Here we have 2 SUVs for 18-20 people who go to the office, and house-staff that need to be able to get supplies on a near daily basis. Our drivers make multiple trips and are usually on call all day long. They are one of the most valuable members of our team and are paid well for that reason. Mother Jones reporter Mac McClellan reported paying $350 a day for a car and driver.

Overlooking Petionville, easiest to comprehend area of PAP.

Access to Information: Maps are arguably the most important documents being produced in this country. With little record of pre-disaster conditions and with the embedded knowledge of the local population scattered into camps and graves, every building and planning project begins with Google Earth and rough visual assessment. High-value information has been difficult to locate for every sector of the recovery. The Humanitarian Practice Network has an excellent article on the challenges of gathering reliable data for basic needs assessments. This article also confirmed the rumors that Haitians tend to get their news from... rumors. The radio stations have only recently begun broadcasting in Haitian Creole instead of just French (which less educated Haitians do not speak). The high-tech version of rumor is Twitter. You can follow me there to stay in the know @howigetmynews. It's no lie.