Open Society Foundations » Michèle Pierre-Louis http://blog.soros.org Building Vibrant and Tolerant Democracies Thu, 17 May 2012 21:20:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 My Pride and Hope for Haiti http://blog.soros.org/2010/01/my-pride-and-hope-for-haiti/ http://blog.soros.org/2010/01/my-pride-and-hope-for-haiti/#comments Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:13:08 +0000 Michèle Pierre-Louis http://blog.soros.org/?p=202 The following originally appeared on The Huffington Post. Michèle Pierre-Louis is the Open Society Institute's director of reconstruction efforts in Haiti and former Haitian prime minister.

Port-au-Prince—It is an image of apocalypse. The National Palace and the ministries that were the heart of Haiti's government are in ruins. The beautiful court of justice collapsed. Building after building, street after street.

Two weeks after the earthquake, the residents of Port-au-Prince make their way through heaps of rubble. There are still corpses in piles of debris. Survivors who still have homes sleep in the streets scared by the aftershocks. The lucky have mattresses. If they have food, they cook outside.

On these streets I hear people praying and singing. And I see solidarity.

People are not angry. They are upset because they are totally left to their own devices. The government, which suffered losses, is also traumatized. Its offices totally destroyed, it is unable to provide leadership.

An immense international aid effort is underway, but it has yet to touch most people.

Somehow I see a sense of pride emerging in Port-au-Prince. Pride in our self-reliance. People say we must dig ourselves out. Literally. Community leaders have been playing an important role trying to help get citizens organized and keep them safe.

The reports of unrest are exaggerated. In Haiti, it is as if people want to prove that we can take care of ourselves -- at least partly. Because of course we do need help. That help consists of emergency aid and a plan for moving our ravaged country forward.

The plan for Haiti should unfold in three phases: rescue, recovery and reconstruction. We are now at the end of the first. With international support, we still need to get help to the neediest: food, water and medical care.

The second stage needs should get underway urgently. We need to restore a system of public information to tell people what to do and what not to do. For example, what water is safe to drink and what street needs to be closed off because buildings are in danger of collapse.

Bodies need to be cleared away to ward off disease. We need to restore basic services and remove debris and unsound structures.

At the same time, we must tackle the problem of shelter. We need to get people into tents before the rains come. We have identified places outside the capital that can be used to house camps.

If people are relocated, they must have a basic way to earn some semblance of a living. We should press forward with cash-for-work programs, to pay people to pick up garbage. Instead of shipping in big rock cutters, we can use international aid to pay Haitians to break up debris with sledge hammers.

The third phase is reconstruction and development. That is our opportunity to start afresh with a view to mistakes we have made in the past.

The outpouring of generosity from all corners of the world even from those who can ill afford it is staggering. Without combined leadership from abroad and from Haiti itself however this help will amount to little.

Before the earthquake, our capital had mushroomed to a teeming city of three million people unable to support its residents.

Haiti with the donor community should consider a long-term plan of rebuilding with an eye towards developing the country more evenly so that citizens can prosper. A critical role for donors together with local communities, is to provide employment so people will have an incentive to relocate; Basic infrastructure needs to be built throughout but to thrive, Haiti needs other ports not just in the capital. It needs to build manufacturing centers to capitalize on the country's proximity to the United States.

As I sift through the ruins of my home, I have hope. I am more convinced than ever that we should put the country back together not as it was but as it should be.

Wheaton men's soccer team is No. 1 nationally.(Sports Extra (High School))

Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) October 18, 1996 Byline: Daily Herald Staff Report The Wheaton College men's soccer team has been ranked No. 1 in the nation for Division III.

Wheaton College received 402 points (with 12 of the 19 first-place votes) in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Umbro Select Division III National Men's Soccer Ratings poll of Oct. 14.

The Crusaders are ranked ahead of Richard Stockton University, N.J., (9-1-0, 379 poll points) and Hope College, Mich., (12-0-1, 362 points). Last week's No. 1 ranked team, Fredonia State, N.Y., dropped out of the Top-25 poll.

Wheaton is also in a tie - with Carthage - for first place in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. The Crusaders have won the CCIW title in six of the last eight years.

The Crusaders were honored further when senior co-captain Chris Bates was named the CCIW Player of the Week. Bates recently registered his 25th career assist, placing him third in school history and second on the Crusaders in scoring with 14 points (5 goals, 4 assists) this season.

Freshman Eric Brown (Wheaton Warrenville South) leads the team with 21 points off 9 goals and 3 assists. Sophomore goalie Steve Morad has allowed only 3 goals in 9 games.

- The College of DuPage men's soccer team has been ranked No. 2 in the nation in Division I by the National Junior College Athletic Association.

Yavapai College (Ariz.) is the No. 1 team in the country, according to the NJCAA. here cedar valley college

The Chaparrals play host to the University of Illinois on Saturday at 2 p.m.

- The College of DuPage women's volleyball team is ranked No. 2 in the nation in Division III by the National Junior College Athletic Association.

The Chaparrals (19-7-1) have 27 points in the poll, behind only No. 1 Cedar Valley College (Tex.), which has 30 points.

Katie Ryan (Naperville Central) ranks among the nation's leaders in a number of categories, including: hitting efficiency (.370, third in nation); kills per game (4.07, second); and blocks per game (0.99, seventh).

Marnie Srail (Naperville North) is third in the nation in assists per game, with an 8.80 average.

- Early in Wheaton College's homecoming football game against Elmhurst College last weekend, senior wide receiver Mark Loeffler was the recipient of a pretty hard hit.

"(The pain) didn't actually set in until about two plays later," Loeffler said, "but then we scored and I got the chance to sit down on the bench for a little while." That respite was all Loeffler needed. The All-American came back to catch 9 passes for 218 yards and touchdown catches of 62 and 58 yards, to lead Wheaton College (4-0, 2-0) to a 43-0 romp over the Bluejays in CCIW action.

After using the ground game to rack up a 16-12 win over CCIW rival Augustana the previous Saturday, Crusaders coach Mike Swider went to the air early and often. The switch from run to pass didn't faze Loeffler.

"I just want to get back to the playoffs," he said. "Whatever that takes. Whether we're rushing the ball 50 times a game or passing 50 times ... or getting my bell rung." - The Wheaton women's soccer team set a record by registering its 10th shutout with a 2-0 win over No. 9 nationally ranked St. Mary's College, Minn., on Monday.

The Crusaders (13-2, 5-0 CCIW) have scored a school record 58 goals in 15 matches (giving up only 6 opponent's goals).

Junior midfielder Anna Loring continues her record-breaking run. She notched a career record of 33 goals and 99 points thanks to a tally in Monday's match. She also has a school record 33 career assists and leads the CCIW with 15 assists this season.

For her efforts, Loring was named CCIW Player of the Week.

- The Crusaders' women's cross country team took first at the Benedictine University Eagle Invitational last weekend in Lisle.

Wheaton racked up 73 points in the 17-team/5,000-meter race, placing 5 runners in the top 10, led by Carie Whitfield (Glenbard East) in fourth.

- North Central's Chris Roggan has become the school's second-leading career goal scorer with 40 goals.

With 3 tallies in North Central's 5-1 win over Rose-Hulman Institute last weekend and 3 more scores in the Cardinals' 4-3 loss to Aurora University on Monday, Roggan has now scored at least one point in each of North Central's 12 games, with a goal in 10 of those games.

Roggan's 12 goals places him second in the CCIW, 2 tallies behind Carthage's Bart Pryputniewicz.

- North Central's Bernadette Bryant was named the CCIW volleyball Player of the Week for her performances in the Cardinals' streak of five wins in six matches last week.

Bryant notched 64 kills, 199 digs, 13 blocks and 14 aces in 24 games over the 6 matches.

- North Central junior Ryan Passaglia was named the CCIW Defensive Football Player of the Week for his efforts in the Cardinals' 43-6 win over North Park last Saturday.

Passaglia had an interception (sixth career) return for a touchdown, recovered a fumble, had 4 solo tackles and a pass deflection in the win.

North Central takes a 3-1 overall record, 2-0 CCIW mark, against 4-0 Illinois Wesleyan University in a key CCIW matchup in Bloomington this Saturday.

- University of Dubuque freshman receiver Matt Plummer made his way into the record books in the Spartans' 47-40 loss to Buena Vista University last Saturday. go to website cedar valley college

Plummer, a graduate of Glenbard North, caught 18 passes on the day, including two for touchdowns. The 18 passes tied him for fourth-best in NCAA Division III history and set new Dubuque and Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference records for receptions in a game.

His 252 yards receiving also set a new Spartans record.

- Freshman quarterback Tim Lester completed 26-of-48 passes in Western Michigan University's 42-28 loss to Wyoming University last Saturday.

The Wheaton Warrenville South product set a WMU record with 391 passing yards. His total offense of 413 yards was second-best in school history.

In seven games this season. Lester has passed for 1,412 yards, hitting on 120-of-219 attempts for 10 touchdowns with 3 interceptions.

- Benet grad Jill Mayotte has scored 5 goals with 2 assists in 14 matches for the Georgia State University women's soccer team this season.

The freshman forward is 10th in the Trans America Athletic Conference, 15th in total points.

- Michigan State University sophomore volleyball player Jenna Wrobel has been named Division I National Player of the Week by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

The Naperville Central grad was also named the Big Ten Conference Player of the Week, cited for her performances in the No. 7 Spartans' home wins over No. 2 Penn State and No. 14 Ohio State last weekend.

In the two matches, Wrobel hit .357 and recorded 50 kills (5.56 per game), 29 digs (3.22 dpg), 3 blocks and a service ace.

- College of St. Francis (Joliet) senior receiver Matt Bachara (Glenbard North H.S.) moved into the No. 3 spot on the school's all-time receiving list with his 4 receptions during last Saturday's loss to Michigan Tech.

Bachara now has 71 receptions, trailing second-place Ken Courtright (74) and Mike Burzawa (80), a Driscoll graduate.

-Marty Cusack

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