Haiti! Thank you for the great two years!

It's been two years since I moved here at the end of April 2010. Here comes the time to say goodbye to Haitia country, I have become to love.

At the beginning of my assignment at Haiti,time just flew by,but now I am able to finish my assignment thanks to the people I met here.
Also I would like to thank everyone from many groups and organizations for their support.

I understand that it is said that the reconstruction isn't going as fast as expected. For now, I would like to share what I saw in this country in the past two years.

Executive Office of the President




People might think that destroyed buildings are has left untouched, in fact the debris has been removed already! Not only this building but you can see clear changes in the town as well.

Flooding due to the heavy rain




Flooding still occurs whenever it rains. However, in some areas, street gutters have been newly installed, the volume of garbage has been reduced which used to cause flooding.

The water control committee in the community which manages the well charges residents about fifty yen for maintenance including the cost of chlorine. This lady is holding a stamp  to prove she has paid. 

The stamps prove that she paid the water control committee her well charge.
The well can get broken and needs chlorine to make it potable in some areas.
Building a well is only a temporary solution. To make it work sustainably and also to support their self-reliance, it is important that the community manage and keep the system running by itself.
These stamps show you what they have accomplished.

Because the residents used to use the river water for free, initially it was difficult for them to pay the charge.  So this change shows you that they could eventually figure out why they need to pay for water and why need hygienic water is important.

The affected people of Haiti are far from living without any worry.But transformation is taking place gradually.
I am looking forward to seeing how this country transforms in a few years when I comes back Haiti!

Yuka Takao
Head of office for Haiti office