This friend's 26 yr old grandson (I'll call him John) went to Africa with the Peace Corps...he was so disillusioned with the way nothing was really getting done in Kenya, where he was, that, after almost 2 years, he left and went to work for a French relief company with which he is working in Haiti right now.
John was visiting his grandparents last month and told him that the biggest problem in Haiti is that the money that's been sent there is not getting to the people nearly as quickly and effectively as it could. In fact, he says it's not reaching them at ALL. He said that he personally is held back by Aristide's grandson, with whom he's always bickering because he blocks all progress the French relief group is trying to accomplish in every way he can. The Haitian government is doing nothing but create roadblocks to progress, the United Nations is doing nothing but throw up walls instead of making things easier, too, and none of the relief workers can quite figure it out but it is doing nothing for their morale or the morale of the Haitian people. His father is going to see him there in a few weeks and I'm hoping he makes an attempt at getting the story to America.
The article about the Haitian orphans, linked above, says that "Yankoski urges those concerned about the (orphaned) children to be patient, and suggests they are far better off at Holy Family — with nutritious meals, schooling and counseling — than if they'd stayed in Haiti." John can vouch for that.
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