Council CEO Valora Washington was one of several executive directors/CEOs who recently spent a week in Haiti in order to bear witness to the country’s current situation. Haiti is still suffering as a result of the 7.0 earthquake that took place on January 12, 2010.

The weeklong trip was an opportunity to observe, learn, and share through site visits with officials from the U.S. and Haitian government, international organizations, educational institutions, and local nonprofit organizations. The trip was financed by a nonprofit group that wants to promote Haiti's recovery.

Some highlights of the trip included:

• Visiting a mountain village for two days
• Visiting Association des Paysans de Vallue (APV), a local organization that works in rural areas. It is a network of some sixty groups and its main priorities are education, health, agro-tourism, and business promotion.
• Meeting with Heiner Rosendhall, Chief of Civil Affairs, MINUSTAH (UN Mission for the Stabilization of Haiti).
• Staying with a host family for three days in Corail, a historic city and the birthplace of Haiti’s independence movement.
• Enjoying dinner with J. Danny Duvert, Parliament Member/local Mayor, and Marc H. Germain, USAID Chemonics Regional Chief.

Upon arrival, Valora found the situation extremely challenging: “The poverty is very visible everywhere, as well as the devastation from the earthquake.” Although it was clear that the people of Haiti were in dire straits, their resilience was impressive. Valora stated, “What was most impressive was that the people were very proud, hardworking, and possessed so much dignity.”

Valora shares that she returned from her trip “with a feeling of being very grateful and thankful for all of the opportunities that we have and all of things that we often take for granted.”