Haiti in Focus 33 - What is a Haitian’s First 24 Hours Like in America? Lubin, the director of the Haitian Connection Network’s Student Computer Center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, spent the last week in the United States.  Within the first 24 hours of him being here, he was interviewed in front of a live audience about [...]

Haiti In Focus 32 - Turning 20 into 80 If you have visited our website, you already know that 20 students are having their lives changes by their studies with University for the People at the Haitian Connection Networks’ Student Learning Center.  What you may not know is that there are almost 50 students waiting to [...]

Haiti In Focus 31 - An Interview with Frederson, A Student At HCN’s Student Computer Center Meet Federson, another one of the students attending classes at University of the People’s Online University using our new HCN Student Computer Center.  He shares about how he came to HCN, about his family, [...]

Haiti In Focus 30 - An Interview with Roodlyn Pierre, A Student At HCN’s Student Computer Center Meet Roodlyn, another one of the students attending classes at University of the People’s Online University using our new HCN Student Computer Center.  She shares how she hopes her education will change her family.

Haiti In Focus 29 - An Interview with Dany Toussaint, A Student At HCN’s Student Computer Center Meet Dany, another one of the students attending classes at University of the People’s Online University using our new HCN Student Computer Center.  He shares how this opportunity will potentially impact his life.

Haiti In Focus 28 - An Interview with Sadrac Saint Victor, A Student At HCN’s Student Computer Center Meet Sadrac, one of the students attending classes at University of the People’s Online University using our new HCN Student Computer Center.  He shares how this opportunity will potentially impact his life.

Haiti In Focus - 027 - Ashamed of Being Haitian…. Our discussion tonight comes out of Kris’s recent visit to Haiti and a conversation she had with Frederickson.  What is it like to grow up poor in Haiti?  We also update the status of the learning center the Haitian Connection Network is establishing.  15 students will [...]

Haiti In Focus - 026 - A Chat with Joel and Yvonne Trimble of Haiti Satillite and Haiti for Christ Kris and Scott sat down chatted with Joel and Yvonne Trimble, facilitators of Haiti for Christ and owners of Haiti Satellite. Joel shares about a kidnapping attempt, how Haiti Satellite was formed, and his vision for [...]

Haiti In Focus - 025 - News on a New Hotel near the Port-Au-Prince Airport This week in Haiti In Focus, Scott and Kris talk about the presidential debate that was streamed from Haiti.  This is only the second such an event was broadcast from Haiti.  They also chat about the 240 room hotel being built [...]

From Kristen: This week, it is all about HCNU – the online learning center we look forward to opening for classes November 18! Keeping up with website changes, twitter, and podcast interviews, press releases, etc. has been a challenge. Then out of the corner of my computer screen, littered with paperwork and applications, a [...]

Haiti In Focus - 024 - An Interview With The Haitian Connection Network Tonight we talk with the NGO The Haitian Connection Network.  HCN endeavors to educate poor Haitian students with quality online university studies tuition free, and then actively assists them with job placement upon graduation. Their mission is to see each of their graduates [...]

What a society of babies we are! What do we really have to complain about? A Day in the United States… My pediatrician’s office is three miles from my house. When my three year old son Kiefer is sick, I call to make a same day appointment without hassle. I am annoyed today as my plans for [...]

Day 1 - My First Time in Haiti After The Earthquake The Internet connection is so bad here. Last night, I was even plugged into a phone line, and it still was horrible! So, I am awake again at 4 AM, and my first thought was “I can’t wait to tell the Scott all [...]

We had a chance to chat with Justin Brandon from the movie “Road to Fondwa” and talk about the impact of the film in a pre- and post quzke Haiti. The Road to Fondwa tells the powerful story of a rural Haitian community poised to change the future of Haiti one University student at a time. When [...]

Haiti in Focus - 022 - The Haitian: his experience following the quake and thoughts on renewable, sustainable energy. This week we interviewed Alain Armand, a Haitian American from Florida, who land in Haiti 48 hours after the earthquake.  He shares about his journey there, what he observed as he arrived in Port-au-Prince.  He worked as [...]

Haiti in Focus - 021 - What is going on in Haiti now?  We reconnect with Alice Backer, former Editor of Global Voices Part 2 We continue our discussion by looking the types of shelter the displaced Haitians are living in and the targeted bulldozing that is supposed to be happening.  We also clarify how badly [...]

Haiti in Focus - 020 - What is going on in Haiti now?  We reconnect with Alice Backer, former Editor of Global Voices (Part I) Due to listener questions and comments, we decided to invite Alice Backer back to chat about her experiences since we last talked with her. This is Part 1 of that interview. We [...]

Haiti in Focus - 019 - Want the real story on the Haitian relief efforts? Our interview with Alice Backer, former Editor of Global Voices, in Port Au Prince. Haiti in Focus had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Alice Backer, former Global Voices Editor for french-speaking world, and who is  currently on a mission from Global [...]

6 days after the Earthquake hit Haiti, I had a chance to sit down and chat with Todd Kaderabek, chairman of the board of Mission Manna, a group that has focused their efforts on Montrouis, Haiti, bringing medical attention to children.  To find out more about their organization, visit here. We discuss the news coming [...]

The school at which Scott teaches wrote the following: While many here are horrified by the earthquake disaster in Haiti, for some at Penn Manor, it hits a lot closer to home. Penn Manor teacher, Scott Hertzog, and his wife, Kristen, recently adopted a little girl, Taicha, 8 years old, from the impoverished country of Haiti and, [...]

I sit here in a Panera Bread at a window seat. The sky is an immense blue; cars line the parking lot. People are going about their Friday afternoon. Shopping, eating, driving. It seems that people are a million miles away from my dear friends in Port-au-Prince. I feel as though a part of me has [...]

So Kris, Curt and Scott got together last night to talk about and react to the devastation in Haiti because of the earthquake, and also interact with friends and listeners to what people were seeing and discussing.  This podcast is a result of the evening.  Hope you feel with us.

Wow!  Overwhelming…  Tonight we recorded our first podcast in forever.  It should be up soon.  That will give our personal reactions to the devastation in Haiti. In someways, we feel helpless, sitting in our comfortable homes, going to our  comfortable jobs.  What can we do from the USA side to help?  Curt Edwards and Kristen [...]

Yeah we know.  Its been a bit since we last put out a podcast.  There were many things going on: a two year old, a our new daughter from Haiti, summer trips, and so forth.  Suffice to say, we’re back and its our intention to be a bit more diligent about getting our casts out. We [...]

We are sorry it has been so long since our last episode, but so much has been going on in our lives:  the continual transition with our adoptive daughter, school letting out, and my computer crashing. Our aim is to be more consistent with putting out more regular episodes over the summer. Tonight, we have a [...]

Tonight, Scott and Kris share their own adoption experience in Haiti, exploring what made them want to adopt in the first place, why Haiti, the hurdles they had to overcome, and the blessings and sadness that came with the process. Hear them now as they share candidly about adoption in general and adopting fom Haiti.  [...]

We had a wonderful interview with Margaret Trost who shared with us about what drew her to Haiti and how the What If Foundation got started.  She talks about the food program, eduational programs, and the summer camps all associated with the What If Foundation. For more information about the What if Foundation, please visit their [...]

When I heard that the Haitian from the hit TV series Heroes had a foundation working in Haiti, I was excited.  The Haitian always fascinated me as a character on the show, and I loved the fact that referred to him as the Haitian and even set some of the scenes in Haiti (though they [...]

In this episode of Haiti In Focus, Scott and Curt sit down with Tim Plaut, Ora Wells, and Bill Allen, all doctors working with Mission Manna.  The group shares a brief overview of the history of Mission Manna, of how it started with a youth mission trip to Haiti, and their current work. The doctors [...]

In part two of an interview with Chris Lieb, Scott and Kristen chat with him about the holistic approach Baptist Haiti mission is taking in assisting the people of Haiti.  He talks about their educational endeavors which include schools enrolling more than 65,000 students and a Master’s program.  He also shares about BHM’s 110 bed [...]

Scott and Kristen interview Chris Lieb, who has served as the technology and educational coordinator at Baptist Haiti Mission for the past five years.  Through out this interview, Chris shares how he worked in the computer industry making really good money, yet he was unsatisfied and wanted more from his life.  So he, his wife [...]

The stories we tell…Jason, a big, burly construction worker, traveled to Haiti on a whim and fell in love with the kids from an orphanage.  This and the people he met during that trip in the mid-nineties caused him to return time and time again to show the kids love and to help out wherever [...]

In this podcast, Scott and Kristen interview Arnold from Port-au-Prince.  We chat with him as to why he came across on a skiff to Miami illegally, what it was like living here illegally, and what made him want to go back.  We also talk about how Haiti has changed in the nine years since he [...]

Chatting once again with Steph, we talk about how all you need is yourself when going down to help Haiti.

Recently I read through a blog post by Punchinello titled “Should we let Haiti fail?”, an interesting or at the very least a provocative essay on what might happen if we applied our philosophies about the auto bailout to Haiti.  And no matter what your decision, what answer you stand by, the question makes us [...]

In this episode we focus on listener feedback we have received and respond to it.  We start off talking about Hands Across Haiti, an organization that networks humanitarians all across Haiti.  We also briefly mention Jimmy Jean Louis’s (the Haitian from the Heroes TV Show) organization Hollywood Unites for Haiti. We then discuss the idea [...]

Today if you walk the streets of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, the dreariness and weariness of the Haiti is written not just on the faces of her people, but the visage of the city.  There are echoes of beauty in the architecture of the buildings, yet even these are worn.  Potholes pock the streets; trash and broken [...]

Here back on the Eastern side of the United States, snow is furiously falling. It is no wonder then, that I am thinking warmer thoughts, Haitian thoughts if you will. It has been wonderful to see some of the attention Hollywood has been paying to Haiti recently. The Burn Notice recently had an episode [...]

About two weeks ago, we were chatting about the possibility of using Carnival to foster tourism in Haiti.  However; now that Carnival is past and we find out that it has left one dead and 540  injured, there is a problem with this.  And this was our concern about the idea from the start: the [...]

#haiti Finally, after weeks of wanting to do this, and after one botched recording session, we finally have Curt, Co-founder of the Connection Network and Haiti for the Kids, on the show. He shares with us how he got involved in Haiti and what has drawn him back into Haiti year after year after year.  He [...]

“I believe we all have a responsibility to give of ourselves,” she said. “My goal is to establish a non-profit organization that will provide for local food production and distribution and give other children the opportunity to break the grip of poverty and change the course of their lives.” These are the words of Maxis, a [...]

#haiti We interview Steph, who was a first time traveler to Haiti last year and find out about her experiences there.  We also talk about navigating the Port-au-Prince Toussaint Louverture International Airport. Cow on the back of a tap tap as referred to in the show. Steph and crew waiting to get into the airport as mentioned [...]

I have been familiar with AIDG (Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group) for a few weeks now and have been impressed with their work in Haiti and Guatemala.  So when they wrote asking me to let you all know about a competition for Haitian Entrepreneurs awarding $50,000 for the winning proposal, I had to blog about it. I [...]

Delta is now flying to Haiti, and the deals are hot!  $129 one way to Haiti.

Delta is now flying to Haiti, and the deals are hot!  $129 one way to Haiti.

#travel Anyone traveling to Haiti knows there is virtually only one way to get there and back:  American Airlines (well, unless of course you are going to take a skiff across).  This is why the news that Delta is going to start offering flights to and from Haiti is such good news.  No longer will AA [...]

#haiti Grassroots Efforts in light of Préval’s Visit The response to my blog on Préval’s visit to Washington demonstrated two things: people are dissatisfied with what is currently happening economically in Haiti and that current solutions being pursued by the government have not worked.  Yet I believe it to also important to state that I am not [...]

This past week, President Préval was stomping through Washington D.C. trying to garner aid for his impoverished country.  While nothing significant for Haiti was gained in the process, it was notable that he became the first head of state to meet with the new secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Now I have no problem with Préval [...]

# Haiti Well our second episode of Haiti in Focus is up and live.  In it Kristen and I explore the idea of the Haitian upper-class, commonly known to the Haitians as being bourgeoisie.  Many times this judged solely by skin color because typically the middle and upper class of Haiti are of lighter skin.  As [...]

So I am sitting here at 5:30 in the morning, the school I teach at has just gone on a two hour delayed start due to snow, and I have justfinished reading an article published in the Columbia Spectator titled The Faces Behind Poverty Statistics by Kimberly Alzuphar.  All I can say is wow. Alzuphar wrote [...]

Anyone who has ever traveled to Haiti from the United States is quite familiar with the warnings posted by the United States Department of State.  Airlines tickets tout warnings.  Travel agents discourage visiting this country.  Americans who have traveled there without doing their homework weave bad tales.  So it is no surprise that “the State [...]

I ran across this video on Youtube and was astounded.  Hands Together does a phenomenal job, working in one of the poorest areas of Haiti, not to mention one of the most dangerous places in the world (according to the U.N.  I mean. after all, this is the place in which Americans and other nationalities [...]

We want to invite everyone to join us live around 8 PM tonight as we record our second show with Curt Edwards, co-founder of Haiti For The Kids and the Connection Project.  Come watch us, hear us, and chat with us as we record our show on the Live! page of our Haiti in Focus [...]

I am almost certain that if you were to ask any of my students who the Queen of Spain was, none of them would know the answer. If you would have asked me that very same question three days ago, I wouldn’t have known it either.  The only queen of Spain I ever knew was [...]

What is Haiti’s biggest hurdle?  Voice your opinion now! The biggest hurdle facing Haiti today is: The current global economic crisis. Natural disasters. The mentality of the Haitian people. pollcode.com free polls

So this Saturday, we will be recording the second podcast/internet radio show for Haiti in Focus and we will be trying some new things.  Best yet, we want YOU to be apart of the experiment.  You can now participate in our show. On our Live! page located at Haiti in Focus, we will be using Ustream [...]

This is the ultimate dream of any boy….to hear their teacher state:  “Comic books will improve your reading.  Keep reading them.”  As a teacher, I, myself, have occasionally used comics to teach dialogue or literary concepts.  But when NPR picked up a story claiming comics books were being used to fight illiteracy in Haiti, I [...]

I remember my wife standing in a line 200 hundred deep at a bank in Haiti.  This was after she and Esperando had traveled from ATM to ATM, each one either out-of-service or out-of-money.  The Haitians in front of her were idly chatting and did not appear to be in any hurry.  Even Esperando took [...]

Adoption in Haiti is a weird, long drawn out process.  I recently heard that the average adoption in Haiti takes anywhere from 2 to 3 years.  Kris and I know there is truth to this since we are adopting from Haiti and know this first hand.  We have been waiting three years. But Taicha is coming.  [...]

Its easy to talk about Haiti.  What is difficult is to convey the many varied aspects of Haiti.  Stories  convey some of what we feel and see.  Photos accent those stories.  Just wanted to drop a note today and point out what I feel is a particularly good site that depicts the many faces of [...]

A Poor Haiti’s Rich Art. Haiti: the poverty is extreme and every Christmas commercial stereotype of emaciated children is a reality here.  According to an article in the Miami Herald, Haiti’s problems are expected to get worse (See here).  When one flies over Haiti or walks the streets of Port-au-Prince, one might say the land is [...]

Click here to see the video. Its rare that you hear about something like this happening in Haiti.  So when I was perusing Haitian News Today and saw this video, I just had to share it!  By the way, we are listed in itunes now!  Tell your friends,  leave reviews!

Welcome to the first Haiti in Focus podcast. In this podcast we talk about why we are doing a podcast on Haiti and what we hope to accomplish.  Please give us your thoughts, suggestions, ideas, and any comments or questions you have reguarding Haiti. You can call us at (717) 983-4314 or e-mail us at [...]

So our inaugural podcast for Haiti in Focus has been recorded.  Kind of introduces both Kris and I to everyone as well as shares some stories that defined our life in relation to Haiti. We are ecstatic about this and look forward to interacting with many of you.  We hope to have the podcast posted [...]

Christmas dinner at Grandma’s has been digested and pounds added, gifts lie tucked away in their corners, and I am at the gym, glad the holidays are over and that the trek toward spring has begun.  Yet, for Haiti, the holidays are still here. The feast of “Los Reyes Magos” (The Three Kings) is a Christmas [...]

This appeared in the AP yesterday. Miami Thousands of shoes left on a road in Miami will be sent to families in Haiti. The Florida Highway Patrol said that workboots, slippers, trainers and in-line skates appeared mysteriously on a busy road, disrupting traffic for hours. The charity Soles4Souls, based in Nashville, said that it would redistribute [...]

After the disasters they went through in 2008, Haitian people celebrated the start of 2009 more or less happily - in Haiti, January 1st marks not only New Year, but also the date when in 1804, the island got independence from France, becoming the first black democracy in the world. Some French-speaking Haitian bloggers pay homage [...]

With your hosts Scott and Kristen, this podcast comments on Haitian news, stereotypes and misconceptions, and personal experiences in Haiti.  Explore Haiti through interviews with Haitians, Americans who have worked there, adoptive parents, and more.