Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Thank you Tina and Hina

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

Tina, Hina, and the Malankara Archdiocese check presentation

While every volunteer coming to work with Hands On Disaster Response gives 110% on-project, every once in a while HODR is graced with volunteers that keep that drive off-project, asking friends and family to participate in fundraising & awareness events. Volunteer-led fundraisers are a fantastic way to stay involved: they help support the causes we’re so passionate about by allowing others to follow in your footsteps, sometimes leading to spectacular results.

Tina and Hina spent time at Project Leogane earlier this year breaking concrete and pushing wheelbarrows in the hot Haitian sun. Returning home, they kept up their momentum and asked HODR to participate in a church networking event. HODR’s Development Director Andrew Kerr was able to attend, and Tina, Hina, and the Malankara Archdiocese presented HODR with a check for $28,172 for our Haiti fund.

Hands On Disaster Response would like to give our sincerest thanks to Tina, Hina, and the Malankara Archdiocese for this unprecedented donation. It’s contributions like this that allow us to continue serving communities worldwide.

On behalf of Hands On Disaster Response and the volunteers your donation will support, thank you.

Event: Bonfire Rocks for Haiti

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

VAIL DAILY, KZYR, BONFIRE ENTERTAINMENT AND VAILPM.COM are sponsoring

WHAT:  Bonfire Rocks for Haiti - a presentation on 10 days in Haiti by Scotty Stoughton followed by music from Bonfire and a Haitian Arts display

WHERE:  Paddy’s in Eagle Vail

WHEN:  Thursday Sept 9th @ 8pm

COST:  Suggested donation of $20 but any amount is welcome, even one dollar goes a long way!

DETAILS:  Donations get you FREE Creole snacks, plus some free beer and a mango cocktail – presentation at 9pm / music to follow.  Haitian art will be on display to bid on.  The money collected from the art will be brought down to Haiti and used to purchase a similar piece and returned to the buyer.  Donations from the door will be donated to Hands On Disaster Response for their on going relief efforts in Haiti, plus school supplies delivered by Stoughton.

Internships

Monday, August 9th, 2010

Thank you for your interest, but we are accepting no more candidates for the internship positions.

Communications Intern | Development Intern

Communications Intern

Hands On Disaster Response is accepting candidates for our Communications Intern position. The ideal candidate will have a background in documentary media production and journalism, and have the desire to work with a humanitarian aid / disaster response organization. The Communications Intern will report directly to the Communications Manager. Responsibilities include documenting projects and volunteer experiences using a variety of media, creating and maintaining a bank of raw and produced media, and managing online content.

The position is a 90-day commitment on location in Leogane, Haiti. This is an unpaid internship. Basic housing, meals and roundtrip airfare to Haiti are provided.

Position start date: September 1, 2010

Requirements:

Equipment:
• Digital SLR camera
• Laptop with photo / audio / video editing capability

Required Skills / Experience:
• Photography
• Video short production
• Excellent written communication

Desired Skills
• Web design and development (HTML / PHP)
• Audio production
• Experience with democratic / social media and online communities (Digg, Facebook, etc.)

The application period for this position has closed.



Development Intern

Hands On Disaster Response seeks a Development Intern to provide support in the areas of prospect research, grant writing and focus on the development of our alumni society. The Development Intern will report directly to the Development Manager.

This will be a 90 day on site internship in Leogane, Haiti. This is an unpaid internship. Basic housing, meals and roundtrip airfare to Haiti are provided.

Requirements:

  • Applicant must have strong communication skills, particularly a strong writing ability, attention-to-detail, organization skills, and interest in nonprofit development/fundraising or nonprofit management.
  • Preferably – one or more years of experience in development or fundraising.

The application period for this position has closed.

HAITI: If You Give a Town a School: What HODR is Doing for Education

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

Volunteers instruct teachers as part of HODR's Disaster Risk Reduction program

To rebuild a successful education system is to rebuild a successful Haiti. From creating space and structure for schools to training teachers, HODR volunteers are chipping away at a seemingly intractable problem, one piece at a time. HODR volunteers are involved in education projects including:

RUBBLE CLEARING. Nearly 4,000 Haitian schools were destroyed or badly damaged during January’s earthquake. Hundreds of those are now piles of rubble in Leogane.  While some of Leogane’s schools continue to function in tents, under trees, or wherever teachers and directors can cobble together protection from the sun and rain, hoisting a makeshift structure near a rubble site is not enough. Creating space for school structures helps return children to their normal educational routines, as a cleared slab gives school directors the room to rebuild.

Learn more about one school whose rubble HODR has cleared »

SCHOOL BUILDING. HODR is one of the only organizations in Leogane building schools so far this year, despite the need, due to many logistical roadblocks regarding permanent school structures. To skirt those obstacles and get as many children back in a functioning school as soon as possible, HODR will build a total of at least ten transitional schools in Leogane and surrounding communities over the next six months. Constructed with wood frames, wire mesh, and concrete masonry, the schools are hurricane and earthquake-safe, aesthetically pleasing, and give students a solid and safe space to learn in.

Read an update on HODR’s Transitional School Program »

TEACHER TRAINING. Many teachers in Leogane have never studied the science of natural disasters or practiced any safety protocol regarding disaster evacuation. Training teachers how to respond in the event of another earthquake or hurricane will help prevent future casualties in schools and communities. During the same daylong seminar, HODR volunteers also offer teachers ways to address trauma in children through creative art therapy. Both sections of the seminar have met with accolades from their audiences, who insist that they will use these techniques in their own classrooms.

Learn more about HODR’s Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) teacher training program »

HAITI: Building Transitional Schools in Leogane, Part II

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

HODR Volunteers gather for the opening of Transitional School #2

For a video slide show of a school build, click here.

What was once a pilot project is now in full swing: Over the next six months, HODR’s Transitional School Program will construct ten school buildings for the community of Leogane. With two completed and a third nearing its finishing touches, HODR volunteers and project coordinators are happy to announce the project’s continued success!

Funding to build the first three schools was provided by donations to HODR, while the next five will be supported by the Join Together Society (JTS), a Seoul, South Korea-based NGO specializing in education, public health, and disaster relief. The last two, again, will be funded by HODR.

Volunteers work to assemble the framing of Transitional School #2

Volunteers work to assemble the framing of Transitional School #3

As building permanent schools in Haiti is extremely delayed due both to limited resources and government regulations, transitional schools — the kind of hardy, temporary structures HODR is building and planning — are vital to reconstructing Leogane. HODR has chosen ten earthquake-flattened primary school sites where school directors have managed to maintain operation, often in a tent or under a tree, with most teachers still working on a volunteer basis. With a sound structure, these directors can use any funding they receive in the coming school year through small fees from students’ families or foreign aid to the Haitian government to pay their teachers and buy necessary materials, rather than exhaust their resources on shelter.

Small improvements to the original shelter design HODR implemented in Sumatra, Indonesia make the whole process faster and more streamlined, from prefabbing the wood to adding ventilation strips. “By the time we get to number ten, we’ll have this amazing, instant school,” says Sinead Clear, project coordinator. And the design is, in many ways, more suited to its Haitian environment than any concrete-block “permanent” school buildings would be. “Even in the worst case senario — another strong earthquake — the worst that will happen is that the concrete wall will crack, and maybe bits will fall off,” says Clear. Because the schools are built with plaster masonry, however, rather than structural, “it’s not going to fall on anybody.”  Each school features colorful murals, too, meticulously painted by HODR volunteers.

Procuring materials can be difficult, of course. “At the beginning, we didn’t have galvanized nails,” says Clear, “and we didn’t have tin, and there are still no screws anywhere in Leogane.” Most materials need to be sourced from the United States. Still, volunteers are resourceful, and manage to make do with what they have, each adding fresh ideas and expertise to the project as they arrive.

HODR volunteers train local teachers as part of the Disaster Risk Reduction program

HODR volunteers train local teachers as part of the Disaster Risk Reduction program

The first two HODR-built schools, Insitution Frere Casimir and Institution Chretienne de Bellevue, are now finished and classes have officially launched. HODR held a Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) teacher training program inside the first school, Institution Frere Casimir. “I can only thank the HODR volunteers” for the school they’ve built, says the school’s director, Jasmin Casimir. “It’s excellent work. Excellent.”

The launch party of the second school, Institution Chretienne de Bellevue, featured music, dancing, and speeches — including shouted, impassioned gratitude from the school’s director — and was a resounding success. While the satellite project had its challenges, the eight memorable weeks that HODR volunteers lived in the community of Bellevue and worked side by side with Bellevue residents resulted in close-knit relationships that help spread the word of HODR’s work in Leogane.

The fourth school HODR builds will be right down the street from the volunteer base. “I think our greatest impact will be the school that we build on this street,” says Clear. “We’ve done a lot of rubble removal around here. We’re quite linked to the community that way.” But constructing a school just a seven-minute walk from the base, she says, will certainly enrich HODR’s connection with everyone in the area. “It’s going to be super exciting to get that started.”

To learn about the pilot phase of HODR’s Transitional Schools Program, click here.

Sara Bernard is a HODR volunteer writing on-location in Leogane, Haiti. Photos taken by HODR volunteers Harry Fellows and Sara Bernard.

Volunteer eBook available from HODR Alumni

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

The Underground Guide to International VolunteeringKirsty Henderson, a veteran of four international HODR projects and other volunteering projects worldwide, has written an ebook called ‘The Underground Guide to Volunteering’ (www.nerdynomad.com/volunteering). Her aim is to provide people who want to volunteer worldwide with the knowledge and confidence they need to make it happen.

People who want to volunteer are often put off by fees charged by the companies who arrange the placement, sometimes up to $1000 per week, or more. Kirsty wants to show these people that the HODR model of free volunteering opportunities is alive and well all over the world. She gives tips on how to find these opportunities, lists helpful websites, interviews a selection of people who have volunteered worldwide in a variety of programs, and also includes a list of organizations in need of volunteers. She talks about managing expectations, choosing a volunteering opportunity that is a good fit for you and gives a lot of practical advice learned through first-hand experience.

‘The Underground Guide to Volunteering’ costs $14 and $7 of each sale will be donated to HODR with a goal of eventually raising $10,000. So far Kirsty has raised $1000 and she’s working hard at adding to that total. Buy a copy or tell your friends and help HODR in the process!

Kirsty Henderson is a HODR alumni writing from a constantly changing location. For more information you can visit her blog at www.nerdynomad.com.

HAITI: Local Volunteer Spotlight: Shooby

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

Shooby instructing local teachers as part of HODR's Disaster Risk Reduction program

Shooby Leroy Jean-Pierre is a HODR local volunteer. As a translator, educator, and general go-to guy, Shooby serves as a crucial liaison between the international volunteer team and the local community. He also represents another bridge between cultures: he lived in Miami for most of his life, returning to Haiti to a few years ago to take care of his family in Leogane. Here, he reflects on his experience with HODR and his life before and after the January 12 earthquake.

HODR: It’s pretty rare to see Haitians like you getting involved in volunteer organizations like this one. What attracted you to HODR?

Shooby: One of the things that I always kept in mind when I was growing up was not to have a closed perception or impression about life, or the way that you’re leading your own life. So I always try to keep an open mind about everything, just for me to be able to interact in different positions and with different people. So it’s another experience my life is going through, basically.

HODR Local Volunteer Shooby

HODR Local Volunteer Shooby

Tell us how you came back to Haiti.

When I was one I left Haiti. My auntie, she got me out of Haiti, and I grew up in the United States in Miami. I graduated high school in 2002 and my mom died in 2005, so I had to come back because I wanted to participate in her funeral, so I came back…. By me coming back, I eventually stayed, that’s about it…. My mother was taking care of my brother and one of my cousins, so when she died, I basically replaced her in some ways.

Do you feel like you’re more American or more Haitian?

Because of my personal background, I feel that I’m just me, going through life. Because this is not the first incident [of] someone to leave their home country and growing up somewhere else and coming back to their home country but with a different mind-state and a different mentality and a different view on life, so I’m still the same person if I grew up anywhere in the world. My view on life and the way that I try to make certain decisions, that comes from the way that I grew up, and the way that I just have my own personal view on life.

What have you found most rewarding about your work with HODR?

The most rewarding thing is that HODR is here. And that’s something that a lot of people are grateful for, because of so many different reasons. One of those reasons are: until HODR came to Haiti, where we were at in Leogane, we were just struggling. I was trying to find a job. A lot of my friends were trying to find a job, and we were basically unsuccessful in doing that because of the different criteria, different positions and just being able to get a job was kinda rough. So we was going through that for a while until we just touched down with HODR, just seeing how it is. Realizing that it’s a nonprofit organization, and just understanding why HODR is the way that it is, what benefits that it has, how can it help us in the future, how can it help us in the present time, how can they help us sort out any short-term or even long-term goals that we may have. HODR is basically what you’re hearing. It’s hands on. They’re giving us a hand, in any way that they can, to create possibilities for us in the future to have a better life.

What’s next for you?

Personally, I want to get into the fire academy in Canada, or I want to get a student grant anywhere so I could go back to school, and just see what’s out there. I want to keep my options open, to see what would be the best thing for me right now. And just to work on that to see if I’ll be able to achieve some of those goals that I have.

Do you think HODR has helped you find some of those opportunities to do things that are more international?

Yeah, I have a very good friend, TC, he always backs me up… He always try to give me a lot of confidence, try to give me a lot of push, try to sort things out between my situation and the way that that can work out so I can do better further down the line. So HODR actually creates a lot of advantages and gives you a lot of options, and you just have to be willing to go for it and try to make everything work out so you can be successful.

What do you hope to bring back to your community in Haiti? Do you see yourself coming back to Haiti someday?

It’s been an open option for a long time. I never thought about it. I see that Haiti is a lot of people enjoy, a lot of people would like to see it. Even though it may not come to something that they thought about in the past or even in the present time but for me personally, I would like to come back. And just be able to see what’s new, what’s changed, if there’s a particular position or something that needs an extra hand… I’m always willing to work with people to see what can I do, how can I participate, how can I put my hand in the pot, too? So what’s working can go on and, you know, get done.

How does HODR fit into your future and Haiti’s future?

Once we [the volunteers and staff] get together and sit down and we talk about the different situations that we’ve been going through and the problems that we have, HODR is here to give us a comfort, give us a safety blanket. And the Haitians need that, because Haiti is not done developing. There’s so much to be done in Haiti. The Haitians have so much to do, and HODR is one of the special kinds of organizations that gets personal with you, one on one… They find out what you can do, what you want to do… how you want to make certain things happen in your life. And they can either lead you in the right direction or they can prepare you for it. And it’s something that you don’t find every day in Haiti. So that’s why for me, it’s been real far out.

Are you hopeful for Haiti?

I’m very hopeful for Haiti, and I know that the population that’s in Haiti, too, they’re on hope and on like basically a new life, so a lot of people want a lot of things to change. A lot of people would like so many different options to open up for the people in Haiti. And we’ll just be waiting to see how that goes about.

Michelle Chen is a HODR alumni based in New York. This interview was conducted on-location in Leogane, Haiti.

A Goodbye from Beca Howard

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Dear HODR friends and family,

As some of you may know, I’m going to graduate school this fall and have stopped working for HODR to take the summer off before school starts. I wanted to send one last email to thank you for your help and support over the past few years and to introduce some new members of the HODR Team.

Some of you may already know our new Communications Manager, Aaron Mason, from his volunteer time at Project Sungai Geringging. We’re excited about Aaron’s extensive range of IT, media, and non-profit experience that will help raise HODR’s visibility.

We’re also pleased to welcome Administrative Assistant Kathy Estridge. Kathy has a strong background in grant work and emergency management and in this new position will focus on donations management and overall organizational support. To learn more about Aaron & Kathy, check out the updated HODR Team page on our website.

Over the past several weeks I’ve worked with Aaron & Kathy to help with the transition and I’m excited for everything that they bring to HODR. Please welcome them to the Team!

While I’m leaving my full-time position with HODR to further my education, I’ll still be involved just as all of you are. I hope to see you soon at a project!

It has been awesome working with you to help bring the unique model and heart of HODR to people when they need us most. Thank you for the amazing experience and memories.

Cheers to HODR – past, present & future!

-Beca

FUN & FUNDS for Haiti

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Benefit at First Parish Sudbury
327 Concord Road, Sudbury, MA
Friday, May 21 at 8pm

“Stand with Haiti,” hosted by First Parish of Sudbury, a Unitarian Universalist congregation, is an evening featuring Haitian-born speakers, showcasing slides from a recent visit there, plus Haitian music and food – all to raise money and awareness about what happened there in January and what must happen now.

Special guests, Serge Paul-Emile and Alix Cantave, both natives of Haiti, will speak briefly about the country’s history and then focus on current conditions as well as plans for continuing recovery. Cantave will show slides from his recent visit to the island. The evening will also feature both live and recorded Haitian music as well as traditional Haitian dishes.

There is no admission fee; instead, guests will be encouraged to donate to one or several of the disaster relief and recovery organizations present, for example, Partners in Health or Carlisle-based Hands On Disaster Response. Each will have representatives present to describe what their organization is doing to work with Haitians as they rebuild their lives and their country.

CHINA: Earthquake Update

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

A 6.9 earthquake struck China’s Qinghai province early on Wednesday morning, killing hundreds of people and leaving thousands injured. The Chinese government has quickly responded with significant search and rescue, medical, and army resources. At this time HODR will not launch an assessment or response project, recognizing the government’s significant resources and experience in disaster management.

HODR launched an extensive assessment following the Sichuan earthquake in China in May 2008. While we found warm communities and many opportunities for HODR to plug in, the government also maintained tight control over access and the situation on the ground. Qinghai is in close proximity to Tibetan areas and autonomous regions; we believe the government will again exercise its control over activities, news, and images coming from area.

The remote location, altitude, and harsh climate will make this a challenging rescue and recovery effort; the influx of rescue workers has already taxed the limited supplies of food, water, and gas available in the area. We offer our solidarity and support to the Chinese and anticipate their strong, capable response.