Folks,
I left Haiti in March and haven’t yet returned. This is the longest I have been away in eight years, and I miss it deeply. I’m hoping against hope to return to Leogane in August.
The country’s collapse has filled the news: assassinations, people fleeing, gangs, murders, hunger, and political chaos. One often wonders how much more worse it can get.
The last week or two, however, something has started to happen. First, the Transitional Presidential Council has selected Garry Conille as Prime Minister to serve until February 2026. In turn, a Cabinet is being named and the government is being reassembled. In addition, Kenya is leading a security mission in Haiti with personnel already arriving in the country.
It is reported that people are beginning to step out into the streets. The overwhelming fear of violence has lessened enough that they are emerging from their locked down homes. And, in another big step, the airport at Port au Prince has reopened.
In our local CODEP world, the nurseries are stretched because the markets have been effectively closed so there has been no rotted fruit to scavenge for seeds. However, the cycle of planting continues as best it can. I am particularly struck right now by the workers. They range from post-middle-school youth to 70-year-olds. Imagine a teenager and a grandmother working side by side stuffing dirt into containers, stooping over to hand water seedlings, and tamping down dirt around a new planting. Imagine the conversations and stories!
If I can get my arms around anything, it is that the CODEP world is defined by the long view. It is about growing trees over the decades. It is about spanning the generations. It is about educating the young, mentoring the emerging adults, and encouraging the new leaders,
Mostly, it is about faith in the future. How can you plant a tree whose full shade you won’t know, whose fruit won’t arrive for years? Haitians are remarkable people.
Michael Anello
Executive Director