Haiti was the subject of intense, international media interest in the days and weeks following the earthquake, and the Haitian Ministry of Culture and Communications fielded the vast majority of those inquiries, conducting as many as 40 interviews a day.

Since that time, media focus on Haiti has slowed considerably. International media coverage now consists of periodic update stories, which are generally negative regarding the competence of the Haitian government, the level of recovery that has been made and the upcoming threat of rainy season. Marie-Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue, Haitian Minister of Haitian Culture and Communications, requested the assistance of FAVACA to provide a volunteer to teach her staff how to craft a strategic communication plan to improve the Ministry's effectiveness in sharing information internally with the people of Haiti and externally with the international media.

FAVACA in collaboration with the US Embassy in Haiti was able to enlist Michelle Ubben, partner and chief operating officer of Ron Sachs Communications, one of the top independent public relations firms in Florida and one of the top 100 in the U.S., to volunteer her expertise in working with the Minister and her staff to craft a strategic communication plan. Ubben traveled to Haiti April 25-29, 2010. Despite remarkable challenges, including the need to operate the Ministry out of a series of tents on the perimeter of a tent community, the Ministry possesses a number of assets in their continued effort to inform Haitians and the international community on the progress being made toward recovery.

The State University of Haiti [Université d'Etat d'Haïti] (UEH) traces its origins to the 1820s with the establishment of the law school and the medical school. Since that time, the university has added a variety of other departments and institutions in Port-au-Prince and across the country. The January 12 earthquake damaged or destroyed much of the university's infrastructure forcibly closing the school and leaving students without an option for continuing their education. Seeing the need to create a sense of normalcy for students across the country, Jean-Vernet Henry, Director of UEH, contacted FAVACA to help reopen sections of the campus by having structural engineers assess some of the damaged buildings and to create plans and blueprints for a whole new campus. FAVACA, in collaboration with Florida International University's Department of Civil Engineering, Miami-Dade Public Schools and the Multicultural Educational Center provided first time volunteers Marie-Elsie Dowell, a Miami civil engineer and Vice-President of Parsons Brinckerhoff; Ronald Colas, a civil engineer from Pembroke Pines and the Principal and General Manager of Burns & McDonnell's Florida Office; and Terrence Lee, a structural engineer with Terrence Lee Consulting Structural Engineers in Santa Rosa, California, and a specialist with seismic strengthening and analyst, traveled to Port-au-Prince March 25-28, 2010. The team of engineers assessed and evaluated the existing buildings for structural damages. The engineers also evaluated a portion of land owned by UEH to house a new campus and temporary structures to allow for some departments to reopen. A comprehensive plan to create state of the art and environmentally friendly campus completed by April 12, 2010 and was submitted to funding agencies.

Following the January 12^th earthquake in Haiti, Hosean International Ministries (HIM) opened their complex in Pignon to house, feed, and educate over 350 people seeking refuge from the disaster. While many of the initial needs for food and medical attention were being met, founder of HIM Caleb Lucien noticed that many of the refugees especially the youth were potentially suffering from post traumatic stress. In 2008, after four hurricanes devastated the town of Gonaives, Lucien requested FAVACA trauma counselors to work with Haitians who had lost so much. Seeing similar reactions in and around the camp, again Lucien contacted FAVACA which responded with two recovery teams of three Haitian-American trauma counselors. FAVACA volunteers Lory Servil, Deerfield Beach, Natacha Jean-Francois, Miami, and Hardy Nicoleau, Loxahatchee, traveled to Haiti February 21- March 1 and provided group therapy and individual counseling primarily to youth.

Building on work and needs identified by the first team of counselors, Nikcy Clervil of Jacksonville, Florida, Tania Delinois, Ft. Lauderdale, and Danielle Romer, Miami, traveled March 1- March 8 to reach additional youth and to provide children with additional counseling. Focus was given to coping mechanisms for trauma experienced during the earthquake and to help children cope with the loss of family and friends. The teams recommended that a full time counselor be assigned to the camp for ongoing sessions and to implement more activities such as sports, movies and crafts to occupy the children and reduce time focused on the negative experiences they witnessed. This project was funded in part by a generous donation by MoneyGram International's Global Giving initiative.

Long-time FAVACA partner and Haitian Minister of Tourism, Patrick Delatour, now head of the Haitian Commission Responsible for Shelter Building and Reconstruction Planning, requested assistance from FAVACA. Volunteer Jack Sullivan, an Orlando-based structural engineer, traveled to Port-au-Prince February 16-23, 2010, to work hand in hand with the Government of Haiti to assess damaged buildings. The analysis and cost assessment are in support of the United Nations' March 31st donors forum in New York where the Haitian Government will request the necessary funds to rebuild the country.

Following the devastating January 12^th earthquake, veteran FAVACA volunteer Lory Servil, North Miami, provided her psychiatric nurse experience to benefit numerous domestic and international organizations providing care to the injured. Supporting the efforts of the United Nations, Relief International, Bread for the Poor, and the Children's Kingdom Orphanage, she spent two weeks providing urgent medical care for the critically wounded and assisting with infection control and the emotional comfort of patients. As a Haitian Creole speaker, Servil also helped assess damaged medical facilities with Relief International including the General Hospital, Hospital Saint Francois de Sales, and a dozen other hospitals and medical facilities. Servil traveled to Haiti January 17-February 1, 2010. This project was made possible due to donations from our generous supporters.