Mirebalais is Going Through a Rapid Transformation

I returned this week from a 20-day trip to Haiti, the longest in recent years! I took advantage of the long stay to reconnect with very some old friends and acquaintances from Haiti and the Diaspora; I also participated in the festivities surrounding the feast of Mirebalais Patron Saint, St. Louis, including the very thoughtful Soirée des Hommages, organized by the local chapter of Rotary Club, the traditional celebrating Mass at the Catholic church, the visit of President Michel Martelly to Mirebalais, and live shows by the popular Djakout and the sensational Tropicana, at Wozo Plaza in Ledier. My trip had two primary purposes:

• I was in Haiti to receive several pallets (26) of donated goods by wonderful friends of FATEM from the US, to be distributed to students and parents at all 15 schools within the FATEM school network; the goods made their way to Haiti through the generous assistance of the US Navy, via its Handclasp Program. The distribution went very well, thanks to ingenuity of FATEM local staff and our wonderful volunteers! Kudos to all of them!
• I attended to 1000 Jobs/Haiti as well, looking into our compressed earth block training that was being conducted by Prof. Satprem Maini from India, visiting our block-making site in Domond and our vocational school in Corporan, and looking into our water project in the Hinche area.

Mirebalais is transforming very rapidly, to the point that some people have acknowledged that the pace is too fast for a small region that may not be ready for it. From the new PIH teaching hospital, which will boast a 320-bed inpatient department, seven operating rooms, and will serve between 450 and 550 patients a day, to the availability of 24/7 electricity (a very rare occurrence in Haiti), the upcoming opening of the new Zynga/FATEM K-12 English language immersion Ecole de Choix in Boyer, and the availability of affordable fiber-optic broadband Internet by NATCOM, this gem of the Central Plateau is getting itself ready timidly for major investment projects, and can quickly become one of the development hubs of the new Haiti.

Prior to that last trip, I was in Mirebalais in July 2011 to attend a meeting called by the new Mirebalais Planning Lab Initiative, led by Alix Cantave of UMass, and supported by PIH, W.K Kellogg Foundation, Boston College, the local mayoral council, and FATEM. The goal of the planning lab is to use the new hospital as one of the impetuses for development in the region. This is a testament to the level of interest that has been expressed in the Mirebalais region recently. Since any development in a small region like Mirebalais will certainly bring with it unintended consequences such as crimes, it is important that the local police force be strengthened, so as to prevent them.

I have said it before on this blog and I will repeat it: if you are reading this and have been thinking about investing in Haiti, now is the time to check out Mirebalais. Please e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have specific questions.