As weeks have passed, we’ve been able to see the global response to the eco-humanitarian crisis in Haiti in a post-katrina world. US media efforts to cover the crisis have left me with the impression that lessons were learned. In the immediate afternmath of Katrina, we saw an American media quickly adopt a racist response as dark skinned folks ‘looted’ and light skinned folks ’struggled valiantly to protect their families.’ After the waters abated, many were able to critique the narrative that guided the American response. Distinguished newscasters openly apologized, and attempted to revise that storyline. Whether that attempt to re-write their role in the events as they unfolded really matters is questionable.

My general impression (and I openly admit that I didn’t go searching for people writing to the Pat Robertson crowd) is that the media has done more things right than wrong. Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta have produced a narrative that seems honest, and accurate, finding plenty of drama for the American audience in the true human elements, without needing to spin one of fiction. The reporter as hero is a seems a natural evolution for American journalism. Cooper’s chiseled features rescuing children would smack of big budget hollywood but the danger seems real. I’m happier to see the story become Anderson Cooper in Haiti instead of a fictional account derived from helicopter footage.  Additionally, much of the reporting on the current affairs and condition of Haiti has been informative without trying to sell us on a myth of sad but ‘noble savages.’

We saw the beginning of gotcha journalism in the critique of Wyclef Jean and Yele Haiti’s finances, only to see the media quickly course correct itself after the issue was disproven.

NPR Correspondant Jason Beaubien’s emotional breakdown was one of the most compelling pieces of journalism that I’ve ever experienced. It is truly an example of kind of raw emotional honesty that can accompany today’s journalism  without corrupting it. (Imagine if Glen Beck’s tears, and Olbermann’s outrage were backed by an ounce of Beaubien’s honesty). [LINK]

Photo: Jonathan Torgovnik

James White

One of my favorite designers/visual artists, James White, is donating all the proceeds from his sales this week to the relief effort in Haiti. This is a great chance to pick up one of his pieces. This should be an example of how ordinary folks can continue to do their thing and make a positive impact.

Check out his site here: Signal Noise

Photo: Gerald Herbert / Associated Press

Take a few minutes to look through this photo essay presented by the Wall Street Journal. The photos express the scope and tragedy in a way that the newscasts do not.

See all the photos here: Link

Note the difference between these 2 web addresses: http://support.doctorswithoutborders.org & http://doctorswithoutborders.scamwebsite.org

Unicef
Doctors without Borders
Direct Relief
Oxfam
World Food Programme
International Medical Core
Yele Haiti
Mercy Corps
American Red Cross
Save the Children

The losses that have been suffered in Haiti are nothing less than devastating, and responding to a disaster of this magnitude will require every element of our national capacity — our diplomacy and development assistance; the power of our military; and, most importantly, the compassion of our country.

Read the whole release here: Link

“Experience universal human rights the animated way with this latest moving creation by Eallin Animation from the Czech Republic and Art for Amnesty.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Nuru is intriguing new development project that is dedicated to eliminating extreme poverty throughout the world. It was started in september of 2008 by Jake Harriman, who attended the U.S. Naval Academy and served over 7 years in the Marine Corps as an Infantry Platoon Commander and a Special Operations Platoon Commander. This provides the organization with an interesting vantage point. Jake has made the connection between violence around the world and the hardships of extreme poverty. It’s this critique that is sadly lacking in today’s political discussions. I fear that as we continue to pour troops into Afghanistan and Iraq, we fuel hostilities and further ignore the root causes of violence.

Nuru has 5 areas of focus: Agriculture, Water & Sanitation, Healthcare, Community Economic Development and Education. It appears that they are currently tackling one project at a time – a wise decision for a new organization. Nuru is currently working in the Kuria district of Kenya, and their next project launches in Malawai in 2011. As an organization they are committed to empowering and training individuals from the communities they work in. I’m really curious to see an annual report. It would be great to know what kind of operating budget they’re working on, and how their resources are alocated.

This organization is definitely well packaged and well marketed. It’s got more of an MTV aesthetic than it does than it does a UNICEF one. That’s not a criticism. It doesn’t take long looking at non-profits and development organizations to realize that marketing is where many of them are trying to save some money. I know that with limited budgets, you want every penny to go directly to programming – but money intelligently spent (or well coordinated volunteer efforts) on marketing can greatly help with fund raising, and perception management. Those may be dirty words to a lot of idealists out there – but most realists know that how your organization is perceived incredibly important. Nuru could teach a class on it.

Their group focuses on a number of broad issues with a gender analysis; Economic Security, Violence Against Women, Education, Health and Leadership. It’s encouraging to see how many organizations are acknowledging women at the center of their economic development projects. I hope that some day we’ll see this be the rule rather than the exception. It’s a growing belief that women should be the center of economic development when discussing lesser developed countries, but on the flip side – I haven’t heard anyone suggest that the current economic debacle here in the states could be addressed by giving loans to women run ventures.

Check out some of their success stories – truly inspiring. If you’re looking to get educated about how a hi-level grant giving operation works, be sure to check out their publications. Their 08-09 Annual Report outlines each grant they made. I was surprised to see a wide range in the size of grants made. Lesson Learned: Small Organizations shouldn’t be intimidated about approaching larger grant making organizations.