Sean Penn and the J/P HRO: Part II

J/P HRO works with both government and non-governmental agencies to deliver immediate results where they're needed most. Principle efforts include providing emergency medical and primary care services, delivering needed medicine and medical equipment, rubble removal facilitating community regeneration, management of IDP camps, distributing food and water purification systems, improving communication systems, and developing housing and education facilities. The goal of J/P HRO is to help lift the nation of Haiti out of poverty and give the Haitian people a better life.

In the last year alone, J/P HRO has provided medical services to over 2,000 patients per week. They've established a full women's clinic that has treated over 10,000 women. Mobile medical units located in the camps have treated over 300 patients per week. J/P HRO has delievered over 100,000 pounds of medical supplies, and 65 tons of supplies for the cholera response. They've also educated thousands of families about cholera treatment and prevention through community health agents, and treated thousands more patients via state of the art Mobile Medical units.

Ecole de L'espoir (School of Beautiful Hope) is the primary school that J/P HRO opened in October. It is recognized by the Ministry of Education for providing over 260 students with a free primary school education- something rather uncommon in a country where there is no wide scale public education system. The J/P HRO community center offers adult literacy classes in Creole, French, and English, youth programs, sanitation education classes, and a job training program for adult camp residents. The classes are taught entirely on a voluntary basis by camp residents- providing the opportunity for those with specialized skills and trades to give back to their IDP community.

Determined to aid camp residents in the return to their neighborhoods, rubble removal became a natural extension of camp management goals. In the Delmas district, where most of the Petionville Camp residents are from, approximately 25% of the properties are declared red (unsafe or collapsed). J/P HRO has developed a reproducible and sustainable model for rubble removal that we have shared with all other entities in the country. Their quick, efficient and respectful clearing of neighborhoods has been held up as a model by prominent international organizations and local governments. J/P HRO has assisted the World Bank, IDB, Dalbergand USAID in developing ideas for community-based rubble clearance. Rubble clearance allows the rebuilding of communities, the returning of families to neighborhoods, and increased safety for all. It is anticipated that the reopening of schools and businesses will soon follow as communities are repopulated. The rubble clearing has encouraged Haitians to participate in spontaneous clearing efforts themselves. Every day evidence is seen of people clearing rubble from their home sites by hand, almost doubling the effectiveness of J/P HRO's work. The emotional, physical and spiritual impact of rubble removal cannot be underestimated. J/P HRO is responsible for removing 59,000 cubic meters of rubble and debris from the streets, the equivalent of 25-30 truckloads per day.

Before rubble removal

After J/P HRO rubble removal

Sources:
J/P HRO website.
http://www.jphro.org/

J/P HRO. (2010). Travel channel.
http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Anthony_Bourdain/Special_Features/J_P_Hro_Hatian_Relief_Organization

Cooper, A. (2010). J/P HRO: Combating Cholera in Haiti.
CNN.
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/12/10/jp-haitian-relief-organization-combatting-cholera-in-haiti/