Superhero Coronavirus Campaign Launched in Haiti

Haitian comic book artist Thony Loui's campaign illustrations in English and Creole.

Today marks the launch of a national campaign in Haiti using superheroes and a comic book format to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus. The country's infection curve has yet to begin the exponential rise experienced elsewhere, with 62 confirmed cases and four deaths reported (albeit with extremely limited testing to date). Getting the population to adopt prevention measures now is unquestionably going to save lives moving forward. Comic book artist Thony Loui has taken up this challenge using his superhero creations Tanama and Djatawo, along with recognizable Haitian street, market and home scenes, to highlight the importance of wearing masks, social distancing, hand washing and staying home.

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Reaching Rural Haiti With Distance Training on Coronarivus

Participants in Gonaives listened as a doctor from Port-au-Prince gave a coronavirus training via a
cellphone connected to a speaker (to right of the man holding the phone). Photo credit: 2nd Story Goods.

How can health professionals reach the rural population of Haiti with timely information about coronavirus prevention? One answer involves a combination of a cellphone, masks and social distancing. The Smallholder Farmers Alliance (SFA) and the Caris Foundation have completed the first Coronavirus Distance Training in which a doctor in Port-au-Prince gave a half-hour presentation via a cellphone connected to a speaker. For this first training session, six local community leaders were gathered in Gonaives, all wearing masks and spaced as per the new rules of social distancing. They had a printout of the presentation to follow along, and a lively Q&A came after the training portion of the call. The leaders left the training to go back to their respective local communities to begin sharing what they learned.

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Haiti Gets New Female Superhero Named Tanama

Thony Loui (orange shirt) was joined by students from Ecole Jean-Paul II yesterday in Port-au-Prince
to mark the launch of Tanama, who appeared as a life-size cutout. Photo credit: SFA/Thomas Noreille.

Actually “supershero” is the gender-correct term for this badass Haitian comic book character who emerged yesterday from a cocoon after a women farmer-led campaign to plant enough trees to revive her. Ok, this is part of the plot of Tanama Origin, the first in a series of comics in which this shero encourages children and youth to plant trees, support smallholder farmers and become agents for gender equality. 

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Haitian Supershero Supports Gender Equal Farming

Her name is Tanama and she is a shero! And while her official debut is not until March 13th, she wanted to be part of International Women’s Day this coming Sunday, March 8th. The result is Tanama shown posing above to reflect this year’s theme, “an equal world is an enabled world,” to which she would like to add a plea to, “support gender equal farming**.” 

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What if everyone in the world planted a tree?

What if everyone in the world planted a tree? That question is answered in a fantastic 2.5 minute video that is part of a series of thought-provoking videos from the BBC called IDEAS. Definitely worth checking out here.

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Uniquely Haitian Political & Security Puzzle

The volatile and often changing political and security situation in Haiti can sometimes seem like a three dimensional puzzle; very complicated and difficult to grasp because you can never quite figure out how the pieces fit together. Then, yesterday we learned that the army was exchanging gunfire with the police, but where did the army come from? Aren't the police and the army on the same side? And how does the recent spate of gang kidnappings fit into this picture?

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In the Eye of the Haitian Political Storm

Although there is a return to normalcy in Haiti following last year’s protests and national lockdown, it feels like the calm at the center of a tropical storm. The issues that led to the lockdown constitute the outer ring of the storm because they remain unresolved. But for the moment they are being held at bay and an inner circle of calm has resulted in a collective sigh of relief throughout the country. Children are able to go to school again, business and community life is back to its usual rhythm, and you can move around freely. Yes, there are some places where armed gangs are still active, but they are largely confined to specific roads and neighborhoods that locals monitor via the social media equivalent of the Waze app.

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On the Eve of the Earthquake’s 10th Anniversary, Timberland Reflects on a Decade of Investment in Haiti

Industrial looms weave Haitian-grown cotton, resulting from Timberland’s partnership with the
Smallholder Farmers Alliance, into sample fabric. The brand aims to introduce products with Haitian-grown
cotton in 2021.

REPRINT > by Atlanta McIlwraith Timberland Blog

Sunday, January 12 will mark the 10th anniversary of the catastrophic 7.0 MW earthquake that struck Haiti and shook the world. For months following the disaster, international media kept Haiti in focus and shared stories of loss, perseverance and hope. This anniversary and milestone presents an opportunity for the world to take new look at how Haiti has recovered and evolved over the past decade. At Timberland, we are doing just that. Our investment in Haiti began in 2009 with a commitment to plant five million trees in five years. That commitment led to an ongoing journey of learning, discovery and positive impact that we couldn’t have imagined at the time.

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