New records in Haiti, but for all the wrong reasons. The prices increased by 1,5% in February compared to January, and on year-to-year the inflation is now at 17%. Food prices soared more than 20% over the last year. Selected price increases in one year that make daily life a bigger struggle than in a long time: Imported rice +…
The United Nations has finally acknowledged it played a role in an outbreak of cholera in Haiti in 2010 that has since killed about 10,000 people in the country. Studies have shown that Nepalese UN troops were the source of the disease – but the UN repeatedly denied responsibility until now. The cholera outbreak has been blamed on leaking sewage…
The school year 2015-2016 has just finished in Haiti. Millions of school kids are on their well deserved break. They will be back in their classrooms in September. The education system in Haiti is developing but to slow. Primary school enrollment is about 75%, up a bit from earlier years but still to low. An average Haitian over 25 years…
Political crisis Haitian President Michel Martelly stepped down from his office over the weekend. The country is left with no successor after elections were postponed twice due to allegations of fraud. – My greatest failure is the delayed elections, the President said when he addressed the National Assembly on Sunday. Protests and flashes of violence have added to the precariousness…
I’m now heading back to Haiti. It’s three and half years since I was there last time. A lot has happened; both in general and especially for Star of Hope and in the villages they support and the people they work with. I look forward to meeting all the people I know from before, and also get to know new…
Today the school year 2014-2015 opens in Haiti. Millions of school children return to their educational centers, and yet, almost one in four of all children are not enrolled. Haiti’s President, Michel Martelly, has made free public education one of his top priorities, and possibly won the election 2011 on that promise. Three years later, he has problem to fulfill…
The political problems continues in Haiti. A few days ago there were massive demonstrations against the government. Protesters are angry over the cost of living, unemployment and alleged corruption. They want to President Martelly to live his post. The police fired tear gas to split the demonstrators. Details here. I have tried to find detailed info on the cholera case…
An aging infrastructure and lack of resources means clean water is scarce, and sanitation is a matter of life and death. Access to clean, fresh water is a main concern in Haiti, where waterborne illnesses, such as typhoid, cholera, and chronic diarrhea, are the cause of more than half of the deaths in the country every year. Contaminated water is…
The United Nations’ (UN) World Water Day is held on March 22 each year. Events are organized on or around this day to increase people’s awareness of water’s importance in environment, agriculture, health and trade. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on December 22, 1992, declaring March 22 to be the World Day for Water each year. Countries were…
Today marks the International Day of Happiness. I wish everybody a big happy day. A few pics below I have been taken of people in happy moments.
Another busy week. I was in Örebro (about two hours drive from Stockholm) on a corporate job together with Kapybara media. Work went smooth. Unfortunately I broke the handle on my video camera. The handle just snapped when I was to remove it from the camera. I left it at the main Canon Professional Service Center. I claimed it on…
Haiti – Four years on January 12 marks four years since a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Haiti, killing over 300,000, injuring another 300,000 and leaving 1.5 million people displaced. Most people that lived in tent camps around Port-au-Prince and other cities have been moved; all together 1.2 million people have been relocated. But still 150,000 people live in camps, and…
2013 was a mixed year in many ways. But all in all it was OK, business wise better than I hoped for under the circumstances. Got a number of new regular customers. I hope to capitalize on that moving in to 2014. Especially some of the new corporate clients looks interesting I have to say. I have been very busy…
This weekend is really crazy with some major video editing and other projects. Need a break and decided to post some street pics. This last week it was final for a street photo competition. I entered three pics, and one made it to the final round but did not make it to the top three unfortunately. Well, I hope they…
Since a cholera epidemic began in Haiti in 2010, the disease has killed more than 8,300 people in that country. The bacteria that cause cholera may be settling in for good in Haiti, and meanwhile, its swath of destruction appears to be widening to other countries, researchers reported about a week ago. The cholera epidemic that surfaced in October 2010…