The Foreign Service Journal, January 2011

left the house 15 minutes before, or I’d have been killed. I’ve gotten my 88- year-old mother into the countryside and my 19-year-old son to Miami. And I’ve got a job.” True Grit A year after the earthquake, Haiti continues to endure more than its share of hardships. There have been tropical storms and a cholera outbreak, even as thousands of people continue to make do in their tent cities. And the country’s outlook is so dire that it was recently designated as a priority recip- ient in the Obama administration’s “Feed the Future” global food security initiative. The path for our school-building proposal has also been rocky; initially rejected, it has been resubmitted, and we do not yet have a definitive answer. In the meantime, more of the Petites Ecoles have been repaired or rebuilt and are back in operation, a small but encouraging improvement. I’ve worked with other develop- ment groups to assist Haiti, as well. Studying the country’s agricultural de- velopment plans, for example, I can say that they make sense. But most of all, I continue to be encouraged by the determination shown by the Father Zucchis and the Maries of Haiti. It’s their grit that will yield progress. ■ 38 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 1 The church overflowed with people cleanly and neatly dressed, devout and joyous. Help AFSA Go Green and Save Some Green t Please make sure we have your e-mail address! As AFSA prepares to institute more environmentally friendly practices, significantly reducing our consumption of paper, we are asking our members to please ensure that we have their valid e-mail addresses on file. This will allow us to contact you by e-mail rather than cluttering up your home with paper mail, and it also leads to significant savings in postage. We ask our active-duty members to give us their “.gov” e-mail addresses, as those are unlikely to change throughout your career. For all others, any valid e-mail address works! Thanks for helping us go green — and save some green! You can submit your e-mail address either by sending it to member@afsa.org or visiting www.afsa.org/addresschange.cfm. American Foreign Service Association www.afsa.org Art: iStockphoto.com Dear Readers: In orde r to produce a high- quality product, the FSJ depends on the revenue it earns from advertising. You can help with this. Please let us know the names of companies that have provided good service to you — a hotel, insurance company, auto dealership, or other concern. A referral from our readers is the best entrée! Ed Miltenberger Advertising & Circulation Manager Tel: (202) 944-5507 E-mail: miltenberger@afsa.org You Are Our Eyes & Ears!