Boston Haitian doctor honored with prestigious award

Dr. Michele DavidBoston resident Michele David, MD, MPH, MBA, FACP, an immigrant from Haiti, has received the 2010 William A. Hinton Award.
David was selected by Public Health Commissioner Dr. John Auerbach in recognition of her many years of activism, commitment to public health and tireless work to educate others in order that they may better understand, promote and support efforts to eliminate health inequities. David is an assistant professor of medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine, director of community health programs at Boston University Center of Excellence in Women's Health and co-director of the Boston Medical Center Haitian Health Institute.

Radio station WFNX is hosting a live telethon for Haiti relief

WFNX will broadcast a telethon to benefit Partners in Health's efforts in Haiti tomorrow morning. Full details are here.

Farmer, PIH: Aide for Haiti must be rooted in respect for 'what Haitian people want for themselves'

Dr. Paul Farmer, along with colleagues from Partners in Health, authored an op-ed in today's Miami Herald that is a must-read. He says, in part:

SEIU 1199 donates $1 million to UNICEF's efforts in Haiti

1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East - whose Boston local has already distinguished itself by hosting a relief center for Boston-area Haitians - is stepping up yet again for the Haitian cause. SEIU, the largest healthcare workers union in the country - announced today that it is donating $1 million to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF for earthquake relief and recovery efforts in Haiti.

Salsa for Haiti: Multicultural coalition plans benefit in South End

A multicultural coalition of Latino organizations has pulled together a special Salsa for Haiti event for this Saturday, Jan. 30 at the Villa Victoria Center for the Arts in Boston's South End. Here are the details:

New Yorker: Edwidge Danticat on the loss of her cousin

Don't miss Edwidge Danticat's article in the new edition of the New Yorker magazine entitled "A Little While." The award-winning Haitian-American author recounts the life and death of her cousin Maxo.

Sunday jewelry sale will help rebuild, house people in Jérémie

Ruth Adomunes has never felt as if life was driven by technology. Yet for the past week, this local nurse and humanitarian has found herself glued to the computer and the television for information about Haiti since a magnitude 7.0 earthquake tore the impoverished Caribbean nation apart. More specifically, she is riveted by news about Jeremie, a coastal village located about 100 miles north of the epicenter of the catastrophic earthquake.

‘Mother Nature has risen up against us’

Haitian linguist and journalist Nicolas André sent this account of the hours and days after the Jan. 12 earthquake to BHR contributor Emmanuel W. Vedrine in Boston. Vedrine has translated his report from French to English.

Wyclef closes telethon on upbeat note: "Enough with the moping. Let's rebuild Haiti!"

For anyone who missed it (where were you??), here's the closing performance of last night's impressive Hope for Haiti telethon, in which Wyclef Jean and fellow Haitian musicians played a medley. The highlight: 'Clef saying: "Hold up, hold up. Enough of the moping. Let's rebuild Haiti... Let's show them how we do it where we come from." Solid indeed.

Former Bush advisor: We should open doors to Haitian immigrants post-quake

The Washington Post published an interesting op-ed piece on Thursday from Elliott Abrams, who served as assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs in the Reagan administration and was a deputy national security adviser to President George W. Bush. This veteran of two Republican administrations makes the case that many Democrats would likely agree with: We need to open the doors to a new wave of Haitian immigrants as one way to help Haiti in the aftermath of Jan. 12.

Boston Haitian Reporter