Children of Bel Air in capital Port-au-Prince enjoy the sports and dance activities provided by Norwegian Church Aid. (Photo: Laurie MacGregor/NCA)
The news that Michel Martelly, a popular entertainer turned politician, won the race against Mirlande Manigat, the former first lady, was received with widespread celebration among his followers in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince Thursday.
“This is an important day for Haiti. With the election of a new president, the country will now hopefully be able to put the past several months of disruption behind it and focus on building a future,” says Petter Skauen, special advisor for Haiti at Norwegian Church Aid.
Formidable task
The new president faces a formidable task: the devastated capital city, Port-au-Prince, needs to be rebuilt, along with much of the country’s infrastructure, which was decimated after the earthquake of 2010.
“The international community has pledged almost USD 10 billion over the next decade towards the rebuilding of Haiti. Now we have a president elected by his people, we need to ensure that donors keep their promises if Haiti is to pull itself up by its bootstraps and move on,” says Skauen.
Visible scars
Over 230,000 people lost their lives in the natural disaster, the scars of which today, more than one year on, are still clearly visible in the landscape, and the faces, of Haiti.
“Haitians will be looking to their new president to lead them not only through the reconstruction effort, but also the healing process. It is the least we can do to ensure that this poor country receives the money we have pledged to help it in this gargantuan task,” concludes Skauen.
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