Haiti had appealed for $3.8 billion for the next two years. The U.N. chief said the $9.9 billion includes pledges of $5.3 billion from governments and international partners for the first 24 months of reconstruction, far-exceeding Haiti's request.
Ban told a news conference at the end of a daylong donor conference on Wednesday that the international community had come together "dramatically and in solidarity with the Haitian people" to help them recover from the Jan. 12 earthquake.
A piece from one of many news reports on yesterday's donor conference in N.Y.
Let us hope this money will not be lost in words and good intentions yet again not manifested into concrete actions leading to real change and hope for the Haitian people.
If they are skeptical and weary of promises not kept and of a government that does not fulfill its obligations to its people ... I understand why after having been there and talking with/looking into the eyes of those who suffer as a consequence; after having learned more of Haiti's long and tragic history.
On the "person to person" scale, the best of human nature has - and continues - to shine through in Haiti since the quake, in the Haitian people themselves as well as in the incredible human beings from all over the world who have offered support in person and through contributions. It remains to be seen if that will be the case on the larger scale of country to country - government to government. History shows it's not always the case.
There is no harm in thinking positive and envisioning this will be the beginning of hope for a sustainable, positive future for the people of Haiti and their country ... a new start where much that was so very wrong, can be righted.
There is harm in letting this country and these people down yet again.
