Samedi

New Orleans' Haitian Appreciation isn't limited to JazzFest. The Crescent City's Carribean Connection was on Mayor Mitch's agenda yesterday, as he traveled with several City department heads to Haiti. In the nation's capital of Port-au-Prince, the New Orleans contingent met up with former President and recently rechristened Demoratic Party Hero Bill Clinton, and officials from the Middle Eastern country of Qatar. The meetup was aimed at officially delivering a $20 million donation from Qatar to Port-au-Prince to assist in rebuilding after the 2010 earthquake.

Mayor Mitch and co. were invited because, having received $100 million from Qatar after the Federal Flood, they are seen as in a good position to give advice on recovery. The City will offer help to the Haitian government in the areas of "international cooperation, urban redevelopment, healthcare, tourism, and agriculture." Newly-hired Haitians will be "trained and guided by their New Orleans counterparts," said Qatar ambassador Mohamed Bin Abdullah Al-Rumaihi.

The City will also help create mobile health clinces in the Central Plateau and in the Lower Artibonite areas of the city. Addlitionaly, Xavier University of Louisiana and Universite Notre Dame d'Haiti (UNDH) will set up an exchange program that will allow Xavier to help UNDH to develop formal programs to train pharmacists.

"We want to help build capacity in Haiti, and we want to help them reimagine what Haiti can be. We’ll be with them for the long haul," the Mayor said.