While Haiti is back in the news due to another nightmarish event, it seems important to talk about good things that are happening, propelled by the Haitian people themselves.

There are many people and organizations donating time and resources to assist Haitians in improving their own living conditions. This is the story of one such organization, the Vermont Haiti Project (VHP), which has partnered with several Haitian families on a number of important projects.

n A school. In Haiti there is no functioning public school system. Because the government has been unable to afford teachers, the private school system, supported by tuition, has become the primary educational system of the country.

In a country where the average income is less than $5 a day, saving for monthly tuition is virtually impossible. Therefore, most of Haiti’s children do not go to school.

With support from VHP, one family founded an elementary school in their own home in a poor neighborhood and is providing life-changing opportunities to more than 200 children. Started with just 12 students four years ago, Ecole Foyer D’Espoir (School House of Hope) has graduated students who have received the highest scores on their national matriculation exams.

n A clinic. Health care in general is not easily accessible; but in some regions it’s non-existent.

VHP supports a first-time-ever clinic in a small rural village in the mountains where a doctor visits twice a week, traveling by moped up a very steep dirt path for miles — a slow and dangerous trip.

In addition to providing direct care, the clinic takes a leading role in health education in the region.

n A bio-sand water filtration program. Because lack of basic sanitation is such a critical issue in Haiti, (the cholera epidemic traced to contaminated water has amplified the situation) VHP purchases home water-purification systems and has trained people to install them in a community where they have partnered with a family who lives there.

These basic systems are providing clean water to a community that has no running water, but takes its water from a well or a ravine that is filled with garbage (there is no garbage collection). This water purification system is saving lives — and costs very little.

n An orphanage. VHP has begun working with another non-profit organization, the Haitian Emergency Relief Organization, to improve conditions for children in an orphanage. They are creating a model program utilizing solar energy to provide electricity and hot water, organic gardening, and simply working to nurture, nourish and educate children who have been placed there by families not able to care for them or whose parents died in the earthquake.

VHP works hard to find resources to put additional doctors, nurses and dentists into the clinic, provide more equipment, medicine and supplies, purchase additional water filtration units, and, once assured that the school can sustain itself, open another, and provide a home-like environment for the children in the orphanage.

The newest project — in development — is building a training center in a small, rural mountain village to teach literacy and skills, such as mechanics, carpentry and welding; to help create jobs so people can return to their home villages from Port au Prince.

Since the earthquake, it is clear that the capital city is not equipped to manage an area so over-populated. It would be beneficial to all if people could live in other areas of the country. But until there are job opportunities and a minimum infrastructure in place, people will not leave the city voluntarily.

The most important aspect of these projects is that they were conceived by and are being implemented by Haitians themselves, who are taking their futures into their own hands, not waiting for a government or other agency to do it for them.

Many of the people working on these projects are themselves un-educated, but are committed to helping build a better life for their families, their neighbors, and their communities. The ripple effect is dynamic, as children doing well in school and clean water in the community testifies to.

The spirit of the Haitian people is strong, in spite of what they have endured for so many years.

Bonnie Rubenstein went to Haiti as a volunteer in October and plans to return. Additional information about these projects can be found at www.vermonthaitiproject.org or by e-mailing the writer at bonnie-rubensteinyahoo.com.