Haiti is officially known as the Republic of Haiti. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola and shares its border with the Dominican Republic. The total area of Haiti is 27,750 square kilometers (10,714 sq mi) and its capital is Port-au-Prince. The official language of Haiti is French and Creole.
Haiti is a very unique country. It was the first independent nation in Central/Latin America and the first black-led republic in the world to gain its independence as part of a successful slave revolution in 1804.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas; this is probably due to continuous political violence, health crises, an annual barrage of hurricanes and natural disasters. On January 12 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti and devastated the capital Port-Au-Prince and many other areas in the island. Although not accurate, it is estimated that more than 200,000 lives were lost and thousands more injured. Due to the severity of the earthquake, the Presidential Palace was destroyed and many more important infrastructures such as the Catholic Cathedral Church along with countless homes and businesses, many were left homeless.
Almost two years after the quake, the reconstruction of the country seems to be very slow. There has been little to no progress as the majority of the people affected by the quake are still living outdoors in foul tent camps and no one knows how long they are going to stay there as well as how long it’s going to take the government to start rebuilding the shaken and completely annihilated houses.
Along with the slow recovery of the rebuilding of the houses, only 5% of the rubble has been cleared, as no rebuilding could start until most of the rubbles are emptied. Today, most of the country is still covered under debris caused by the quake. The Haitian people have found this to be unacceptable as they patiently wait on the government to get them out of this nightmare.
A new plan for the reconstruction of Haiti was given by the mayor of the capital, more than 30 Haitians experts, engineers, architects; planners have contributed to this plan, a 14 month periodic research. In that plan, a new modern fully renovated Port-Au-Prince and a completely redeveloped waterfront was overlooked. The new city will also focus on bringing more tourists and provide world class leisure.
Many of the Haitians people believe that this dream of a new rebuilt capital is possible. The Haitian people want a modernized city capable of healthy and pleasant living environment for all. But all that could be an unrealistic dream if proper aid and leadership are not provided. The new elected president Michel Martelly is eager to help but so far his plans for the reconstruction of the country have been retarded due to political disagreements of the formation of his government and how he should be running things. 
The Haitian people don’t have time for all these childish waiting game, they need the government to take actions. No one knows for sure when true help will come due to political controversies between the Haitian governments. Private organizations many times have proved to be more reliable than the Haitian government as most of the help come from them whether overseas or local. Haiti is always in need of help, it looks as though not enough help goes to the Haitian people. In contrast, a lot of help has been given to Haiti but not enough actions are taken to ensure proper use. The Haitian people need the Haitian government to make use of the financial aid they continue to receive from willing donors as they know little to nothing concerning the amount of aid the country received in a yearly basis. As previously mentioned, getting financial aid is one but equal and proper distribution is another. Areas such as housing reconstruction, trash clean-up from the streets, electricity, potable drinking water and nutritious food as well as sound education and jobs creation are all part of the country’s desperate need. However way you may find suitable, don’t hesitate to help.
