^{Pain and Change}

Dear friends,

What a painful and challenging year this has been. We were just over half way through the last fiscal year when the earthquake struck Haiti on January 12th.  Even before the quake, it was shaping up to be a year of momentous change for Beyond Borders. We were engaged in spinning off a new organization (Haiti Partners), helping two other organizations get started (Groundswell International and Partnership in Local Development), and preparing to launch a new program (Rethinking Power).  Then the earthquake.

The largest humanitarian disaster in the history of this hemisphere struck the part of Haiti where our work is concentrated.

While overcome with grief, we knew there was no time to rest. We immediately began mobilizing a network of local, national, and international organizations.  Each group brought its own expertise or geographic focus. Together we mounted an agile and broad response.  Our years of experience in education and fighting child slavery led us to focus our efforts on children—protecting them, reuniting them with their families, helping them heal from the trauma of the earthquake, and getting them back into school.

Although the quake devastated a nation that was already suffering some of the most pressing economic and social conditions in our world, the quake also opened up opportunities for new directions. We’re working to redeem as much of the pain and loss by helping our partners in Haiti take advantage of these opportunities.

We couldn’t have made it through such a difficult year or achieved so much without the generous moral and financial support of you and thousands of others like you.

So, from the deepest part of us, we say thank you!

David Diggs, General Coordinator

P.S. This report covers our work through June 2010. Just as our work continues, including our response to the quake and now a cholera outbreak that is spreading quickly, we count on your continued support. Thanks again.