Where Did The Money Go? Part 1

"What You Can Learn From A See-Thru Pig"

by Elona Dotson

Tonight I was sitting on my couch looking around my living room.  My eyes settled on the fireplace mantle and on one of my favorite items that resides there…Malachi.  Malachi is a see through piggy bank.  Malachi has been a part of my family for many years.  When my daughters were young, we started a family tradition of putting all our loose change in Malachi and saving it until Malachi was full.  Then, we would cash all the coins and use the money for a special treat, like going to the movies, out to lunch, out for ice cream or doing something else for fun.  My girls would watch, in great expectation, the change in Malachi grow and watch Malachi fill up.  I thought, there is nothing like being able to see where you put your money, watching it grow, and being able to see the effect or end result of spending it.  This joy is the reason why the Malachi tradition in our family still exists.  

I thought, what if the Malachi principle was applicable to the NGOs?  What if all the money donated to them was as transparent as when I look at Malachi?  What if we could tangibly see the results of the $1.6 billion in aid relief and $2 billion in recovery aid that was supposed to be given to Haïti and the Haitian people?  Yet, what we saw was nothing.  Most know that almost none of the money donated by the general public went to Haïti or its people.  So where did the money go?  Where is the Malachi in all this?  I and others search for the truth no matter what it may reveal. 

The search begins with  Community2Community’s (C2C) summer Town Hall meeting on Tuesday, June 19, 2012, at 6:00pm, featuring a screening of the film, "Haïti-Where Did the Money Go?," written, produced and filmed by Michele Mitchell, Co-Founder and Executive Editor of Film at Eleven.  Following the screening, C2C hosts a panel discussion and Q & A with a focused response by the Haitian community and Diaspora. The event, which will take place at Brooklyn’s Borough Hall, is co-sponsored by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and is part of Borough Hall’s Caribbean Heritage Month, a month-long festival celebrating Caribbean American culture.  The film, which aired nationally on PBS (Channel 13 in New York) has received much attention and is currently screening in various venues around the country. The Town Hall will provide a platform for the Haitian community to view the film and provide their feedback and comments. Confirmed panelists include Michele Mitchell, along with Haitian Councilman Mathieu Eugene (District-40), Councilman Jumaane Williams (District-45), Haitian American Caucus (HAC) President Sadrack Belony Diaspora Community Services Director of Programming and Training Saeeda Dunston and C2C CEO+FireStarter Marie-Yolaine Eusebe.   To quote Marie-Yolaine, “we must keep the question of where did the money go? relevant as it pertains to Haïti until funds have been properly dispersed”.  Equally important is the need to show how smaller Haitian non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) are doing collective work on the ground and doing much with little and without supplied funds from the bigger NGOs or governments.   It can be done.  We are doing it!  Come see how!

This town hall is the first of several Town Halls that C2C will present to the Haitian community as part of its intent to Expose, Educate, and Engage the community toward the development of a self-sufficient Haïti. I guess you might say that we have found a place on our mantle and we are waiting for a Malachi to be presented.  Won’t you join us? 


Elona Dotson is Director of Productions and Logistics for Community2Community.  She is the executive producer of the "Hope and A Future" Benefit Concert for Haïti.  Contact her at elona@community2community.info