PREPARING FOR SECURITY FORCES
The U.S. Air Force began flying civilian contractors and equipment to Haiti to set up a temporary living area for the U.N.-authorized multinational security force led by Kenyan police officers.
The Kenya-led mission will work with Haiti’s outnumbered police, adding about 2,500 additional officers. The Caribbean and African nations, including the Bahamas, Jamaica, Chad, and Bangladesh, have formally agreed to provide personnel. The U.S. has pledged to support the mission with about $300 million in funding. It will not put boots on the ground.
The PieH program assistant reports that Haitians are aware of the presence of U.S. contractors and are praying for good results. However, while waiting, gangs continue to set fires in the streets, and took over another police station in Gressier, Haiti, a city outside of Port au Prince, one where a some of our scholarship recipients live.
In the meantime, PieH scholarship recipients prepare to take their end-of-the year exams. Seven students are scheduled to graduate this year.