Making Haiti Sustainable

It's been one year since first left for Haiti—just picked up and moved to help in any way she could in the wake of the devastating earthquake of January 2010.

After months of wandering tent cities acting as nurse and aid, the former Palo Alto teacher has made Haiti her home, devoting the next two years to building a new school and community center on the island of La Gonave, off the coast of Port-au-Prince.

"This is a really great grassroots project," said Peter Drekmeier, former mayor of Palo Alto, at Kobza's presentation at World Centric in Palo Alto Thursday night. "It's amazing what Kelly has done in less than a year."

On her first trip to Haiti, Kobza was struck by the impoverished state of the country—the third poorest in the world—and by the generous spirit of the Hatian people. So she decided to stay.

In less than a year, Kobza has befriended the mayor of Anse-à-Galets, where her six-week old school is growing—with 12 students, a cook and a teacher, so far.

To combat the the problem of deforestation in Haiti, Kobza and her enthusiastic Hatian team have planted 1,500 trees, donated by World Vision International.

"They were going to pay me $50,000 a year to count bags of rice in a warehouse," Kobza said of working with an NGO in Haiti. "I said, no thank you." Instead, Kobza created her own organization—Greater Good International—which is well on its way to gaining nonprofit 105(c)3 status.

"There's no politics involved. It's just people trying to help people," she said of her organization.

Kobza now returns to the United States only to renew her tourist visa so she can go back to Haiti, where her newest plan involves building a sustainable community center.

Since the earthquake, most Haitians have been forced to live in tent cities, where crime is high and frequent floods keep them standing on their dirt floors throughout the night, holding their few possessions out of the torrents that inevitably flow through their makeshift homes.

With the help of architect Michael Reynolds of Taos, New Mexico, Kobza built a sustainable Earthship dwelling made out of one of the region's most abundant resources: trash. Using tires, bottles, styrofoam and carboard, Reynold's design creates an insulating and cool structure that can withstand hurricanes and earthquakes.

The dome roof and water catchment system reycles fresh rainwater—a luxury in the region; bottle walls built with plastic bottles and cement in a honeycomb cement structure hold form.

That home, built on the mainland of Haiti, cost $3,500 to build. Once Kobza can raise the necessary funds, she plans on building a community center for the people of Anse-à-Galets. The center could become the prototype for NGOs looking to fund such structures on mainland Haiti.

"I'm trying to make sure that the Haitians know how to do this for themselves," said Kobza. "I think in an oppressed society, you get so overwhelmed, you don't even know where to begin." But for the impoverished locals on La Gonave, Kobza is a breath of fresh air.

"The mayor calls me his muse. Wait 'til he hears what I have in mind next," Kobza grinned.

Each student in Kobza's new school was taken off the streets, from the poorest of the poor communities. For $848 dollars every six weeks, these 12 children have four hours of lessons and a solid meal every day, academic supplies and t-shirts; the cook's and teachers' salaries are also included in the cost.

Best of all, "They're happy," says Kobza. In a country where the literacy rate is 52 percent, these kids have a chance.

Kobza's team plans on planting 300,000 more trees in the 200-acre preserve in Anse-a-Galets in the next five years. "The biggest problem with the preserve is making sure the trees survive," said Kobza of the trees which are often trampled by cattles or wiped out by hurricanes.

Kobza encouraged Palo Altans to donate—money, supplies, expertise and time. She needs help with reforestation and sustainable building projects, and she hopes to inspire a few people to join her in Haiti—for a week, or whatever time they can spare.

"If you want to plan a vacation, the snorkeling is great, the food is good, and I'm not bad company," Kobza encouraged. She'll provide the tent, the food, and the place to make positive change in a truly needy community.

To donate to Greater Good International via PayPal, visit their website, www.greatergoodhaiti.org, and click on the "Donate" button. World Centric of Palo Alto will match up to $25,000 donated to the organization in 2011.