Navigating the Bureaucracy in Post-Earthquake Haiti

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

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    Joseph entering the state civil section office in Cap Haitien, the third of four stops as he looks for his birth certificate. (Anna Sale)

  • Rehabilitation in Rural Haiti

    Takeaway producer Anna Sale is on an eight-day trip to rural Haiti with a medical team at a hospital 75 miles north of Port-au-Prince. Her parents are part of the team and Anna is sending dispatches from the trip. While she's there, she is also on the lookout for someone who might make use of her late grandfather's prosthetic arm.

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On Monday, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush visited Haiti. All this week, Takeaway producer Anna Sale is also in the country, but at a rural hospital 75 miles away from Port-au-Prince. Today, she reports on the journey of 17-year-old Joseph Maxon, who spent his day navigating through Haiti's bureaucracy in search of a birth certificate.

The hospital continues to treat patients injured in the January 12 earthquake. Those injured are starting to heal, but as we reported yesterday, that's opening up sets of challenges for the patients who have no home to return to when their treatment is complete.

UPDATE: After a paperwork chase, Joseph received a birth certificate the day after this story aired.

Joseph Maxon is being discharged from hospital after the January 12 quake. His first task was to track down a birth certificate. He had help from Charge nurse Heather Toner of Liverpool, England.
Anna Sale/ The Takeaway
Joseph Maxon is being discharged from hospital after the January 12 quake. His first task was to track down a birth certificate. He had help from Charge nurse Heather Toner of Liverpool, England.
A gas station in the road between Milot and Cap Haitien, where the civil section office is.
Anna Sale/ The Takeaway
A gas station in the road between Milot and Cap Haitien, where the civil section office is. Joseph's whole family were killed in the quake.
The view from the car, crossing the bridge into Cap Haitien.
Anna Sale/ The Takeaway
The view from the car, crossing the bridge into Cap Haitien.
Joseph entering the state civil section office in Cap Haitien, the third of four stops in his attempt to get a birth certificate.
Anna Sale/ The Takeaway
Joseph entering the state civil section office in Cap Haitien, the third of four stops in his attempt to get a birth certificate.

Recent The Takeaway Slideshows

Guests:

Anna Sale

Produced by:

Marine Olivesi

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