Raymond Joseph, Haitian Ambassador to the United States, recently visited Houston along with U.S. Congressman Al Green (D) and Martin Luther King III. In 10 minutes, the Ambassador gave a snapshot of the conditions in his country and insight into the strategic plans for rebuilding Haiti.

This SlideShowPro photo gallery requires the Flash Player plugin and a web browser with JavaScript enabled. Questions asked: What is the current state of Haiti? What are the strategic actions Haiti will undertake to rebuild over the next year? Give us some insight into Haiti’s financial status considering its debt prior to the earthquake and the potential new debt associated with rebuilding? How can America help Haiti? There are concerns that donations made to the America Red Cross will not all go to Haiti based on their equation for giving and people are concerned about how much really gets to the People of Haiti. What is the best way to help Haiti today? Rumors have surfaced regarding the stability of the Haitian government. Would you tell us what is happening? We hear about what America is doing to help Haiti.  How is the rest of the world helping Haiti?

BIO: Raymond Joseph

Raymond Alcide Joseph is mostly known as a journalist.  When he was 19 years old he established the first print shop and founded “Reyon Limyè” (Rays of Light), the first monthly Christian newspaper in Cayes Haiti.  “Rays of Light” still exists.

He became a radio personality in the 1960’s, having founded the first radio broadcast in New York beamed against the Duvalier dictatorship.  “Radio Vonvon” or “Radio Bug” was nicknamed the “Six O’clock Mass” because it hit the waves at 6:00 a.m. and was the broadcast not to miss.

Mr. Joseph translated the first New Testament and Psalms in Haitian Creole under the auspices of the American Bible Society in October 1960.

In the 70’s and 80’s he worked at the Wall Street Journal in New York as a financial writer and co-founded, with his brother Leo Joseph, the Haiti-Observateur, the first crusading commercial Haitian weekly.  The Observateur remains the premier organ abroad of the Haitian community.

In 1990 Mr. Joseph was called to be Haiti’s Chargé d’Affaires in Washington and his country’s representative at the Organization of American States.  After helping with the first democratic elections in December 1990, he returned to the Haiti Observateur where he remained until he was called back to Washington in March 2004, where he is currently the Ambassador.

Raymond Joseph is a graduate pastor from the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, a B. A. holder in Anthropology from Wheaton College, Wheaton, Ill.  He also has a Master’s degree in Social Anthropology/Linguistics from the University of Chicago.

Bio Source: Haitian Embassy

Defender