Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Former Presidents Bush, Clinton Visit Haiti

   VOA News 22 March 2010
   Haiti's  President Rene Preval, left, former President George W. Bush,
   center,  and  former  President  and U.N. special envoy for Haiti Bill
   Clinton  greet  people  at  a  makeshift  camp for homeless earthquake
   survivors located next to the Presidential Palace in

Photo: AP

   Haiti's  President Rene Preval, left, former President George W. Bush,
   center,  and  former  President  and U.N. special envoy for Haiti Bill
   Clinton  greet  people  at  a  makeshift  camp for homeless earthquake
   survivors  located  next to the Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince,
   22 Mar 2010

   Former  U.S.  Presidents  George W. Bush and Bill Clinton have visited
   Haiti  as  part  of  their  effort to raise aid and investment to help
   Haitians recover from January's earthquake.
   The  two  former leaders made their first joint visit Monday to Haiti,
   where  they  met  with  President  René  Preval  at the badly damaged
   presidential palace in the capital, Port-au-Prince.  Mr. Bush and Mr.
   Clinton  were  also  due  to  tour  a tent city of homeless earthquake
   victims and visit a factory.
   Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton were tapped by U.S. President Barack Obama to
   lead  fundraising  campaigns  and oversee long-term reconstruction and
   relief  efforts  in  the  Western  Hemisphere's poorest country.  The
   non-profit  Clinton Bush Haiti Fund has raised millions of dollars for
   relief efforts.
   Separately,  the  Inter-American  Development  Bank Monday said it had
   agreed  to erase $479 million of Haiti's debt.  The European Union is
   also  expected to provide $1.36 billion in development aid to Haiti in
   the coming years.
   Even  before  January's devastating earthquake, Haiti's government was
   struggling  to  recover from tropical storms that wiped out 15 percent
   of the country's economic output in 2008.
   An  international  donors conference for Haiti takes place March 31 at
   United Nations headquarters in New York.

   [Some information for this story provided by AP and AFP.]

.