Mr Peck

[This is posted about two months after it was written.]

Help is coming. But today, hinderance is coming too.

His codename is Mr Peck, because it is an open secret who he really is. We weren't supposed to know until three days ago. I had heard mutterings of his involvement, but I was aware two weeks ago and I think I was possibly the last to know. 

Sean Penn is out here at the moment and has been for a while, taking on the role of a humanitarian. He attends meetings along with the rest of us, gives updates on the work he and his organisation are doing, and the status of the IDP camp they are working in. I offer no opinion as to whether this is a good or bad role for him to be playing in Haiti - I have not had experience of working with him - but merely I think it interesting that Sean Penn has chosen to contribute this way. [Since I wrote this, my opinion of Sean Penn has deteriorated significantly, mostly due to an interview with CNN in which he stated how his was the only aid organisation doing any good work. Moreover he described how he had single-handedly organised a relocation from a flood-prone camp to Corail, in the north of Port-au-Prince. I know of five of six major agencies, including my own, who had significant roles in that move. I don't quite see the contribution he and his organisation made.]

Mr Peck is different, unfortunately. He is an equally, if not more well-known celebrity, and is coming to visit, to see the work that his fundraising has been put to. He will be here for two days and then return, having ensured that sufficient people in his entourage (approximately 20) have taken photos of him with smiling kids. 

Mr Peck began being involved in the work we are doing in Haiti 18 months ago, when he organised fundraising from his fans in order to support a school here. The total raised was $300,000, which is not actually that much money. Moreover, only $40,000 was given to us. It is highly likely Mr Peck can afford to write a cheque for the total amount from his own funds without batting an eyelid, but it still took over a year to receive the remaining 85% of the money. I cannot confirm, but it may have taken a year plus a large earthquake that received lots of press attention. 

Its major benefit was raising awareness amongst his followers. But now the feeling is that we begrudge that. The awareness he raised wasn't all that helpful, and he now is aiming to take portrays him as saintly, how good he is, he was supporting education in Haiti since long before the earthquake. Except the time, and particularly the effort it has taken us to receive the support from him almost means its worthless. 

Now, of course, he's come and the whole office is working to impress him, instead of doing our jobs. Numerous vehicles have been requisitioned to support his two-day trip north, when we are already struggling to provide sufficient vehicles to undertake emergency work. People have moved out of their accommodation, to squat in the rooms of others so that Mr Peck and entourage could sleep comfortably. In general, we are bending over backwards. 

'We' here refers to people on the ground here. If we were to get our way, we would cancel celebrity visits. It's not that easy, however. Head office, of course, likes such visits, but the question remains: Is the awareness raised worth the disruption to programming?