What started off as a pilot project to see if we could engage Haitian journalists and the community in a discussion on investigative journalism is now going to be an ongoing every-other-Saturday affair. As Haitians say – Ayibobo!

When Saturday’s rain started to fall, hundreds of people living in Place Boyer’s tent camp in Petionville had no choice but to hunker down for the night. Haiti Reporters, which was hosting their graduation under a tarp at Brazil’s Cultural Center just across the street, was more fortunate. They were able to move their celebration inside.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of my Fellowship in Haiti. It was a challenge-filled year and the path that has led me to a place where I have a new vista on journalism in Haiti has been strewn with obstacles and even a few dead ends. My overall experience has been one of tremendous personal growth that encompassed the full gamut of emotions. Ultimately, it has been so positive that I’ve extended the Fellowship. I can say with all honesty that that I am looking forward to building on my past successes and achieving new ones with renewed energy.

Sports journalism and the use of India’s Right to Information act could be strange bedfellows. But the recent Commonwealth Games 2010 held in New Delhi reduced the distance. The billion-dollar sports extravaganza was mired in mismanagement, corruption and nepotism. Interestingly, a lot of this was unearthed by Right to Information activists. As a result, the key driver of the event, Suresh Kalmadi, is now in jail on charges of corruption.

On the grounds of the university established by former President Jean Bertrand Aristide in Tabarre, a community just a few miles north east of the capital, some 400 families are about to be displaced. Aristide is reclaiming his property, including dormitories where some residents are squatting, so that he can reopen his school. To facilitate the move, he’s purchased a plot of land and ACTED, a French non-governmental organization, is constructing transitional shelters.

A former Carnival singer and media hound, Martelly embraces the spotlight. Coverage of any kind, he says, is okay, as long as it’s balanced and accurate. On Latin America Freedom of the Press Day, June 7th, however, he cautioned journalists to be more responsible. And to be more united, working together for a common cause - the betterment of Haiti.

To say that Haiti is full of surprises is kind of like saying that summers here are hot. Surprises are as numerous as Haiti’s contradictions: two hundred dollar a night hotels across from tent camps, five-star restaurants facing water distribution points.

Many of the surprises provoke mixed emotions, like when I turn the corner only to find myself in a traffic jam because a pickup truck is finally removing rubble.