With billions of dollars pledged by donors from around the world for the reconstruction of Haiti following the January 12th earthquake, questions abound.

One of them is: Who is planning the rebuilding effort in Haiti?

That question is certainly on the minds of hundreds of Haitian architects in the United States and the Caribbean country.

Denis Dembreville, a member of the Haitian Diaspora in New York, certainly wants an answer.

Why?

"It's important that the question be answered because Haitians are not being consulted," Dembreville told the Carib News recently before heading to Port-au-Prince from New York. "There is no consultation taking place and Haitian architects, who should be deeply involved, are not being consulted. Haiti is our country and we should have considerable say in its reconstruction."

It's an issue that should be addressed by the international community, former U.S. President Bill Clinton and a host of others involved in the reconstruction effort. For as Haitians see it, it's a question of "déjà vu all over again," as Yogi Berra, the baseball hall of famer and master of malapropisms would say it.

Haitians, especially in New York, are upset because they see the rebuilding effort as a golden opportunity to put Haiti on the right path at last, after decades of neglect and abuse by the international community.

Instead, what's happening is that a festering sore remains untreated. The problem is the dominating role of outsiders, people and institutions with little interest in Haiti's long-term development.

P.J. Patterson, CARICOM's special representative in Haiti, spoke in March in New York about the importance of getting Haitians at home and abroad involved in the country's reconstruction, but if the complaints of Dembreville and other professionals are accurate, then it is business as usual. And that's particularly true when it comes to NGOs, which before the earthquake were a law unto themselves in Haiti, ignoring the needs of the people while spending donor funds without paying attention to the people's plight.

The world summit for solidarity with Haiti ends today

When the two-day "World Summit for the Future of Haiti: Solidarity Beyond the Crisis" ends today in the Dominican Republic, the participants are hoping that permanent links of solidarity would be established between the international community and the Caribbean nation.

The summit, which began on Tuesday, was convened by Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the countries which share the island of Hispaniola and by the European Union. Its purpose: to review the construction plans and tally the amount of funds pledged and collected so far to help Haiti.

The participants are looking at the process being used to set deadlines and goals so that an orderly path is in place to guide the international effort.

Actually, a review of the plan of action for the reconstruction of the Creole-speaking nation is the summit's top priority.

'"The commitment of the countries and international organizations with the reconstruction plan and with the strengthening of the Haitian democratic system is an urgent effort that cannot be delayed and that everyone must develop in coordination with each other for the benefit of the Haitian people," said José Miguel Insulza, secretary of the Organization of American States, to which Haiti, the Dominican Republic and all of the other Caribbean and Latin American nations belong.

More than 250,000 people died; at least 1.2 million were left homeless; and $6.3 billion in property damage occurred when the powerful earthquake struck.

Getting Haitian children back into the classroom, World Bank extends helping hand with $27 million to provide basic services

The World Bank is providing $27 million to finance an effort to get more Haitian children back into the classroom so they can resume their education after their schools were either demolished or extensively damaged by the earthquake.

The grant is aimed at assisting 600,000 students and the money will be used to provide basic services, especially in rural communities.

"The new funds will allow us to expand two key projects that address urgent recovery and reconstruction needs, while benefiting Haitian children and rural citizens," said Ronald Baudin, Haiti's Minister of Finance and Economy.