A foundation established by former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush says it is providing an additional $1.4 million to efforts to rebuild Haiti following its devastating earthquake last year. The non-profit Clinton Bush Haiti Fund said Tuesday the money will go to a Haitian company that will train engineers and general contractors to manufacture steel-frame houses.

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton launched a new business loan program in Haiti on Tuesday aimed at helping bolster an economy that was devastated by the January 2010 earthquake. Clinton said the first loan in the $20 million program is being made to Caribbean Craft, which produces colorful goods such as carnival masks, sculptures and paintings for export and lost its workshop in the earthquake.

Task Force Bon Voizen, which translates as “good neighbor,” serves as a picture-perfect image of the U.S. military's soft-power efforts, and the task force's only enemies here are time and budget. Since the task force began its mission at the end of April, it has treated more than 800 dental patients and nearly 23,000 medical patients.

The State Department is tightening its embrace of Twitter and other social media as crises grip the Middle East and Haiti, with officials finding new voice, cheek and influence in the era of digital diplomacy.

In the immediate aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake, the United States, the United Nations, and the international community sprang to the country's aid. U.S. Navy ships and aircraft, including the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, the amphibious assault ships USS Bataan and USS Nassau, and the hospital ship USNS Comfort, deployed to Haiti to deliver relief supplies and medical assistance.

More than $300 million dollars and thousands of volunteers — all powered by religious faith — have poured in to earthquake-shattered Haiti to help rebuild the country and restore its spirit. Although international governmental aid is the mainstay of Haiti relief, faith-based groups offer significant muscle in funds and volunteers.

Senegal welcomed 163 Haitian university students to Dakar Wednesday. Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade, offered them free education after an earthquake devastated their island nation in January.

Under U.S. law, nearly all of our food aid is produced in the United States—predominantly by large agribusinesses like Archer Daniel Midland—and nearly all is delivered to stricken countries by American shippers. The system is shamefully rife with inefficiencies and misplaced priorities.