Like many things in Haiti, one can find a positive note in the past year since the big earthquake - you just have to look really hard.

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For example, many who care about the island-nation feared the Haitian rebuilding story would swiftly slide off the headlines and out of the American public's consciousness as most international tragedies do.

But that didn't happen.

Throughout the year, since the magnitude 7 earthquake hit at 4:15 p.m. January 12, 2010, and killed more than 250,000 people and left the government shattered, Haiti has had more than its share of time in the news media.

That's the good news.
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The bad news is that with the rarest of exceptions, each of the tales from Haiti was more depressing, more downcast and more regrettable than the one before.

They include:

• The slow pace of rebuilding
• The deaths brought on by seasonal flooding and storms
• The deadly cholera outbreak started by Nepalese U.N. workers
• The fighting between residents and international peacekeepers
• The widespread rape of women in refugee camps
• The violence and unrest surrounding the mismanaged election
• The virtual collapse of the government
• The increase of child abandonment

In short, by all accounts, there isn't an aspect of life in Haiti that doesn't need serious improvement.

As former President Bill Clinton travels to the island for commemorative services, public infrastructure remains shattered. Less than 10 percent of the earthquake rubble has been removed. Hundreds of thousands still live in temporary housing designed for only a few months of occupancy.

Foreign relief agencies have provided help, but the amount of the assistance simply doesn't match the need.

But with such a torrent of bad news, it's easy to forget that much-needed heroes have emerged in the past year.

People like Dr. Robert J. Gore of Brooklyn's Kings County Hospital and doctors at EMEDEX International have made regular trips to Haiti since the earthquake to help provide long-term health solutions for Haitian residents.

Former Vice President Al Gore and others around the country aren't getting the credit they deserve.

Yet other heroes, like actor Sean Penn, are getting plenty of notice for bringing help to folks on the ground and attracting needed news media to the Haiti recovery story.

Meanwhile, it's easy to lose track off the thousands of everyday heroes in the Haiti story - people there who aren't preying on their neighbors, raping the women in their communities, setting fires in mindless protest or warring with peacekeepers and police.

People who are simply struggling to survive and hold onto their dignity against all odds.

Those folks are the reason that the story of Haiti's recovery can't be forgotten.

To me, the best route to that recovery lies solely in the hands of Haitians.

The vast majority of the billions in foreign aid that has been promised to Haiti but hasn't been released will be freed up if and when the new Haitian Prime Minister Jean Max Bellerive gains the trust of donor countries.

Without that flow of cash, essential for the construction of hospitals, roads, water treatment facilities and permanent housing, all the prayers and goodwill missions of the world will, sadly, mean little.

It is up to the Haitian people to demand true leadership from Bellerive - the kind of leadership that will spawn development locally, inspire confidence internationally and kick start the flow of money.