Susan Brannon
19 May 2012
Haiti Quick Facts
The Crossing Borders Project is going to Haiti, to see what life is really like over there. The different sub-cultures explain Haiti Today (2012) with different perspectives. The Crossing Borders Project wants to know what is "really" going on. First we have what I call the large corporation type aid workers, who received a ton of money and people are wondering where the money went. (More of this on a different post) Second, we have the Haitians who's problems are never ending and not getting much better; HIV is at a height, recent outbreaks of Cholera at an increasing level and is feared to increase during this years rainy season; (more on this is a different post) water is scarce, and many homes have not been rebuilt while crime is rising.
I have listed some quick "getting to know Haiti" facts
Total population 10,033,00
Life expectancy m/f 60/63
probability of dying under five (per 1000 live births) 87
80% of the Haitians live below the poverty line
Half of the population can be considered "food poor or insecure" and half of the children are under developed as a result of malnutrition.
Less than half of the population has access to clean drinking water
43% of the target population receives the recommended immunizations.
Half of the population can be considered "food poor or insecure" and half of the children are under developed as a result of malnutrition.
Haiti ranks last in the Western hemisphere
The ratio of nurses and physicians are 11/25 per 100,000
Most of the rural areas do not have access to health care, making them susceptible to treatable diseases.
There are over 600,000 Haitians living in tents and temporary structures. Port-au-Prince is still the most affected area in the center and through the south of the city to the Carrefour, Leogane and Petit Goave district.
Cholera had entered the Artibonite River, Haiti's longest, 60 miles upstream ó most likely from a leaky latrine at a United Nations camp for peacekeeping troops, who carried it from Nepal.
This is a country only a few hours away by plane from the United States.
This is a country where billions of dollars have been donated and much of it used to support the aid agencies.
The Crossing Borders Project only has two weeks to let the Haitians tell their stories through the visual image so we can see their lives through their eyes.
Related Links:
Cholera Outbreak Facts
Dady Chery
Medecins Sans Frontiers
IPS News
Haiti: Quick Facts
The Crossing Borders Facebook Group
The Crossing Borders You Tube Page
The Crossing Borders on Idealist Looking for volunteers worldwide
If you want to volunteer and know French, you have two weeks to decide to come and join us!
ReplyDeleteYour post focuses on all the things that are going wrong in Haiti, yet you open with" The Crossing Borders Project is going to Haiti, to see what life is really like over there. The different sub-cultures explain Haiti Today (2012) with different perspectives. "
ReplyDeleteIf you want to understand Haiti start by listening and focusing on what is going right, Haitians helping Haitian, the beauty and pride of the Haitian people, etc. By increasing the focus on what is working, you will help magnify it, open the doors to more opportunities, increase the pride and motivation of the Haitian people and drive the evolution of progress forward and positive.
I was in Haiti for the earthquake and have seen the impact first hand of what Haitians are capable of. The results of so much focus being on what is still wrong is that donors no longer want to give because it feels like too much risk. Transparency is important, progress takes time and yes things do go wrong. BUT a lot has gone right and these things need to be highlighted so that donor confidence can be directed effectively to programs that build an independent sustainable future. Instead money goes to those with the best marketing strategy and emotional appeal. Sadly that usually means programs that create ongoing dependency on charity which the Haitians silently resent.
I just returned from Haiti two days ago and across the country villages and cities are cleaner than they have ever been in the last 5 years. The ministry of tourism is making a big push to open the doors to tourism with welcoming arms. Haiti has so much beauty to share if people know where to look. Projects like yours can really help see this beauty and the opportunities. Donations used like capital investment helps increase ongoing opportunities. People prefer to invest in things that work. Highlighting the positive can help keep Haiti growing. Thanks for helping Haiti.
Thank you for your input! I had not been in haiti before the endeavor and the foundation that sent me there was telling me the "facts" some were verbalized and some was researched. This post was facts, population, water issues etc...After I went, I did notice some of the things that you have mentioned along with their pride and willingness to progress.
DeleteIt is interesting to read your perspective. I actually saw many start up projects that were walked away from and never finished. This was disappointing to those near or part of the projects. It was as though the donors started something right after the earthquake with a bunch of money and then left without following up. I would see the disappointment in their eyes when they would show me this or that.
I was sorry to see that so many projects would be left unfinished. It could be that there was a ton of money after the earthquake available and it slowly dwindled away. Thank you for your input. Sorry it took me so long to see your comment. (I actually just learned that I have to set my notifications settings to tell me when there are comments)