There is a line of white text here there is a line of white text he 11th May, 2011 - John Rose on Haiti

'No amount of disaster seems to dim their dreams'

I’m just back from Haiti.

The children of Haiti are beautiful, full of fun and smiles. The children in the photograph, and in our video, on the offshore island of La Gonave have endured the terrible earthquake of January 2010, which destroyed buildings and killed some of their relatives.  

All of them had to leave their homes and live in a crowded tent for many months. In November, their village was devastated and flooded by Hurricane Tomas. Since then, more of their family members have died in the cholera epidemic.

Their homes are very simple shacks, made of wood or concrete blocks, impossible to keep clean. Some families are still living amidst the ruins of homes which collapsed in the earthquake. 

So far the overwhelming scale of Haiti’s need has defeated the best efforts of all the world’s aid agencies to give everyone a decent standard of living. Many adults no longer expect any improvement, but the children still hope.

Their only good clothes are these school uniforms (their parents often get into serious debt so that their children can have a uniform essential to go to school). They have a poor diet and their water is often badly contaminated. They have few if any toys.

Their school is a roughly-built church building. As they only have one room, all ages are taught together. Their teachers have a lot of commitment, but very little training. More often than not, their teachers are completely unpaid. 

Their school has no paper for them to write on. Sometimes the  teachers will write something on their blackboard, then each of the children will come one-by-one and copy it. They have no pens or pencils.  They have no text books or story books. They have no sports equipment.   

Education on this level will give them an advantage over other children but will still only enable them to do simple poorly-paid jobs.

But most of the time I was with them, they were smiling broadly. Their smiles are smiles of hope – hope that somehow life for them will be better than they have known so far. No amount of disaster seems to dim their dreams. But can those dreams be recognised?

We’re trying to help. I visited families who were given tents and household equipment to replace those destroyed in the earthquake. I visited families and schools which have been given an ongoing supply of food, to sustain them through these disasters, and to make sure the children get at least one nutritious meal each day. 

I visited schools and families which have been provided with a reservoir of purified water, regularly re-filled, for personal hygiene to keep cholera at bay.

Many schools were destroyed or disrupted by the earthquake.   Now they are being re-established. WorldShare is going to help a school built on the sands by the coastal mangrove swamps at Grand Lagon, and a school remote and high in the hills at Picmy.   

Between them, these schools presently have around 90 pupils, but many more want to come. We will be providing them with school supplies and, eventually, teacher training and better buildings. We will also be providing some teacher salaries.

My visit also moved forward our plan to provide vocational training for young people, so that they can get well-paid jobs and support their families.

The hopes of Haiti’s children (and adults) can only be realised if thousands of people around the world, like us, will help them. 

If you would like to help, you can send a gift by visiting the profile page of Haitian Calvary International Ministries, and clicking the Donate Now button.

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