Understanding complexities in Haiti

Having traveled to third world countries before, I somewhat knew what to expect of the conditions of Haiti to be like. Don't drink the water, use a lot of bug spray, keep personal belongings close, and ultimately go with the flow because no matter how much you prepare, it will never go according to plan. However, I thought that after the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010 and all the money that was given to the Haitian Government that things would be a lot further along then they are currently.  From the airport in Port-au-Prince to our first stop at Anis Zunuzi School which took about an hour car ride I was surprised by the wreckage and devastation that was all around me. It looked as if an earthquake had just come through the city, not almost four years ago. This was very discouraging to realize that all this money that had been poured into the country and there was no sign of it anywhere. Where did it all go? What is going on with the Haitian Government and how is this being allowed? Corruption obviously is a huge problem for Haiti and it's people. Once we arrived at the school on the outskirts of the capital city, it was very refreshing, it looked like an oasis, a haven.  One side of the guarded gate there was garbage, dry dusty pot hole filled roads, and make shift buildings everywhere. On the other side of the guarded gate was lush green grass, trees, clean white buildings with not a piece of trash in site. I know that most of the children at the school don't care about surroundings and how white the walls are, but you can't argue that it helps children want to come back and continue their education.

Streets of Port-Au-Prince

Anis Zunuzi School Grounds 

Driving through the city it seemed like every turn there was a sign for some non-profit, mostly international organizations stationed in Haiti. I thought to myself while driving back to our hotel, if there are so many organizations why is Haiti still in such shambles? From research before the trip I realized that Haiti had many different issues that include education, economics, food and water scarcity, crime, and much much more. I decided to ask our cultural broker, Sue Puzo, a Canadian born women, who had lived in Haiti for over 30 years. She married a Haitian man, and adopted two Haitian daughters, spoke Creole and served as our translator, and had close connections with our school's communities. I asked her why there were so many NGO's and why it seemed like there was nothing being done. She informed me that after the earthquake is when most of the organizations came to Haiti. This huge influx of organizations were a good thing at first because they were offering types of emergency aid that were needed right after the earthquake. But, once the money stopped from other countries the NGO's found themselves in competition with each other to survive in Haiti.  So, now four years later these organizations in Haiti tend to compete with each others services instead of working together to help the Haitian People. How is anything expected to be done when those who are suppose to be helping assist the Haitian People are creating even more division within the community?

Sue and I talking at Anis Zunuzi School

Sue talking with a man from Geurot, Haiti.

Taking all this information in right after traveling all night and not having any sleep and in the first hour of simply driving through Port-Au-Prince, I already felt this huge weight of despair on my shoulders. How is anything about education going to make a difference when these people live in such a corrupt country and are facing so many other issues? After spending time at Anis Zunuzi School I was once again proven wrong. Just like we had learned all year, you never really know or understand the situation like those in the own community will. Talking with different directors of the school I was able to learn that they see education as the way to change their country, to life up Haiti themselves through the community. Ruebenthrop, a director at the school, explained to me that the school is not a top down relationship, but that it is a horizontal one in which there is mutual respect between teacher and student. This horizontal relationship will allow students to be agents of change in other schools and their own community in the future.  Anis Zunuzi School teaches character and moral development in an equality program to their students through the arts in hopes that these teachings will carry over into the community and those students can serve as pillars in their own community. Ruebenthrop said that they see changes in students almost immediately after they take part in the equality program in any sort of fashion. I have a lot to learn! 

A wall at the Anis Zunuzi School states, "The truth is the foundation of all human virtues"

God had only one measure for all people. -Haitian Proverb