Breaking the Cycle of Poverty in Haiti
The other day I stumble a post on Instagram by a friend. In the post, she captioned
I don’t know why people complain so much in Haiti. Just work hard and you will succeed.
While I agree with some of that statement, there clearly is something wrong with it. While hard work does help build a nation; a nation is nothing if its government is a sellout. The people alone cannot succeed if the government does not take interest in the current and future economy of the country. When she mentioned Haiti, I knew she did not understand. I grew up in Haiti witnessing amazingly hard working people. Of course, there were a few slackers around, but every woman in my community had some sort of business(sewing, catering, gardening, baking) they used to earn money. People were using their resources to earn money and sending their children to school. But what happens after secondary school? Almost 80 percent of universities are privately funded, meaning the prices are not within the average Haitian, especially if they have more than one child. Which can lead to parents and society to halt the continuation of the daughters’ education.
This recently happened to this distant aunt in my family. She has three daughters and two sons. In 2012 her oldest daughter graduated from secondary (high school) school. She was a really bright student, always performed well in her class. Her parents choose to invest in the two sons’ education only. Her oldest daughter had to help with the family business of selling in the local market, she can only move out when she’s married according to from her dad. Later in 2014, the second born, their first son graduated from secondary school, he did not get accepted to the local university. His future options? Study to retake the exams, but that same year he decided to not further his education due to high expectations from his family. And just like that, the cycle of poverty continues.
According to Haiti Outreach, ” only 8.6% of the population has a secondary school education. ” Due to extreme competitiveness, scholarships are sacred in Haiti since no one will share that information. Bourses allow Haitian students to study abroad in mostly French Speaking countries, but those are very competitive also.
So, what are the options for breaking this cycle of poverty?
It’s not just Haiti, it’s a good majority of black nations. I did not want to admit it, but it’s fact. What do they all have in common? Corruption in the government. Their elected governors and presidents do not take interest in the future of Haiti, the children. The fact that most Haitians live on less than $800 USD a year is despicable. The best ways to end the cycle is to take interest in the children’s educations, increase the minimum wage, acknowledge prejudice against women and girls, educate the public, and protect the citizens by enforcing laws on foreign companies.
Over 80% of schools in Haiti are privately owned. These schools are set at a price where that majority of parents cannot afford them. Who do these schools benefit? I will enlighten you. They benefit no one in the long run. I went to a private school in Haiti. During my short 9 years there, I noticed my classmates were dropping, many of them went to enrol at local public schools because it was cheaper for their families. Do you want to know what happened to that school? During the 2010 Earthquake, it got demolished. Many people did not want to downgrade by sending their children to a government public school, instead, the school stays open with demolished buildings and continues its business. Higher income Haitians believe that a well known private school will allow their children to be admitted to the university. With no connections, university certificates do not guarantee jobs in Haiti, especially for women. So, a great majority of those graduates are still at their parents’ house doing odd jobs.
There is not much data that is published on Haiti’s unemployed rate. Job security is non-existence in Haiti. In order to provide for their families, many Haitians usually do odd jobs or work at a foreign-owned factory. Foreign factories love Haiti because of its high job demand and cheap labour. For many of these companies, a low minimum wage and more than 80 percent of the population being unemployed, it’s heaven for them. Not only can they overwork their workers for pocket change, but the workers are also disposable. When a worker is sacked, there is no law that protects them. No unemployment help, no government assistance, and in most cases, no final pay.
If the citizens are always working hard with no government protection, that alone will not elevate a nation. The governors need to take the future of Haiti into consideration. The people need to be wise when electing, don’t elect someone just because they are from your state. If we acknowledge the faults that has failed in the past, we can set a good foundation for a better future.
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- https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104403034
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