How we wanted to help but we didn’t…
Before arriving to Haiti we hoped that in this short period we will spend there we would be able to help somehow. We didn’t mean manual work – there are enough people who would like to work. We were thinking about starting some project, seeding some good idea which the Haitians could develop further.
We were studying many projects in developing countries and even put together a group of creative people in Slovakia to find out a good idea (we thank all of them for the help).
But what we know now – from observing the country, talking with other volunteers or people working in Haiti – changed our way of thinking…
After 2 years after the earthquake catasprophy it is not easy to come and help. That was maybe possible only through some humanitarian organisations who came to help in the urgent situation and they needed a lot of “workers”. If you want to help more, you need to have a lot of time and patience :). For some good idea it is needed to know the country deeper, know the people and to speak their language. It is needed to start the project and lead it until it can run only with local resources. You need to have a lot of courage, excitement and respect to the people, their culture and nature. There won’t be big money earnings – you should await losses. And all this just with the purpose to make this world better.
Haiti doesn’t need all this big organisations which are still in the country and “help”. Neither big corporations are needed which build big factories where the people work like slaves for small money and without dignity. Haitians don’t need big hotels where they would work like rabbits and jump around asses of the rich tourists. They don’t need projects where foreign workers earn more money in month that one Haitians family needs for three years (e.g. the germans building roads and infrastructure). They also don’t need the food “help” from USA in the way of getting cheap rice which destroys the local production. They don’t need many foreign hospitals where people come mostly with civilisation and sexualy transmitted diseases now. Even the orphanages which are artificially built become a new good business in the country…
With small projects for the people there is a chance for the country to keep the identity and rice their economical level.
Haiti needs to get up on its own feet! Without big foreign investments, which disapper in the government or in the pockets of people leading the projects.
We were not able to help but we hope that people like Julian or other small organisations with interesting ideas can reach step-by-step a better life for people in this part of the world.
Bòn chans! (Good luck!)