Recently, I was a part of an interview about the education system in Haiti. Although I didn’t understand everything that was said it reconfirmed what I do know about Education in Haiti for young people. About ½ of the children in Haiti go to school. This is usually due to lack of resources. Families simply can’t afford to send their children to school and feed them too. Many kids might be able to start school but then are not able to pay the second payment of the tuition. Many of the parents of the children in school are illiterate; however they are very passionate about keeping their children in school. In Haiti there is a proverb that says, “Ignorance won’t kill you but it will make you sweat a lot.” But the cycle of poverty in lack of education continues. Some people are able to break out of the cycle. Aimable, the teacher and mother being interviewed talked about how far children have to travel to school too. She sends her daughter to a good school up the mountain that takes 20 minutes or more to get to by motorcycle. Some children in the area walk to that school which can take an hour to two hours. But the children walk there because it is better education. Education really is the answer for the future of Haiti. The young people I talk to want to make a difference in their future and the future of their country. They hold on to a hope that ‘tomorrow’ will be different. However, they need that little help to break out of the cycle. I am working with child sponsorship now for education for children. Living Media International is also working on a program for young adults who are finished with their base schooling and have dreams of going off to a university or to learn a trade. I will have more information to come on how you might be able to get involved with these. I will have children on my Facebook page that you can sponsor in school. I challenge you today to thank a teacher, thank the school administrators or anyone involved in education. So much of the success of the US has been due to education, so appreciate what we have. Too often we take for granted what can make a world of difference.
