No-money Transformation

Everyone agrees Haiti is not good as it is. Things must change. The problem of course is that precious little money is available. But what if no-money-required changes could be had?

Here are some examples.

Smart Votes

Thousands of Haitians work as detectives, military experts, accountants, judges, psychologists all over the world. And they are very good at what they do.

Therefore, the diaspora could form a voter education initiative ahead of the next national presidential elections, maybe for the senate and the lower house as well.

The idea is to conduct background checks (professional experience, family history, financial activities, criminal involvement, etc.) for the serious contenders, and issue a “report card” for each one. This would not be based on policy positions of the candidates, but rather on their private-public persona: what kind of persons are they? What have they done in their lives?

That system of “good public service seal,” as it were, would help the population cast informed votes.

Civic Lessons

Dire statistics aside, the overwhelming majority of Haitian children spend at least five – seven years attending school before turning 21.  Most of them will have gone to Catholic or Protestant schools.

Those schools, that reach at least 1,000,000 students on any given October weekday morning, should systematically teach them to love Haiti and to speak well of their fellow Haitians, for example; to determine to make a family before making babies.

Those schools should train these children to throw trash only in trash cans.

How would Port-au-Prince look if school children, all school and university students were instructed every day “don’t throw trash in the streets”!

Home Schooling

We have all witnessed two and a half year olds, wearing diapers and too little to walk, being carried or stuffed into tap-taps around 6:30 a.m., “going to school.” Those same children are back home by noon.

Again, churches must play a creative, crucial role, and encourage parents to home school their children during the early years, let’s say until the child turns five.

In addition to the financial savings, homeschooling would provide a wonderful opportunity for parents to bond with their children – a practice badly needed in Haiti.

If the parent is unable to do so, he could hire one of the 100,000s of young educated Haitians with no jobs, as private home tutors.

Either way, that poor toddler gets a respite from outside influences for one more year or two – and really personal instruction.

These suggestions are a mere sample of what is possible. And they require no flash appeals, no calling on “the international community to honor its commitment” to Haiti, no new taxes on the Haitian middle class.

Just Haitians being smart and creative – what we already are.