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.
