Why Haiti?
Some people have asked GCA staff, “Why Haiti?” In many ways Haiti is a dry and parched land that quickly drinks up any outpouring of compassion or concern. For good reasons or for bad, Haiti will consume whatever resources it receives. In our opinion the country is not a “welfare state” looking for a handout but, rather, a country that has been abused for centuries and has been abandoned, its land raped of its natural resources. This is why, even though help for Haiti must come from outside the country, its rejuvenation must be accomplished by capable indigenous leaders living in the midst of their people.
GCA has chosen to aid in that rejuvenation by helping the poorest of the poor—our neighbors just a 90-minute plane ride away from Miami—and by addressing the extreme economic and social injustices in Haiti. After all, more than 50 percent of the population live below the US$1 a day poverty line and 76 percent below the US$2 a day poverty line.
Additional Facts About Haiti
Here are some additional facts about Haiti quoted from an Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper titled “A Window of Opportunity for Haiti” (International Monetary Fund September 27, 2006).
- Haiti continues to occupy one of the last positions on the Human Poverty Index, which ranks it 153 out of 177 countries.
- On average, the poorest households have a daily per capita income amounting to only 44 percent of the poverty line, or US$0.44.
- Less than half of the population has access to drinking water in both rural and urban areas.
- The illiteracy rate among adults and youths is close to 84 percent.
- The infant mortality rate is 76 per 1,000 live births.
- A mere 28 percent of the population has access to sanitation facilities.
- More than 40 percent of the children are not enrolled in school, and the quality of teaching is mediocre.
