CARYL STERN: Building Haiti back stronger in action
The resounding message I heard while visiting Haiti last week was that “We are survivors, not victims.” Old and young alike affirmed to me their eagerness to build Haiti back stronger, to play a role in its future and lift its people out of poverty.Â
Not only did I hear this message, I saw it in action at the Qui Croit nutrition center in Kenscoff, a mountainous region outside of Port- au- Prince.
The Qui Croit nutrition center serves nearly 50,000 people and is supported by a partnership between UNICEF and the Haitian NGO, FONDEFH.* The trip took us up a narrow, steep dirt road that wound around the mountainside. The ride was bumpy, dusty and uncomfortable, particularly for those of us who don’t enjoy heights. This is nothing compared to what many local women endure to reach the center. Most wake-up by 4 in the morning to walk three, four or even five hours uphill in the dark. Some were pregnant, many were also carrying infants and toddlers with them.
Why did they make this effort? “Are their babies sick?” I asked. No, thankfully the children were not sick. They undertook this arduous trek because they wanted to attend a class about how to keep their babies healthy.
Given the chance, any mother in the world will take the opportunity to safeguard her child’s health. If someone offers to teach a mother strategies to ward off preventable illnesses that can cause death to her baby, she will rise at 4 AM every day, if need be. This is not victim behavior. It is proactive behavior. By taking this action, a mother becomes knowledgeable and empowered to protect her children against the harsh realities of an impoverished environment.
Maybe a mother can’t control whether there is a measles outbreak in her community. But she can make an effort to learn what the threats are, take action and get her children immunized, and take steps to prevent infection. She can do her part to make her family and community safer. She may not be able to control the fact that she does not have access to safe water. But she can learn to exclusively breastfeed her newborn, to dramatically reduce the chance of deadly infections caused by pathogens in the water.Â
Haitians are not waiting to be rescued. They are actively working to rebuild their lives and avail their children to opportunity and health. Time after time, I heard, “I thank God I am alive, I thank God to be here. I thank you for helping me and my country.”
Emergency relief helps people survive immediate, life-threatening hardships. On-going development support helps people get the information and tools to take charge of their own lives and futures. True change takes effort and time. There will be setbacks and frustrations. The people I met in Haiti are prepared to persevere in spite of what may come.Â
There is more to share from my visit but for now, I’d like to say “thank you” on behalf of the courageous people I met—for your immediate support when the earthquake hit and for your on-going support that is helping Haitian’s take charge of their lives once again.
* FONDEFH is the Foundation for the Development of Haitian Families
Caryl — thank YOU for sharing your experiences in Haiti — it’s so good to know that there is hope, that UNICEF is there, and that mothers are empowered.
I love this blog post. It’s an important message to share, that Haitians are not waiting to be rescued, but are taking proactive steps to improve their lives. Well said!
how can i find out more about UNICEF is doing in Haiti?
Hi there,
We have a special landing page for Haiti related materials and news. http://www.unicefusa.org/work/emergencies/Haiti/
UNICEF just released a 2-year report that you may find informative. Thank you for your interest and support!
Glad that there are Mothers in Haiti that are doing so much to help their children…. I am curious as to what UNICEF is doing to help the children who aren’t fortunate enough to have a Mother in their lives like the ones you mentioned in your post?
I would also be curious about YOUR (Caryl) stand on the adoption issue.
Thank you in advance for your time!
Kelly DeBardelaben
Great question, Kelly. It’s hard to respond in such a limited space but I’ll try. Because you asked, I will share that personally my mother’s life was saved by strangers who cared for her after her parents made the agonizing decision to send her to the United States due to the Holocaust. The gratitude and love we feel in our family towards those who cared for and loved my mother and uncle during that horrible time is immeasurable and very much alive. I too have had the privilege of raising a son who is not my biological child.
One of the reasons I was drawn to UNICEF was their unequivocal support of every child’s right to a family. Notice I say “every” child, and that I say “right.” It’s not a luxury or a dream to have a family, it’s a necessity and a human right as defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child for all children.
As for UNICEF, and Haiti, in early January, we released a report detailing the child protection efforts related to orphaned and unaccompanied children. I am linking to that here (see pages 10 and 11 in particular), in case you or others want to read more about that or you can visit unicef.org and get much more detail on Haiti and/or child protection including special measures for the protection of children who have been orphaned or are otherwise not in the care of parents or guardians. UNICEF has been heavily involved in identifying and reuniting displaced children with family in Haiti. As I am sure you know, even before the earthquake, there were many children in residential care centers in Haiti, many of them are not “orphans” because their parents are alive but simply too poor to care for them and intermittently place them there out of necessity, while still visiting regularly and loving them.
Regarding adoption, UNICEF supports adoptions (both in-country and intercountry) in compliance with the Hague Convention standards of ethics, legal standards and transparency to protect children and serve their best interests. Hague has been embraced by most developed and many developing nations, including the US government and Haiti’s government. Hope this is helpful. My team will be happy to follow-up with you offline if you’d like to talk more about it.
Thanks again for reading/thinking/responding. Children in Haiti, and everywhere we work, need people like you to stay engaged and informed about their survival and development.