2009 Projects - Haiti & Gambia, Africa
 
 History of Haiti
  Haiti is located in the West Indies on the western third of the island Hispaniola. The land used to be covered by trees, but has now been mostly deforested because of the amount of logging and farming that has taken place there.
     Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola in 1492 and the Spanish proceeded to decimate the natives, known as the Taino Arawaks. In 1697, Spain ceded Haiti to France. In the 18th century, Haiti’s society consisted of Frenchmen, Creoles, freed blacks, and black slaves. Creoles were the mulattoes of the society and when they began feeling mistreated, they revolted. Toussaint L’Ouverture led black guerilla bands during that rough time, and in 1801 he proclaimed himself governor-general of Hispaniola and abolished slavery. The French eventually put Toussaint in jail. However, the fighting continued. When the French finally withdrew, U.S. president Thomas Jefferson sent aid to the rebels to stop the French from building military bases in Haiti.
         Haiti won independence in 1804. Shortly after, Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaimed himself emperor. In 1806 he was assassinated and the country was divided into black-controlled north, led by an emperor, and a mulatto-ruled south, led by a president. After Dessalines, Jean Pierre Boyer took control and reunified Haiti, but he also brought financial ruin to the country.
         In 1859, Haiti became a republic and has been one ever since. In 1915 the United States invaded Port-au-Prince, forced the Haitian congress to permit U.S. control over customs receipts, and two years later dissolved the congress and made a new constitution. In 1930, the U.S. decided to allow Haiti to elect their own legislature, though the U.S. maintained fiscal control until 1947. 
          Haiti went through a series of suppressive presidencies ended by military coups. Because of this, in 1993 the United States imposed a trade embargo and an oil embargo on Haiti. The U.S. and the U.N. were consistently involving themselves with Haiti, forcing democracy along with other things, until 2000. However, corrupt elections and political violence continued, including the conflict over president Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2003, and foreign financial aid was declining. Because of this violence, Aristide went into exile. A new government was not put into place until May 2006.
       Recently, foreign aid for Haiti has been decreasing; there is also a huge lack of medical care, and there have been problems with armed gangs. Tropical Storm Jeanne killed thousands in 2005, causing severe damage to the country, and flooding, heavy rains, and several hurricanes in 2008 further devastated Haiti. Today Haiti is a republic with a president and a prime minister.  Problems still exist in Haiti, though, because the country has never truly been politically stable, and deforestation and hurricanes have crippled the economy.


2009 Projects
                                                                                         Haiti
    This year’s project is with Partners In Health, based in Boston, MA, and will provide School Fee Assistance in Haiti.  Attending school is very difficult for the poor children of Haiti. Families often have to choose between buying school books and uniforms or buying essentials, like food and medicine.
    In August and September of 2008, Haiti was devastated by four major hurricanes. The storms left most families without homes, clothes, food and clean water.  Although the Partners In Health programs were able to help thousands of Haitian families rebuild their homes and provided them with needed items, returning to school is still a major issue.  Many children lost their  school supplies in the storms.
     Children in Haiti are born into poverty and their families struggle to find the means to survive on a day-to-day basis.  If children are unable to get an education, they grow up unable to provide for their own families, and the poverty cycle continues.  Education is one of the most important factors in overcoming poverty, and with this tool, children will be able to gain skills and achieve goals and better their lives in the future.
    Partners In Health will provide many of the poor families of Haiti with school fee assistance and provide new materials for nearly 2,000 children, allowing them to go back to school in the near future. The assistance will be to those families that have HIV-positive parents who are unable to provide for their children’s education.
    Along with school fee assistance, funding will continue for the therapy, tests and medical care in the clinics of Haiti, set up by the Zanmi Lasante Health Clinic to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS. There will be HIV/AIDS awareness activities for the Haitians through forums, events, and celebrations.

(Joseph Before & After Treatment)


Gambia, Africa
    This year is the first year ODW-USA has decided to plan extra fundraisers to support a second project. The Salikenni Scholarship Fund, directed by Don and Alison May, provides money to poor children in The Gambia to go to high school. They have requested $1,900. In The Gambia, it is very important for the students to speak English because the high school classes are taught in English. To help with this problem, the Salikenni Scholarship Fund wants to provide Internet for the students so they can access English exercises and text. The students will also be able to access a section in their scholarship website to help them fund further education.