Will Haiti’s Children Survive?
Part II of II
By Rhetta Peoples
Months after the earthquake in Haiti, poverty stricken residents of the country still struggle to survive. In part one of this series we explored the seemingly endless struggle for Haitians to receive financial and medical relief from its government. Haitian born musician and political activist Wyclef Jean who recently announced that he was planning a campaign to run for president of Haiti was told that he is not allowed to launch a campaign for president of the country because he has not resided in the country long enough. This decision appears to leave the country in a continuous political battle against a government that is keeping the nation in poverty and allowing a natural disaster to continue to claim lives. It has been rumored that Jean has received death threats ever since he made the announcement that he planned to help right the wrongs of the political disaster that many are saying stems from a corrupt government. The Florida Sun sat down with Missionary Charlene Rivera to discussthe children of Haiti and the living conditions after the earthquake. While roughly half of Haiti’s population practice voodoo many believe that the practice of Christianity can help move the nation forward. Rivera took a trip to Haiti to help other Christians deliver the word of Christ to residents of the country. Haiti’s children were of utmost importance to many of the missionaries and Rivera, a mom and grandmother, took a special interest in the children. Rivera said, “The devastation was really bad. It’s like the earthquake just came a couple of months ago. Dirty water was still flowing in the streets. The government is not trickling the money down and the people are still living as if the earthquake just hit.” According to the CIA World Fact-book, Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere and has a population of a little over 9 millionpeople. According to Rivera, today there are approximately 2 million orphans and many are orphans as a result of the earthquake. Rivera adds, “Let me tell you how grateful they are for anything…anything. They don’t ask for more and all we fed them on our mission trip was peanut butter and jelly on the food drive and they loved it. Some of the kids are in church orphanages but for the most part, the kids that do have their families are living in tents.” Journalist and activist, Anderson Cooper is diligently working Haiti to expose the corruption of the govern-ment and to help get aid to the people living in these horrific conditions. “Anderson Cooper is trying to get more organization for change. He’s trying to make sure the money is trickling down the way it’s supposed to. There were so many missionaries there.” Rivera admits that Haiti is a land filled with so much beauty and adds, “When we landed at the airport, there were so many people there just standing there crying and begging for stuff. It was really bad.” Rivera still receives thank you emails and updates from many of the children she met while on her trip. Although, the outlook looks grim, there is still an undying hope that a new day is dawning for the people of Haiti. =
