Collection

Abigail Linton Week 7 Collection

Abigail Linton

University of Florida

Student (NOT Journalism School)

The first impression that I'll take away from these stories about Haiti is that there is hope. Hope because there are a lot of good people out there working hard to help end worldwide problems such as the poverty in Haiti, and they are coming up with creative ways to do so. Another key point is that it takes a team. The organizations and businesses that are making a difference may have started as an idea from one person, but has certainly taken a team to get it off the ground and running. Another takeaway I have is how important it is to dive into and be immersed in the culture. It is one thing to aid Haiti from within U.S. borders, but to actually visit and interact with the citizens adds so much credibility and value to an organizations mission that can't be gained any other way. One last key point is that solving the issues in Haiti, and all around the world, is going to take a multifaceted solution. There are many approaches that need to be take to help the people and country of Haiti, which means various organizations need to work together and cooperate with one another in order to achieve their common goal.

The three articles I chose to share focus on alleviating the issue of pollution, poverty, unemployment, or a combination of the three in the county of Haiti. Two of the articles focused on sustainable enterprises while the other focused on the need for bureaucracies. While I believe that sustainable enterprises are important and crucial to the revitalization of Haiti, I was disappointed to only find one story discussing the lack of bureaucracies and infrastructure in the country. In Maite Vermeulen’s story about the need for bureaucracies, she discussed in depth how the bureaucracies would help provide much needed support, but I don’t believe she put enough emphasis on how establishing them needs to happen as soon as possible. The government of Haiti is corrupt, providing little to no transparency or trust, and the lack of bureaucracies furthers the lack of accountability. Once bureaucracies begin to be established in areas such as land and tax, the citizens, especially those in rural and extremely impoverished areas will begin to have confidence in their government as infrastructure is created. Social enterprises have helped alleviate and solve social issues as the local and regional levels, but action needs to be taken quickly in forming bureaucracies to create consistency and structure in the country as a whole. The sustainable enterprises are providing relief from some issues, but the overarching issues of lack of security, infrastructure, and reliability create a problem at the national level that no social enterprise will be able to solve, only bureaucracies can do so.

I always enjoy reading and learning form articles about Haiti, and these stories were no exception. Although I do have some prior knowledge about social issues and their potential solutions, each of these stories revealed new concepts to me. In Aimee Groth's story she outlines Adventure Project, which funds social enterprises in developing countries. This is a new perspective that I hadn't thought about before, creating a social enterprise to support other social enterprises financially as money is a common barrier. I also knew that the country is in need of bureaucracies, but Maite Vermeulen's story revealed to me the importance of land security. The guarantee of someone's land allows them to focus on their income, rather than protecting their home. The story by John Tierney about the company Thread, who turns plastic bottles into fabric really fascinated me. I did not know this was a possibility, but since it is I believe Haiti is a perfect country to capitalize on it. There is so much pollution due to garbage left all over the country and many citizens don't know what else to do other than burn it since there is no waste management system. Being able to not only recycle plastic bottles, but also get some money from doing so will make a big impact on many Haitian's lives. Additionally, the jobs it creates will help the economy in that community.

One story that I read but didn't share was Chicken Farming Brightens Future for Haitians by Jaime McGee from the Tennessean. It was an interesting read on KORE Foundation from Tennessee, who provides Haitian families with chickens to raise to both sell and eat. Raising chickens provides a sustainable income, and source of food, which are the main goals of the foundation since so much aid that is given is non-sustainable. Another story I read was Scrooges of the World, Begone! by Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times. This story focused on looking at the progress that Haiti has made since the devastating earthquake in 2010, rather than all the negative aspects of the country as most media outlets publicize. It was enjoyable to read an overview of how well the economy has been doing, as it in turn increases the quality of life for Haitians.

I chose to read and reflect on these stories specifically because Haiti holds a special place in my heart. In high school, I had the opportunity to go there a couple times and I absolutely fell in love with the country and people I met there. Although it wasn't my first experience in another country, it was the first time I was completely immersed in a new culture. And seeing the extend of effects of poverty firsthand weighed heavily upon me. But even through the pollution, poverty, and despair, the country was so beautiful and the people were so kind and proud of this country they called home. I also had the opportunity to visit, tour, and talk to the founders of what I thought of then as simply non-profits, but now realize they are more than that, they are social entrepreneurships. My experiences there influenced me to take this class and have inspired me to one day have a career in the field of non-profits or social entrepreneurships.