Haiti is a small country located on the western half of a small island in the Caribbean, and shares this island with the Dominican Republican who own the eastern half of the island.
Haitians were hit by a devestating earthquake in 2010, and are still recovering to this day. They were recently dealt another blow by a hurricane. Despite the earthquake, most of the country´s landmarks dating from the 1800´s are still intact. But the people are another story.
With a population of 10.32 million according to the World Bank in 2013, Haiti is crowded, and struggles to keep up with the rest of the world in technology and infrastructure. This a country in need of help, and a group of people, who are fighting to stay alive, and keep their children alive.
According to Globalissues.com, in 2010 data showed that Haiti is the 3rd hungriest country in the world and the richest 1% control nearly half of the Haiti´s wealth. Haitians life expectancy was reported at just 55 years for females, and53 for males, which puts them about 25 years behind advanced countries in this category.
Haiti is constantly affected by outside influences and interests, that harm the country. With an average income of just $2 per day for close to 80% of the country, it is far behind the rest of the world in it´s economical development, and dictatorial leadership fights against fair democracy for it´s citizens, and especially was offended by Barack Obama´s good intentions to help create a fair and democratic society.
Large American companies also take advantage of the low wages in this country, exasperating the conditions, and the lack of fairness to Haitian citizens, who continue to live in housing that can only be described as atrocious, with terrible conditions, and damaged infrastructure.
Much like American Indians were treated, the original tribes of Haiti were destroyed in the 1600´s by European imperialism and colonization. More incredibly disgusting, is the fact that America supported the dictatorial ruler Francois Duvalier (Papa Doc) for a couple decades, until his passing in 1971. However, his 19 year old son at the time, Jean-Claude Duvalier, took control and continued the dictatorship of Haiti, and America continued to support this monster, until a revolt in 1983. The U.S. actually helped escort this man to safety, out of Haiti. After his ouster, a poor Roman Catholic priest, Jean-Bertrand Aristide took control and challenged the military and economic elite to change, but after one year in power, he was ousted as well by a military coup, orchestrated by the two aforementioned groups, who ended up harming the Haitian population and forcing a migration to the United States of many Haitians, raising issues for the U.S.
All of this upheavel caused the U.S. to withdraw aid from Haiti, when Aristide regained power in 1994, but the United States eventually sent their own military to help oust him from power in 2004. Although Aristide tried to dismantle the Haitian military, the U.S. held interests of which it felt inclined to protect, and eventually was the reason for their help in getting rid of Aristide.
So, the purpose of this article is to look at the problems facing Hatians now, and what could cleantech, and wealthy interest involvement in helping Haiti move out of the 19th century living conditions.
Many Haitians suffer from health problems due to bad water and lack of nutrition. Thus the low life expectancy. One of the largest issues with health in Haiti is Iron deficiency, due to a lack of iron filled food.
One of the ideas in helping Haitians improve their iron intake is a tree called Maringa that can be grown in Haiti. It is loaded with non-heme-iron, which is a healthier form of iron than red meat, and taken with vitamin C can help digestion, improving immunity. Not only this, but the plant Maringa also contains an abundance of Vitamin A, which can work with the iron to battle Anemia, which is the number one health issue in Haiti. The Hatian name for this plant is Benzolive in Creole. I call upon the wealthy and elite of the world to help provide this country with this much needed tree, which they need in abundance!
Another problem in Haiti is, of course, the water. However, there is a movement by the company HRI (haitireconstruction.ning.com-page-water-wells-for-haiti) to solve the issue of wells dug too shallow, which allow for dirty and bacterial infected water to flow back into the drinking water, causing many of Haiti´s health problems.
The HRI pump is a solar powered pump with DC current which needs no electricity, and turns on and pumps at the hottest and most desired time of day, and shuts down when not needed at night, helping it restore energy to the pump for the next day.
This pump comes without batteries and inverters, which can cause drawbacks in solar energy.
So, if you are looking to help others and invest in improving a Country´s living conditions, this is just one way to get involved. You can also donate at the Haiti Water Project here:
http://www.charitywater.org/projects/countries/haiti/
Watch this video on the pump here:
This youtube link will introduce you to the man behind installing these Grundfos pumps:
As groups like Crowdify come together to support those who are creating cleantech for countries around the world, I hope that these thrid world countries can one day soon join the majority of us who are lucky enough to live where the water is good!
Written by: Colin Bruce Munro Wood - "The World At A View" Magazine - 12:00 - 15.03.2017 - Gemmrigheim, Germany
Photo courtesy of: http://www.preparednesspro.com/a-lesson-from-haiti
Photo courtesy of: http://www.bluemountainbistro.com/bistro-blog/the-haitian-support-project
Photo and video couresty of: http://haitireconstruction.ning.com/page/water-wells-for-haiti
Photo courtesy of:
