Young adults are the hope for Haiti

by Denise Snyder

This is the longest amount of time I have been out of Haiti in at least seven years, but I really think it has been much longer than that. For the past year traveling in Haiti has and is now very dangerous. Heavily armed gangs are stopping cars, robbing, kidnapping and sometimes killing. My personal health has also been an issue. I had a second tumor removed from my right lung this past December. It was malignant, but God blessed me once again, it was stage one and the surgeon successively got all. Technically I am Cancer free, but because this was the second occurrence, it was suggested I receive chemotherapy. Currently, I am receiving chemotherapy, four treatments three weeks apart. I will be finished in time for the shipping container. A date for the container has not been set yet. Currently, it is too dangerous for the priests to travel to Port au Prince to pick up their shipments.

I am really missing friends, work, and red bean sauce and rice. I am thanking God each and every day for the internet and our wonderful friends in Haiti. Because of these great people and the ability to stay connected with them, the work is continuing. We are praying we can return to Haiti this summer/fall.

Pretty much every day we are in contact with at least one person in Haiti or about Haiti. We were very happy to hear that the universities and trade schools are now open in Haiti after the long months the country was shut down.

Louinel is a young man that the Haiti Project has been sponsoring since preschool is now in his final year of High school. We have written about Louinel in the past, but not what our personal relationship has been since he was a young boy. Louinel has always been a figure in our home in Haiti. For many years he has come over when he was hungry. When he started high school, he would come over in the evenings and make a peanut butter sandwich for lunch the next day (although I think sometimes, he may have gone home and given it to his sisters and brothers). Louinel is very close to his mother and tries to help her. He also has two sisters, a brother and a cousin that lives with his family. This young man is very devoted to his church, family, and community. He is very kind and well respected among most anyone who meets him. In Haiti, a male leader in a job or a community is called Boss. I have really only seen a much older man called this title, but at nineteen, Louinel has already earned this title. Louinel does have a sponsor that he has communicated with here in the U.S. His English skills are very good and he continues to take classes to improve. He gives English classes over the weekends and runs our village library where he also tutors students. He is very musically talented.

To qualify for a scholarship and for us to find a sponsor for an older student, we require the past year\’s report card, (with decent grades), a stamped, (official), list of charges from the school, proof that the school is accredited by the Haitian government, and the student is required to write a short essay that answers the question “With your education what problems do you hope to solve in your community?” Here is Louinel’s reply:

According to me, a problem that I identify in my home community is 3 fold. I note that the area is undeveloped in the question of education, agronomy, & economy. People cannot find jobs so that they can work to take care of their children & their families. As a student, I yearn to resolve all of these problems that prohibit the zone from advancing. 

With the support that enables me to continue my studies, I learn more & more things, especially in the sense of administration & collaboration. Education enables me to grow [expand] my knowledge to respond to the issues of education, agriculture, & economic development. I believe that my studies serve as an important element that gives me the tools to help my community advance. 

In order for people in my home community to have a better life, I think that projects like these are important: 

1. Help parents find financing so that they can send their children to school

2. Give young people encouragement so that they come to church each Sunday

3. Help cultivators find tools & materials so that they can produce their own foodstuff, such as corn, sweet potatoes, beans, & yams. 

4. Give people jobs so that they can have the resources to resolve their own problems.