...People, Culture, & Economy of Haiti Have you ever traveled outside of your country? This was my first time traveling outside the United States of America. I thought it would be to vacation to paradise, but it’s to Haiti. Not what I wanted, however some opportunities you can’t let pass you up. Have you ever paid to traveled to do community/relief service outside your country? The act of traveling to help others has to be a true passion in life. I have vacationed outside the country once and it was a trip to Haiti. I rather travel to another country for relief work, than just to vacation. During my process of traveling I figured that you can’t be traveling to help others because you feel sorry. You must truly love to help others in life. My name is Stephen Gordon and I just completed my first year at Upper Iowa University with a Business Administration major. I am from Altgeld Gardens, which is located on the far south side in Chicago, Illinois. Atlgeld Gardens was named after Illinois Governor John Altgeld. It was established in 1945 and it’s an historic site. Altgeld Gardens is the first public housing projects built in the United States of America and was also an important stop on the Underground Railroad. Altgeld is completely occupied by low income families. The residents of Altgeld Gardens have little education and live off public aid and SSI. Most people love living off the money the government provides. The typical household in Altgeld Gardens is a single mom...
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...Poverty and Inequality in Haiti Poverty has an effect on people in Haiti in various aspects of everyday life, including housing, nourishment, education, healthcare, infant mortality rates and environment. Haiti has been capped with low levels of living setting, with many Haitians voyaging to urban areas. Level of poverty in Haiti is regarded as among the most severe in the western hemisphere. In Haiti there is striking large gap between rich and poor, and inequality is likely to amplify as the income gap broadens. The poorest 40 % of the population have admittance to less than 6 % of the country’s income, and the richest 2 % of the Haiti people have power over 26 % of national possessions. Haiti’s poorest people depend primarily on self employment and remittances for their income, while poor people who are moderately better off get their income mainly from pay earnings and allowances. The country is prone to hurricanes, flooding and climate related adversities. These climatic tragedies affect agricultural sector resulting to food insecurity that distress the community. The issue of climate change presents decisive challenge for Haiti’s development. People in Haiti living in rural areas have suffered as a result of increasing force on existing resources. Because of the pressure on land for cultivation, worsened by urban contravention on arable flatlands and irrigated land, the agricultural sector consists mainly of small scale farms. Land holdings are less than 1 ha in size. A...
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...earthquakes in the Americas cause concerns. Within a span of 45 days, two earthquakes hit Haiti and Chile. An earthquake, measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale, rocked Haiti on January 12, 2010, knocking down buildings and power lines and killing over 200,000 people. While the earthquake that devastated Chile, measuring 8.8 on the Richter scale on February 27 was 500 times more powerful; yet the death toll is magnitudes lower. There is the dominant approach which has examined the role of poverty in deepening the effects of natural disasters. Poverty is what ultimately kills most people during an earthquake. Poverty means that little or no evaluation is made of seismic risk in constructing buildings and no zoning takes place. It means that building codes are not written, and even if they do exist they are difficult, or impossible, to enforce. It means the choice between building robustly or building cheaply is not a choice at all (Stark 2010). Similarly, other studies stressed the costs in terms of lives, people’s disability and injuries and livelihoods affecting by the results of earthquake. They all agreed that the impacts are enormous and they are unequally distributed, with the poor and most vulnerable carrying most of the burden of the costs. Haiti is, by a significant margin, the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, with four out of five people living in poverty and more than half in abject poverty. Unfortunately, those poor people can't afford to "build to code." The earthquake...
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...The Caribbean is one of many regions that have problems with; transgression, poverty, digitalization, and health care plus many more. The Caribbean consists of all islands such as; The Bahamas, Cuba, Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. Haiti shares an island with the Dominican Republic. Haiti, is a third world country trying their absolute best on trying to make a living. The government is a multiparty; multiparty meaning there are more than one political party. The presidential leader of Haiti is Jocelerme Privert elected into office February 2016. The economic standpoint of Haiti has always had a problem because of; natural disasters, lack of a economy and lack of a government, health...
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...Review of Haiti’s Monetary Sector and Gross Domestic Product The country of Haiti was originally from an Indian word meaning “high land”. Haiti is known to own up to its name due to the land being covered in about four-fifths with mountains. According to “Haiti”, there are three mountain ranges which run east to west, and separate the country into valleys and fecund plains known as Massif du Nord, Massif de la Hotte, and Massif de la Salle. Stated in “The World Book of Encyclopedia”, “the country lies in the western part of the island Hispolonia in the West Indies, which reaches out into the Windward Passage in two peninsulas, which lays the Gulf of Gonaives” .The country is approximately the same size as Maryland. With 450 citizens to...
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...Dominican Republic and Haiti: A Comparison of How One Island Has Two Complete Different Ends Dominican Republic and Haiti: A Comparison of How One Island Has Two Complete Different Ends The Hispaniola is a small island in the Caribbean which is currently composed by the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Haiti. These two countries despite sharing an island and historical institutions are completely different. While the Dominican Republic enjoys the beauty of the Caribbean and its weather, Haiti suffers the consequences of it. These two countries share certain similarities, but within these similarities there is a big difference. The Dominican Republic and Haiti have a similar economy, environment, and education system, but in reality they are similar to opposite ends. The Dominican Republic and Haiti are both third world countries ranked on the top 100 poorest countries in the world. The Dominican Republic currently holds place 94 being in a sense wealthier than Haiti, who holds place 20 being the poorest country in Western Hemisphere. In 1960 these countries had the same GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita, but, ever since, they’ve manage to increase in opposite ways. The Dominican Republic and Haiti perform the same activities to increase their GDP, but somehow the Dominican Republic has increased unlike Haiti, which has been decreasing since then (Figure 1). The Dominican Republic currently stands at $5,855 GDP per capita which has more than tripled Haiti’s...
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...Haiti: Lending Institutions, Health Care, and Human Capital SOC 300 5 March 2015 Haiti: Lending Institutions, Health Care, and Human Capital Due to capital limitations, most governments, particularly in the developing nations borrow funds from their bilateral friends and organizations such as World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in earnest to enable them pursue development projects, and sometimes to correct balance-of-payment deficits. Nevertheless, such governments must adhere to some outlined conditions that are spelt out in the article of agreement in order for them to secure the loans; otherwise, the loans are withheld (White, 2012). Equally, a healthy population significantly contributes to economic development of a nation in various ways. This paper outlines how Haiti, one of the developing states, has used loans and grants for development. In addition, the paper outlines how a healthy population affects Haiti’s economic development. How Funding from IMF and World Bank and Other Financial Institutions Affects Haiti’s Economic and Political Development Since her independence up to date, Haiti remains to be heavily indebted because the country borrows from World Bank, IMF, bilateral friends, and from regional banks such as IADB. By June 2009, Haiti’s debts totaled to $1.2 billion (Frankema & Masé, 2014), whereby most of these debts are taken with an aim of funding development projects and correcting her balance-of-payments. However, the funds are...
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...The purposes of government does not improve the people's lives in Haiti. Evidence of to is being show with poor economic decisions, not maintaining social order and not providing good public services. Haitians had faced a devastation of an earthquake in 2010 which has changed the lives of many for the worse. The reasons are that people became homeless, buildings were destroyed, and the government falling apart. First, Haiti is not meeting the purposes of government since poor decisions are being made economically. This is shown statistically since more than 80 percent of the population are living in poverty and in extremely overcrowded houses that are too small. Also, most people in Haiti are living on less than two dollars a day with...
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...Development Professor Bullman Introduction Haiti covers a total of 27, 750 sq. km in the Caribbean between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. Bordering the Dominican Republic to the west, Haiti is also one-third of the island of Hispaniola. The mountains in Haiti cause the terrain to be mainly rough and the climate to be semiarid in the East where the trade winds are eliminated. Western Haiti features a more tropical climate. Prominent natural resources of Haiti are copper, calcium carbonate, gold, and marble. The population of Haiti is consisted of 9,801,664 individuals with 95% of individuals being ethnically black, and 5% being mulatto and/or white. French and Creole are the two official languages of Haiti. Regarding religion, the majority of Haitians are Roman Catholic (eighty percent), with the remainder of the population being Protestant, Baptist, Pentecostal, Adventist, Other, or None. A fascinating detail is roughly half of Haiti’s population practices voodoo. The economy of Haiti can be described as a misadventure. Haiti is a free market economy, enjoying advantages of low labor costs and tariff-free access for many of their exports from the United States. Haiti is known for their textile, sugar refining, flour milling, and cement industries. In addition, corn, coffee, sugarcanes, mangoes, and wood are many of the products from agriculture that are present in Haiti’s economy. On the other hand, corruption, poverty, and poor access to education are three of...
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...Haiti is located in the West Indies and is made up by the western third of the island of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. This country is about the size of the state Maryland in the U.S. Haiti is two-thirds mountainous, with the rest of the country made up of countless valleys, widespread plateaus, and small plains. Agriculture is the prime economic activity in Haiti. Subsistence crops include cassava, rice, sugarcane, sorghum, yams, corn, and plantains. Most Haitians own and farm small pieces of land throughout the country. The great population density has caused rural poverty and is also a major factor in the country's extensive deforestation, which has contributed to the scarcity of agricultural land. Haiti's biggest exports are light manufactures and coffee; other exports include oils, cocoa, mangoes, sugar, sisal, and bauxite. Haitians' exports are mainly agricultural goods and services: 66% of the population work in agriculture, 9% in industry and 25% in services, yet 28% of the profit comes from agriculture, 20% from industry and 52% from services (CIA, 2010). The United States is the country's primary trading partner. Industry in Haiti consists largely of light assembly of imported parts and the...
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...Haiti Earthquake of 2010– Vulnerabilities and Resiliency On the 12th of January in 2010 at 4.53 pm Haiti was struck by a massive earthquake that is considered as one of the deadliest earthquakes in the western hemisphere in a century (Chinn, 2011). According to The Haiti Earthquake (2013) it killed 220.000 people, injured 250.000 people and left more than a million homeless. The earthquakes’ characteristics: There are several different aspects of Haiti earthquake that amplified its impact. First of all, Haiti is located on the edge of the Caribbean plate that crushes into the Atlantic plate (The Haiti Earthquake, 2013). This area is known for its tectonic activities as the plates are constantly moving and creating friction between them,...
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...Haiti, just like any country in the world has its vast history that influences what it is today. Haiti is unique because of its regional, historical, and ethnicities. Haiti has its many firsts compared to many nations: it is the first country in the Caribbean that got its independence, the first post-colonial nation that is predominantly black, and the first one that got its independence through slave rebellion which was successfully staged. Moreover, Haiti is the only country in the Caribbean who uses French as its official language. However, with this historic “firsts”, Haiti remains to be a nation where development seems to be too elusive. The purpose of this brief paper is to for me to assist in providing you a bird’s eye view of the entirety of Haiti as a nation from its discovery until today. In December 5, 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Hispaniola which we now know as Haiti. The Spaniards gave a third part of Hispaniola to France in 1697 and the latter called it Saint Domingue which later became known to be the richest colony in the world. However, it is the most cruel where half a million slaves were starved, beaten, and buried alive for petty offenses. Because of this cruelty, a black rebellion ensued in 1791 which triggered the civil war. Five years later, the chaos ended through the efforts of Toussaint L’Ouverture, a doctor and military man. However, in 1802, slavery was again introduced through the Convention of Paris, triggering more revolts...
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...Spring Break 2013: A Journey of Riches I embarked to Haiti in Spring 2013 because I love to travel. I imagined this trip to be a fun time away from the AUC, but little did I know was that this little country on half of an island would forever change how I viewed the world. I must say, I was not well versed on Haiti prior to the trip. I can begrudgingly confess that my perception of Haiti was a product of the American media. I believed what my country had told me: things were bad, really bad and getting worse. More than seeing this seemingly hopeless poverty stricken country, I was able to dive head first into the culture and history of what it means to call yourself a Haitian. My preconceived notion of poverty could not compete with the sights awaiting me in various areas of Haiti. If nothing else, Haiti, moreover Haitians taught me to be grateful for all that I had been blessed with in America. Especially the little things I would generally take for granted like an endless hot water shower, adequate shelter, and consistent electricity. It was difficult for me to put myself in my Haitian counterparts shoes. A 21-year-old girl living in a poverty stricken country that had survived an earthquake only to be hit by a hurricane two years later. The Haitians are a tenacious people, which was eloquently and majestically illustrated to me through our crash course in Haitian history. It was also evident by the “extreme” measures that their youth would go to in order to ensure...
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...Kidders book Mountains Beyond Mountains, a book telling the true story of Farmer’s life and passion of treating people with infectious diseases. In the story Farmer strives to treat people in Haiti from mainly tuberculosis and other diseases, he has a dream of creating a better life for these people and to create a more universal health care system for those who cannot afford the necessary treatment that is needed to overall keep these people alive. Tracy Kidder in his book appears to take the side of Farmer, painting a picture to the reader of a man who has done only good in his life and seems to care more for others wellbeing than himself, “I can't sleep. There's always somebody not getting treatment.” (Paul Farmer, 24). It is obvious Farmer cares for others but you are only shown and told view points from those who have received his generous care and much of his gifts. At times throughout the book Farmer seems to express his anger at companies here in America claiming that recourses that we have should be put to better use around the world and not fought over due to money and who can pay for what. The market system to him is a serious problem that is cause many people around the world to receive no treatment and all and eventually causing preventable deaths in areas of serious poverty. His health care idea can seem radical at times, some of his ideas simply aren’t possible to accomplish in our day and age. Farmer wrote a book called Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights...
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...Assignment 03: Peer Review Title Introduction Ever since Haiti was founded by European colonists and established as a colony, Haiti’s ability to thrive as an independent state was hindered. As discussed by Patrick Bellegarde-Smith, the corruption within Haiti began with European French colonialists. Haiti’s global dysfunction has not only compromised its structural integrity as a land mass, it has also weakened Haiti as a society through poverty, deforestation and political dysfunction. Haitian Slave Revolt During the revolutionary period from 1789 – 1804, the slaves of Haiti revolted against the French colonies, which was later known as the Haitian Revolution. This revolt was the first ever successful slave revolt and had a powerful effect...
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