Haiti
Haiti
Capital Port-au-Prince Population 9.6 million Language French, Creole Adult literacy rate* Male 54.8% Female 51.2% Access to adequate sanitation Urban 29% Rural 12% Access to improved drinking water Urban 70% Rural 51% Urbanisation 47% Life expectancy Male 29.61 years Female 30.25 years Religion Roman Catholic 80% Protestant 16% Other 4% Infant mortality rate** 77.26/1000 GNI per capita*** $660 No. Living with HIV/AIDS 120,000 Percentage living on less than US$1.25 per day 80%
*Literacy rate – Percentage of persons aged 15 and over who can read and write. ** Infant mortality rate – Probability of dying between birth and exactly one year of age expressed per 1000 live births. ***GNI per capita – Gross national income (GNI) divided by mid-year population. GNI per capita in US dollars.
Fast Facts: A massive earthquake on 12 January 2010 caused enormous damage to the cities of Port-au-Prince, Petit-Goâve, Léogâne, Carrefour and Jacmel.
Haiti won its independence from France on 1 January 1804. More than two-thirds of Haiti’s population depends on the agricultural sector.
Haitians life expectancy is 29.93—the lowest in the world.
Current Issues The horrendous earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on the 12 January 2010 created a desperate situation in which buildings were destroyed, many people were injured and approximately 250,000 people tragically lost their lives. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck close to the country’s capital and was followed only days later by a 5.9 magnitude earthquake that hit approximately 60km west of Port-au-Prince. Australia has offered assistance through the World Food Program, the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, the International Red Cross and other non-government organisations such as Compassion Australia. In the aftermath of the earthquake, Australia has offered Haiti an assistance package of $15 million: $10 million in emergency humanitarian relief and $5 million for reconstruction assistance. Even before the earthquake struck, Haiti was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Over half of the population lived in abject poverty, one quarter of all infants had low birth weight and most people living in rural areas lacked access to basic needs such as clean water and sanitation facilities. Now, the disaster-stricken country is attempting to recover and rebuild, as widespread debris remains and nearly one million people are still homeless. HIV/AIDS is also extremely prevalent in Haiti, with approximately 120,000 people living with the disease and 7,200 dying as a result every year. Since 2004, approximately 8000 peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti have attempted to maintain civil order in Haiti. Despite efforts to control illegal migration, Haitians fleeing poverty and civil unrest continue to cross into the Dominican Republic.
Haiti lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and is subject to severe storms from June to October. In August and September 2008, a series of back-to-back hurricanes caused widespread damage, affecting around one million Haitian people.
“I will treat you with such kindness that your nation will grow strong, and I will also keep my promises to you.” – Leviticus 26:9
Compassion in Haiti Compassion International began work in Haiti in 1968. Over 60,400 children participate in around 233 child development centres. Compassion Australia assists over 4400 of these children. Compassion’s Leadership Development Program, Child Survival Program and various Complementary Interventions also operate throughout the country. Currently 87 Haitian students are enrolled in the Leadership Development Program and around 49 Child Survival Programs are in operation in Haiti. Our goal is to reach out to Haitian children; helping provide them the opportunity to rise above their circumstances and become all God has created them to be.
Background The island of Hispaniola, now comprised of Haiti on the western side and the Dominican Republic on the east, was discovered by Columbus in 1492. The native Arawak Amerindians who inhabited the island were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola. In 1697, Spain surrendered the western third of the island to the French, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L’Ouverture. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. After an armed rebellion led to the departure of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004, an interim government took office to organise new elections under the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. Continued violence and technical delays prompted repeated postponements.
However, after much delay and accusations towards the interim government of vote-rigging, René Préval was elected president in early 2006.
Education: Although education is highly valued and technically free, the majority of Haitians cannot afford to pay for uniforms, textbooks and supplies, and most primary schools in Haiti are expensive private schools. The school drop-out rate is increasing, particularly among girls and education remains a privilege of the upper and middle classes, with fluency in French a marker of success. As a result of the 2010 earthquake, many students are being taught in temporary ‘tent schools’; however, even before the earthquake struck there was a lack of infrastructure and low schoolenrolment rate across Haiti. Since the earthquake, a new education system has been proposed in Haiti that will provide nearly-free education from for kindergarten through to year 12 in accredited schools, with eventual government financing. The proposed plan would also build at least 625 new primary schools, triple the number of publicly financed schools, retrain 90 per cent of the country’s teaching force, offer a new curriculum and provide continued training for teachers. Most of funding for the education overhaul will be donated by the Inter-American Development Bank, which has helped design the program. The remainder will come from other donations.
Religion: Although around 80 per cent of the population claims to adhere to Roman Catholic beliefs, the number of Protestant Christians is growing steadily. There are around 425 registered congregations, and the largest denominations are Baptist and Pentecostal. The government officially recognised voodoo as a religion in 2003. Voodoo, a traditional religion derived in part from West African beliefs, is practiced alongside Catholicism by a large segment of the population, although no official statistics are available.
Source: CIA, World Fact Book 2009, UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children, 2009
Capital Port-au-Prince Population 9.6 million Language French, Creole Adult literacy rate* Male 54.8% Female 51.2% Access to adequate sanitation Urban 29% Rural 12% Access to improved drinking water Urban 70% Rural 51% Urbanisation 47% Life expectancy Male 29.61 years Female 30.25 years Religion Roman Catholic 80% Protestant 16% Other 4% Infant mortality rate** 77.26/1000 GNI per capita*** $660 No. Living with HIV/AIDS 120,000 Percentage living on less than US$1.25 per day 80%
*Literacy rate – Percentage of persons aged 15 and over who can read and write. ** Infant mortality rate – Probability of dying between birth and exactly one year of age expressed per 1000 live births. ***GNI per capita – Gross national income (GNI) divided by mid-year population. GNI per capita in US dollars.
Fast Facts: A massive earthquake on 12 January 2010 caused enormous damage to the cities of Port-au-Prince, Petit-Goâve, Léogâne, Carrefour and Jacmel.
Haiti won its independence from France on 1 January 1804. More than two-thirds of Haiti’s population depends on the agricultural sector.
Haitians life expectancy is 29.93—the lowest in the world.
Current Issues The horrendous earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on the 12 January 2010 created a desperate situation in which buildings were destroyed, many people were injured and approximately 250,000 people tragically lost their lives. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck close to the country’s capital and was followed only days later by a 5.9 magnitude earthquake that hit approximately 60km west of Port-au-Prince. Australia has offered assistance through the World Food Program, the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, the International Red Cross and other non-government organisations such as Compassion Australia. In the aftermath of the earthquake, Australia has offered Haiti an assistance package of $15 million: $10 million in emergency humanitarian relief and $5 million for reconstruction assistance. Even before the earthquake struck, Haiti was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Over half of the population lived in abject poverty, one quarter of all infants had low birth weight and most people living in rural areas lacked access to basic needs such as clean water and sanitation facilities. Now, the disaster-stricken country is attempting to recover and rebuild, as widespread debris remains and nearly one million people are still homeless. HIV/AIDS is also extremely prevalent in Haiti, with approximately 120,000 people living with the disease and 7,200 dying as a result every year. Since 2004, approximately 8000 peacekeepers from the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti have attempted to maintain civil order in Haiti. Despite efforts to control illegal migration, Haitians fleeing poverty and civil unrest continue to cross into the Dominican Republic.
Haiti lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and is subject to severe storms from June to October. In August and September 2008, a series of back-to-back hurricanes caused widespread damage, affecting around one million Haitian people.
“I will treat you with such kindness that your nation will grow strong, and I will also keep my promises to you.” – Leviticus 26:9
Compassion in Haiti Compassion International began work in Haiti in 1968. Over 60,400 children participate in around 233 child development centres. Compassion Australia assists over 4400 of these children. Compassion’s Leadership Development Program, Child Survival Program and various Complementary Interventions also operate throughout the country. Currently 87 Haitian students are enrolled in the Leadership Development Program and around 49 Child Survival Programs are in operation in Haiti. Our goal is to reach out to Haitian children; helping provide them the opportunity to rise above their circumstances and become all God has created them to be.
Background The island of Hispaniola, now comprised of Haiti on the western side and the Dominican Republic on the east, was discovered by Columbus in 1492. The native Arawak Amerindians who inhabited the island were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola. In 1697, Spain surrendered the western third of the island to the French, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L’Ouverture. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804. Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. After an armed rebellion led to the departure of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February 2004, an interim government took office to organise new elections under the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. Continued violence and technical delays prompted repeated postponements.
However, after much delay and accusations towards the interim government of vote-rigging, René Préval was elected president in early 2006.
Education: Although education is highly valued and technically free, the majority of Haitians cannot afford to pay for uniforms, textbooks and supplies, and most primary schools in Haiti are expensive private schools. The school drop-out rate is increasing, particularly among girls and education remains a privilege of the upper and middle classes, with fluency in French a marker of success. As a result of the 2010 earthquake, many students are being taught in temporary ‘tent schools’; however, even before the earthquake struck there was a lack of infrastructure and low schoolenrolment rate across Haiti. Since the earthquake, a new education system has been proposed in Haiti that will provide nearly-free education from for kindergarten through to year 12 in accredited schools, with eventual government financing. The proposed plan would also build at least 625 new primary schools, triple the number of publicly financed schools, retrain 90 per cent of the country’s teaching force, offer a new curriculum and provide continued training for teachers. Most of funding for the education overhaul will be donated by the Inter-American Development Bank, which has helped design the program. The remainder will come from other donations.
Religion: Although around 80 per cent of the population claims to adhere to Roman Catholic beliefs, the number of Protestant Christians is growing steadily. There are around 425 registered congregations, and the largest denominations are Baptist and Pentecostal. The government officially recognised voodoo as a religion in 2003. Voodoo, a traditional religion derived in part from West African beliefs, is practiced alongside Catholicism by a large segment of the population, although no official statistics are available.
Source: CIA, World Fact Book 2009, UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children, 2009
