April 7, 2015: Steve Abrams , our speaker, is an attorney who specializes in computer forensics, but his topic for today is a Rotary International topic entitled Heart in Haiti. An immediate question asks: “Why Haiti?” The first answer is Haiti’s relevance to the US: It is just 1 ½ hours away by plane, and millions of Haitians have immigrated to America. The second answer is that Haiti is a country in economic, health and literacy crisis. Although it shares an Island with the Dominican Republic the differences between the countries are as profound as night and day. Haiti has been deforested since 1925. All the trees have been cut down to create charcoal for fuel with which to cook. On top of that Haiti experienced an earthquake in 2010 in which hundreds of thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands more were made homeless. It has been estimated that it will take 50 years to rebuild the earthquake damage, but it must also be recognized that the quality of construction of the buildings was very poor.
Haiti has 9.7 million population, with 5 million under 18 years of age and is the poorest country in the Caribbean. 80% live in poverty, 54% in abject poverty and 75% live on $2 per day. Unemployment is 41% and only 40% have access to medical care. Even so the people are hardworking and clever. They disassemble oil drums and make beautiful objects of art to sell to tourists. Shortly after the 2010 earthquake a hurricane hit and flooded out the temporary campsites set up following the earthquake.
The illiteracy rate is 47% with an education system ranked 177 out of 186 countries. 67% attend primary school, 30% make it to 6th grade and 20% attend secondary school. Thus efforts by the International Rotary Heart in Haiti project are of great benefit. Individual clubs throughout our nation are purchasing supplies and upgrades to the schools such as playgrounds, cafeteria furniture and basketball courts.
In summary the mission of the Heart in Haiti project is to Improve Health, Support Education, and Alleviate Poverty.
— Fred Sales, Keyway Committee