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From Louisburgh to Haiti

Mary Heanue & Stephanie O'Toole
Sancta Maria College

Presenting the Cheque
Back row: Joanne Gill, Eithne King, Joanne Mc Donagh, Colin Henry.
Front row: Edwenia O Malley, Gerard Needham, Shauna Hennessy and Hannah Forde.

This report is based on a talk given by an experienced voluntary worker from Haiti. As a class of B1 second year students from Sancta Maria College doing a CSPE project, we wanted to familiarise ourselves with the difference between a developed and a developing country, such as Ireland and Haiti. So, we wrote a letter to Mr. Gerard Needham, who had spent a year working in a Haitian orphanage in Haiti, inviting him to present a talk on his experience there.

His talk on the 17th November enlightened us on the poverty and hardship that the people endure. Haiti occupies one half of an island in the Caribbean Sea, it has a tropical climate and most of the country is very mountainous. The school day is from 8.00am until 2.00pm in the afternoon but he explained to us that only about 20% of the children attend school and many only get a total of one or two years of education. The people of Haiti live in severely deprived conditions. The poorest live in clay houses with banana leaves for roofs while the wealthier live in houses built of blocks with galvanised roofs. The daily diet consists of fruit (excluding apples as they don't grow them), beans and rice. They grow their own rice and export coffee, tobacco and fruit. Sugar cane is also very popular.

Medical care is rare and there is only one free hospital in Haiti. This is miles away from the orphanage where Gerard works. The orphanage itself is located high in the mountains and has poor roads and very few basic services. In the hospital attached to the orphanage an average of three children die every two days. Many die from malnutrition, AIDs or other diseases. Anybody needing serious medical treatment has to travel a long way until they can receive it.

Voluntary workers in Haiti are paid through the Agency For Personal Services Overseas and to help Gerard with his work in Haiti, our class organised a non-uniform day which raised £212.

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