It has been some time since I have provided our bloggers with an update on the situation in Haiti. Excuse me for not having touched base sooner. At any rate, here is some of the latest news from the island.Yes, it's true, Paul Vallas is a consultant to the Haitian Ministry of Education. I have no idea about his latitude of power but I find it hard to believe that his impact will be significant due to the skepticism most schools and localities have towards this federal government agency.
Just what money Mr. Vallas has at his disposal is just one of many questions that will determine the degree to which he is able to bring his power to bear. As we all know, most of the schools are private and have operated largely out of view of the federal goverment.
At IMN Maxandre Bien Aime reports that all five of the 6th graders were successful in passing the state exam and four of the students who entered the official exam for public high school passed and are now able to attend public high school. As these five students move on, I will keep you apprised of their progress.
IMN has 180 students this year, up 50 over last year. It is clear that the staff are doing some wonderful things for the children
There are still at least 600,000 Haitian living in tents at this point in time. As few as 50,000 to 60,000 Haitians have been resettled following the January 2010 earthquake. To say the least, progress has been slow in terms of developing decent housing for the quake survivors and the homeless.
Tempers seem to short on another front. Some Haitians harbor ill feelings toward the U.N. peacekeeping mission that has been in Haiti since 2004, when a violent rebellion of former soldiers toppled then President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
The U.N. force has been blamed for introducing a cholera outbreak, and several Uruguayan sailors from one of its battalions face accusations of sexually abusing an 18-year-old Haitian man.
The IMN story is certainly a success! On many other fronts, the Haitian population is living in absolute misery.
Dick
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