Where Do I Stand?

What do I think about free medical care? Let me began by laying out the foundation before I state my position. Since the early 1900s, waves of (political and economic) crises have led many other nations to intervene in Haiti. Almost every time, these interventions only addressed the surface of the obvious problems without taking into consideration the root of the problems. I think to some extent, the method of help that has been adopted by the friends and “friends” of Haiti in the last century has contributed to the impoverishment of the country. Whether the supporters had good intentions or not, it has proven by time that the climate of dependency created by foreign assistance to Haiti has critically injured the ability of the Haitians to think for themselves. Haitians depend on the United Nation to assure “security”, the world bank for loans they can not pay off, and the wealthy countries for charity. Whenever something goes wrong, they turn to other countries for a solution. Dependency has crippled the thinking ability of the Haitians, which is a direct cause of what we are witnessing today.

I feel like the agenda that has been followed in Haiti is very similar to the methods used in refugee camps. Let me explain myself. In refugee camps, refugees are not able to take care of themselves because they are limited by certain perimeters and situations. Water, food, medical care and everything else necessary for survival has to be brought in from outside. After all, the ultimate purpose of these camps is to assure that all refugees are kept safe until peace is reestablished for everyone to return home. In that case, it is not necessary to develop any sustainable programs within refugee camps. Haiti is an impoverished country that is now going through one of the darkest chapter of its history, but Haitians are still capable of taking care of themselves if the right structure is in place. Haiti has enough people with the capacity to become good doctors, nurses, and experts in many different fields. As a matter of fact, during the Duvalier period, many Haitian doctors, engineers, and teachers fled Haiti under political pressure to reside in Canada, United States, and some European countries where many of them served in important positions. Take as an example Guy Theodore, the founder of the most modernized hospital in Haiti, Lhopital Labienfaissance. (Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6w844LptoA) . He is a graduate from Haiti State University who served as the head surgeon at Little Rock Arkansas Military Hospital. Dr. Theodore returned to Haiti in the mid-80s to start providing medical care in Pignion, the little community where he was born. His medical facilities are equipped with Haitian doctors, nurses and other professionals, many of which his institution provided scholarships to enable them to study both in Haiti and the United Sates. His institution is also in charge of several medical facilities in remote communities of Plateau Central, Haiti. It is not a question of if Haitians are capable of doing something for themselves, it is a question of when the infrastructure to provide self-sufficiency will exist in Haiti. What if a group of medical doctors from Haiti State University are helped under contract to go to the States to further their education and to become professors to train other Haitians in mission’s medical schools? Would it not be a step towards solving the lack of medical coverage? I would prefer seeing more brain power being developed in Haiti than medical buildings.

International medical assistance can never satisfy the lack of coverage because it is impossible for thousands of foreign medical professionals to move permanently to Haiti to practice for free. On the other hand, there are thousands of young Haitians with great potential who can be trained in the medical field to assist their own communities if there was a structure in place for that. Every year thousands of Haitians graduate high school and are unable to continue their education because they are too poor. Unfortunately, the helpers have not yet grasped the importance of helping those graduates to continue. Community development consists of empowering indigenous people to help themselves.

I think (Gerson’s opinion) it does not make very much sense for helpers of Haiti to continue to spend hundreds of thousand of dollars in opening medical facilities in a country where there is 1doctor for every 10,000 people. I think it would be more beneficial for the country as a whole if the majority of that money was spent to send some smart Haitians to medical school under contract to return and serve in the rural areas for a period of time. This way, doctors and nurses would be dispatched to the mountain sides, helping hundred of thousands of people who would have never had access to medical care. I also think it is out of order that certain hospitals in Haiti have the technology to perform major surgeries, while every year, thousands of people die from easy-to-cure infections because doctors and nurses are unheard of in most remote communities. I am not sure what the numbers are, but I am very positive that the number of people who die from lack of basic medical assistance far surpasses the number of people with urgent need for major surgery. I think the priority needs to shift towards providing medical care for the collective good. I think more money should be spent towards helping Haitians help themselves in a sustainable way, and less money in providing free services.

I think those who help Haiti, for the most part do not anticipate sustainable changes, and that is probably why they use the famous “Bandage Solution” instead of attacking the source of the problems. I know one institution by itself can not change the country, but I believe any institution that works hard and smart enough will impact generations and generations of Haitians. My whole philosophy is; it is not wise to try to fill up a whole ocean between two islands when it is possible to build a bridge. The bridge is to help as many Haitians as possible to become professionals to cure their own problems. My main question about providing free medial care instead of investing in Haitians to carry on the legacy, is what is going to happen when the helpers leave? Will the empty buildings and the machines take care of the sick?

I do not support the method of helping Haiti through free or cheap medical care not because it does not benefit some Haitians, but because I believe there is more dynamic in developing brain power. I do not suggest foreign nationals who provide medical assistance in Haiti should not be appreciated either. They are men and women who gave up a good life for themselves to serve in an impoverished nation under difficult conditions. When private hospitals refuse to see patients who can not pay the bills, these faith-based organizations and NGOs make it possible for these patients to receive care. My argument is that Haiti should be helped in ways that will allow Haitians to help themselves in the future.

A year and a half ago, I received financial help from family members and a church that made it possible for me to come to St. Louis Christian College. All those people who helped me attend college will probably never have to help me again because they helped me in a way that I can become self-sustainable. Now, my duty is to go back and help other Haitians and communities become self-sustainable as well. That is the kind of ideology that I greatly support.

Leadership is deploying others to become as good or better than you are. Myles Munroe

Advocacy

Through my journey with God, there is one thing that has become very clear in my mind. I know he has called me to be his voice among the rest of the Haitians, and I would consider myself lax in that responsibility and duty towards my Haitian brothers and sisters if I ever let anything stop me.

And beyond faith reasons, after all, I am Haitian. I was always taught, especially at church and school, to love my country and to work for its best interest. Although I condemn corruption, social and economic injustices, and the lack of governance in Haiti, I still love my country and have dedicated my ministry as an instrument of change in both spiritual and social aspects. Every Haitian has the duty to play a role in the survival of Haiti, regardless their background, faith, or world view. We have the duty to love, respect, and protect our nation. And my responsibility towards every Haitian is to love them, respect them and protect them. Having said this, I am to act, speak, and write upon what I judge as loving, respectful, and protective to the rest of the Haitians.

Because missions is the platform which God has given me to perform my Christian ministry and responsibility towards Haiti, my ideology is centered around that particular ministry. In the future, I will be writing about what, in my perspective, missions have done right and what they have done wrong, and how I think missions can maximize their efficiency in Haiti. I hope if any missionary in Haiti happens to read about my perspective of missions that they would not take it personally, but understand it is my duty to love, respect, and protect the people that I call my own.

I do have mixed feeling about missions in Haiti. On one hand, I have a lot of consideration for every missionary in Haiti, especially those who are there because they really love the people and want to make a difference in their lives. On the other hand, it would be naive on my part to claim all missions and missionaries are all that great. From what I have experienced in Haiti, I believe the whole mission system needs to be reformed.

I would not deny the fact that most missionaries are- or at least once were- well intentioned to help Haiti, but many of them have missed the mark due to a lack of readiness for intercultural ministry. Intercultural ministries take spiritual preparation as well as socio-economical and historical understanding. Unfortunately, many who went to Haiti were driven simply by the poverty of the Haitian people. When poverty becomes the focus, ministries are based on handing out food, which is for one detrimental to the Haitian economy, and for two it hinders respectful relationships.

Talking about the effect of handing out food, I will take the opportunity to mention that some Haitian economists have traced down direct relationships between cheap imported food and the destruction of the Haitian agricultural system, which results in the hunger problem that 80 % of the Haitian population is facing today. CARE, which is an international NGO in Haiti, in its effort to help the Haitian economy has made the resolution to stop importing food to Haiti, and use their food budget to help the national production. The Haitian government has launched a campaign to encourage Haitians to buy local food even though it is more expensive than imported food. There are a series of ads playing on the Haitian Television and public displays that promote the local productions. Yet I wonder how many missions organizations are aware of that, or can understand these economical issues. (This was just a side note.)

One phrase I really hate hearing from missionaries is, “It is Haiti” whenever they have a bad experience. Even if it is due to their lack of understanding of the laws and regulations, they are apt to use that as the explanation. This term reminds me of Adam and Eve…”It was the woman!” This is what I believe that mentality does; it creates a lack of responsibility and an excuse for poor decisions. For example, because “It is Haiti,” some mission organizations think it is fine to have schools in which 6th graders have 1st grade reading ability and can’t perform basic addition. Because “It is Haiti” they build orphanages, and when the kids misbehave or turn 18, they throw them back on the street without any professional training. Because “It is Haiti” they can have churches where the preacher can not read or write; because “It is Haiti” they can pressure and manipulate the Haitians; because “It is Haiti” they can pay their employees $3 for 12 hrs of work. The list can go on and on. It seems like this “It is Haiti” mentality works more for missionaries’ selfish interests than anything else.

These are some of the issues that I will be addressing from my own perspective. I will be speaking and acting upon them until I see a reformation in the mission system in Haiti. Christians- both native Haitians and international missionaries- are the only tool that God has to change Haiti, but the system needs to be reformed. My purpose in writing about these things is not to be critical and negative, but to address issues that I feel need to be addressed in missions across Haiti.

In Just a Few Days

I am sorry I have been away from the blog for so long. School and other family obligations have been keeping me extremely busy this semester. I am only a few steps away from completing everything for this semester, and I feel very relieved that I am finally going to have the time to sit and write about the many more plans that have been added to what we already intended to do in Haiti. In past few months, we have met different people who have embraced our vision, and who will possibly work with us in the future. It is very exciting to know God is at work and he is already providing for this ministry.

Why Education?

My Life Was Changed
When I was born, my mother became a single parent of two boys. Although she was a hard working woman, her low level of education hindered from getting a job that could meet our needs. When both my brother and I reached the age to start school, she could not pay for either one of us to go. We had no choice but to stay at home. A few years later she was hired by a candy factory that paid her hardly enough to care for our basic needs. In spite of her low income, she decided to send my brother to a mission’s school that only required a small fee. I remember waking up in the morning to watch him leave for school, and wondered when it was going to be my turn. Every day, for two years, I looked forward to him coming home to share with me the new games or songs that he had learned in class. I was eight years old when I had a chance to walk in a classroom myself. With much joy, in October 1988, I walked through the gate of “Nisale Sagger.” As a kid back then, I anticipated the food, the excitement of playing with friends during recess, and the pride of wearing a school uniform, as education was a luxury to underprivileged children. As an adult today, I understand how my life has incredibly changed by having the opportunity to attend an educational institution. My brother and I were very fortunate to be two of the few underprivileged children that had a chance to receive an education.

Education, a Tool in God’s Hand
God has powerfully used school to shape my future. When I turned seventeen, I began to develop a passion to learn English. I started by reading every English book and listening to every tape that I could possibly find. At the age of nineteen, I enrolled in a two-year electrical program. Meanwhile I was going to high school, trade school, and learning English. On Christmas break of 1999, I had my first experience in working as an translator. After I graduated High school, I began to work part time as an interpreter for a mission in the Northwest province of Haiti. A year later, I was asked to work full-time with children who suffered from chronic malnutrition. With no medical training, I researched the internet where I came across effective treatments that prevented many of them from dying. After my electrical skill became known around the mission’s campus, I started to be called on for maintenance and troubleshooting of some of the equipment that was used to provide free health care to the population.

I am not writing to make the world know about my accomplishments. I am writing to emphasize the importance of education, which thousands of children in the Far West region are deprived of. Before I came to college in the US last year, I spent three months in a small village off the Far West cost, about ten miles from Port de Paix. By spending time with the children of that community, soon enough I came to realize what an asset some of them can be for the region if only a chance is given them just like it did to me. It is sad to know these children will live and die, and never have a chance to fulfill their destiny. I am also writing this as an encouragement to those who sponsor children across the world. As one whose elementary education was sponsored through a mission’s school, I understand how priceless every dime that was invested in my education is. The difference my sponsors made in my life and the lives of those I had the privilege to assist is enormous. I was just a typical underprivileged little boy like the thousands in the Far West and millions across the whole country. I am just a star fish that was thrown back into the ocean.

Education, a Tool for Evangelism
First things come first. Education is defined as “developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.” Education plays an important role in the overall function of humankind. Evangelism and community development become less effective where education is absent. If our ministry is going to conform to the great commission annunciated in Matthew 28:19 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” we must indeed make disciples, not just converts. If we are going to fulfill this imperative among this people group, we have the responsibility to invest in the church leaders. The churches in the Far West area are lacking the most important elements that contribute to good discipleship. Most preachers there are incapable of reading and understanding the Bible well enough to teach it, and most congregations are intellectually unable to grasp the full meaning of Christianity. Christianity is often conceived as a set of rules that one has to follow in order to please God. Our ministry will put a lot of emphasis on the development of the powers of reasoning and judgment for discipleship ministry and community development.

Build a Legacy with Education
Our long term educational mission is to launch a training program for current ministers, and a strong academic program to prepare the children for the future. We will achieve our goal by developing an education center to teach church leaders how to read and write that will be followed by a training program in theology and Christian ministry. At the time of completion of this program, our leaders will be equipped with the basic knowledge of the word of God. This process will take at least five years. Three years of basic reading and math, and two years of ministry training. While we will be working on improving the preachers’ ability for a much greater impact on their communities, we will also institute a quality education system for the future generation. Therefore we are working on developing a strong academic program for children and young adults. First we want to build an elementary education system that will be different from most of the ones that we have encountered in the country. Most underprivileged students, if lucky enough to complete elementary school, still struggle to read and write. The problem lies in the education system as a whole. That is why our gaol is not to build schools alone, but to establish a good Christian education system that will propel our kids to became intelligent and credible servant leaders. In order to help our elementary graduates to continue with their education, a high school education system will also be made available to them. As our goal is to help the Far West region to become a self-sustained community, our academic program will include a college level of education. The ultimate goal of our educational program is to empower our students to drastically impact their community for Christ.

Our Immediate Plans
The first step in our educational plans in the Far West is to take a group in this summer to build the elementary school. We are currently in the process of buying a piece of land to build on. We want to get the school built this summer, and have it ready to open in September for the new school year. Our partner in this project is a native of the Far West who shares our vision and desire for community development in the area. He has experience in the field of education and will be overseeing the school once it is built. We are praying for God to provide the people and resources needed in this endeavor. We are very excited to see the ways He will work in this, and we hope He will use us to change these children’s lives.

Who We Are

I was born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. I spent about 6 years in the Northwest province of Haiti working at a Christian mission. I served as a translator, a feeding program manager, an electrician, and an assistant campus manager. I came to Saint Louis, Missouri in January 2007 to study for my BS in Preaching Ministry. I recently got married to my Heather, a beautiful woman who grew up in Desloge, Missouri. She is the most wonderful and compassionate person I have ever met.

Heather and I first met in 2002 during her first internship in Saint Louis du Nord, Haiti, but it was not until June 2006 that we started a dating relationship . We got engaged in April 2007, and our wedding took place 0n October 13, 2007. Now we are sharing a life, a dream, and a passion to minister to this people group in the Far West region of Haiti. Heather has a very deep passion for orphans, abandoned children, and poverty stricken families. I eagerly desire the gospel of Jesus Christ to be preached adequately amongst the people. I also want to see a decrease of illiteracy and a reduction of hunger in this extremely poor region. The Far West has a very high rate of illiteracy. Between 80 to 90% of the population can not read or write. The number of well educated preachers found in that region is very minimal. Although I admire their genuine attitude toward their ministry, I believe that God has a new generation of leaders that he wants to raise up. My wife and I believe it is going to take people like us to join hands to make that happen. Heather and I are anticipating the challenges that lay ahead of us as we will be working towards eliminating illiteracy. This is a pattern that has existed for nearly two hundred years in that community, and we know it is not going to be a easy task. We believe by educating the children of the Far West region, many good preachers and other vital citizens will be brought to surface.

Life in Haiti is paradoxical. The riches and the assets of the country are in the hands of one people group that is known as the Bourgeoisie. This people group that represents about 2% of the population, owns and controls approximately 70% of the actual resources of the country. Meanwhile the majority of the Haitians are living in extreme poverty. 70 % of the population is unemployed, and 20 % of the employed group earns less than two dollars a day. Remote places like the Far West have a 0% employment opportunity. This congestion of financial resources and political power creates a huge social division within the island. Social injustice, political instability, and hunger are the major outcomes of this social division.

Throughout the years, many attempts have been made by the international world, and faith-based organizations to ease the social-economic problems of this poverty stricken island. But it seems like every year that goes by, the misery of the people deepens even more. No resolution seems to be the right solution. Millions of dollars have been poured into Haiti, yet the death toll from malnutrition has increased considerably, and infrastructures are still nonexistent. It is time to stop and ask if money is really the problem. In my understanding, the situation is more serious than just an economic issue.

There is an underlying problem that has not been touched yet. I was once very insulted by a Canadian who commented on poverty in Haiti. He said, if we were to migrate all the Haitians living in Haiti to Canada, and moved all the Canadians to Haiti, within twenty years Canada would look exactly like Haiti does today, and in less than 20 years Haiti would be what Canada is today. It is certainly a prideful comment, but I am afraid I would admit that there is an element of truth in the statement. Haiti has an abundance of natural resources that has not yet been utilized. Haiti is a beautiful island rich in culture and history, which are the major touristic attractions. In addition to that, at one time, this land was the world’s number one coffee producer, and a major exporter of sugar, bananas, cocoa, and cotton, just to name a few. Haiti has a history that its children need to catch up with. Unfortunately, 70% of the population has no clue whatsoever of how to fight poverty, and the 30 % that represent what we would call the intellectual group is only looking out for themselves. The philosophy of this group is “sauve qui peut,” a French phrase meaning “save yourself if you can.” There is no sense of common interest, or any emphasis on community development. Everyone has to do what they can to survive.

Haiti’s potential is embryonic. This land is in desperate need for a system that would help the embryos to develop and mature. The children of Haiti are the embryonic potential for a turning point in the situation of the country. A proper academic and Christian education for the underprivileged children is the hope of Haiti. Raising a generation of intellects that will walk in integrity and in the fear of the Lord is our goal. All our resources will be used to back up long-lasting ministries. We have no interest in temporary results. Our mission will be for every life that will be touched, saved, improved, and maximized through our ministry to go on and make a difference in their community.

Haiti needs the Jesus who loved, called, walked, taught, and listened. Haiti needs people who can identify the problems and call for proper solutions. The primary focus of our ministry will be to identify individuals with potential and help them reach that potential. That is why the availability of a good education system is a crucial part of this ministry. If people like Martin Luther, the Wright Brothers, Albert Einstein, and many others did not have the privilege of an education, we would have many blank pages in the World History, and our world would be so far behind. Every year that goes by, many Martin Luthers, Brother Wrights, and Albert Einsteins die intellectually in Haiti because they did not have the privilege of an education. This country will change when we give a chance to millions of underprivileged children.

Many years ago, the Far West land was farming area, and now it is turned into a desert. Because of erosion and an annual flooding, the good soil has been rushed into the ocean, and transformed the whole area into a barren land. The rivers that once were used to water the plantations have been dried up by the drought. The peasants persistently plow every year right before the raining season, hoping that God would send the rain, but the rain usually comes so abundantly that it washes the land away. The blazing sun also makes it impossible for successful harvests. Meanwhile, the condition of the land is deteriorating, the population is increasing, and poverty is striking even stronger.

Our dream is to bring the message of hope to this part of the country. We want to see the Gospel being preached in its fullness. Therefore, our vision is to build a strong educational program to help actual church leaders to learn how to read and write, and equip them with the basic knowledge of church ministry. We want to build serious middle schools and high schools through out the area, and a US standard Christian University for students who have an interest in pursuing degrees in theology and biblical studies, agronomy, health care, social services, and business. We also want to start an orphanage for orphans and street kids. We are working with Saint Louis Christian College on a sustainable agriculture program that will send missions graduates students to train the Far West farmers in the care of green houses, fish farming, and land farming. This program will help reduce hunger and poverty in the region.

With a lot of prayers, God’s direction, and actions we believe that we can be used as an instrument for a change in the Far West community and Haiti as a whole. While we are here in the State, we are anticipating several years of work that will brighten the future for this poverty stricken people group.

Check out my Slide Show!

Gerson + Heather

haiti pap mouri

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