Rural
Life in
Haiti :
Haiti
is the
poorest
country
in the
Western
Hemisphere: 80%
of the
population
lives
under the
poverty
line and
54% in
abject
poverty.
Two-thirds
of all
Haitians
depend
on the
rural agricultural
sector,
mainly
small-scale
subsistence
farming.
Farming is
vulnerable
to damage
from frequent
natural
disasters,
exacerbated
by the
country's
widespread
deforestation.
Economic autonomy for Haitian Coffee Farmers is Singing Rooster's goal.
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Village
of
Jeannette
--
is
a
good
example
of
a
rural
community
in
Haiti.
Jeannette
is
located
in
the
southern
peninsula
of
Haiti.
It
is
70
miles,
an
adventurous
5-hour
drive,
west
of
the
capital,
Port-au-Prince.
Like
many
rural
places,
Jeannette
is
more
of
an
area
than
actual
town.
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Living
Conditions
--
This
rural
community
of
about
15,000
has
several
hundred
houses
on
small
plots
of
land.
The
houses
are
made
of
thatched
and
woven
leaves
or
concrete
block.
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The
typical
Cinder
Block
House
is
approximately
12
feet
x
15
feet
and
consist
of
1
-
2
rooms
with
a
dirt
floor.
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Most
cooking
is
done
outside
over
a
fire.
There
are
usually
only
two
or
three
beds
in
a
typical
Haitian
home,
which
often
houses
as
many
as
six
to
ten
people.
Families
have
little
money
to
spend
on
clothes.
Most
children
have
only
a
school
uniform,
play
clothes
and
a
Sunday
outfit
that
has
been
donated
or
passed
down.
There
is
no
underground
source
of
water
available
in
Jeannette.
People
rely
on
cistern
water
and
often
carry
water
long
distances
in
buckets
on
their
heads.
Without
running
water,
Haitians
wash
clothes
by
hand
in
a
small
pail
of
water
with
a
bar
of
soap.
There
is
no
electricity
in
the
village,
although
solar
and
wind
panels
and
a
generator
send
electricity
to
the
school.
There
is
limited
access
to
communication.
Most
information
is
passed
on
by
word
of
mouth
or
cell
phones
/
there
are
no
land
lines.
National
and
world
news
is
mostly
heard
on
radio
and
a
small
handful
of
TV's. |
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Transportation
is
by
walking,
horse,
donkey,
bicycle
or
a tap-tap
bus.
There
are
only
a
few
motorized
vehicles
in
Jeannette.
Most
roads
in
Haiti
are
very
rough
and
need
repair.
To
get
to
school
most
students
walk
long
distances,
some
more
than
an
hour.
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Economy
--
Most
of
the
people
of
Jeannette
are
subsistence
farmers.
People
eat
only
what
they
grow
or
purchase
with
a
very
limited
income
of
less
than
$300
a
year.
The
market
is
a
2-hour
walk
down
the
mountain.
With
no
refrigeration,
meat
is
a
luxury.
Goat
and
chicken
are
eaten
only
on
special
occasions,
so
the
main
meal
is
usually
rice,
beans
and
sweet
potatoes.
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They
grow
mostly
beans,
corn,
potatoes,
yams,
cabbage,
eggplant,
greens,
okra,
tomatoes,
avocados,
oranges,
grapefruit,
bananas,
watermelon,
coffee,
and
cocoa
beans.
Some
families
own
chickens,
pigs,
goats,
and
a
few
have
a
donkey,
horse
or
cow.
With
rampant
food
shortages
in
Haiti,
it’s
important
to
harvest
food
from
ALL
available
food
sources.
One
such
valuable
source
is
the
Breadfruit.
Breadfruit
is
one
of
the
highest-yielding
food
plants,
with
a
single
tree
producing
200
fruits
per
season.
Breadfruit
are
rich
in
starch,
and
are
roasted,
baked,
fried,
or
boiled.
When
cooked,
they
taste
potato
like
and
fresh
baked
bread
(hence
the
name).
One
problem
with
breadfruit
is
that
they
rot
quickly.
We've
initiated
a
program
that
helps
Haitians
convert
breadfruit
into
flour.
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Education
-
The
school
in
Jeannette
has
more
than
650
students
grades
preschool
through
ninth
grade.
In
2003
100%
of
ninth
grade
students
passed
their
national
exams
in
a
country
where
less
than
50%
pass
nationwide.
This
is
an
outstanding
accomplishment
given
the
average
education
for
most
Haitians
is
third
grade.
Most
children
in
Jeannette
do
not
have
books
of
their
own.
They
share
textbooks
in
school.
Paper
is
a
scarce.
Typically,
teachers
write
lessons
on
chalkboards
and
children
learn
through
repetition
and
memorization.
You
can
SEND
a
Haitian
child
to
School. |
School
was
held
outside
before
the
new
school
was
built
in
1988.
New
School,
1988
It
is
not
unusual
for
a
classroom
to
have
50
children.
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1989
St.
Marc's
Clinic
is
built.
Our
agriculture
and
vitamin
programs
have
helped
significantly
to
reduce
cases
of
malnutrition.
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Health care
--
Jeannette
has
a clinic
run
by
a doctor,
nurses
and
health
care
workers.
2003
was
the
first
year
we
were
fortunate
to
have
a doctor
living
and
working
in
Jeannette
for
nine
months
doing
community
service
in
exchange
for
having
her
medical
education
paid
by
the
Haitian
government.
Medicine
is
dispensed
at
the
clinic
pharmacy.
The
clinic
provides
triage
for
patients
who
require
more
advanced
medical
care.
These
patients
may
be
transferred
to
the
St.
Croix
Hospital
in
nearby
Leogane.
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Clean
Water
--
Although
numerous
cisterns
have
been
built
by
the
Haiti
Project,
access
to
clean,
potable
water
remains
a
high
priority.
In
2003,
the
Haiti
Project
began
collaborating
with
other
groups
and
foundations
who
are
doing
wonderful
things
to
fight
third-world
poverty.
One
such
organization
is
the
Gift
of
Water.
The
Gift
of
Water
developed
a
cost-effective
solution
for
water
purification.
The
purification
process
is
simple
and
similar
to
most
public
systems
in
the
United
States.
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The
Purifier
is
composed
of
two
5
gallon
buckets
that
detach.
The
top
bucket
is
filled
and
a
disinfectant
is
added
–
usually
chlorine
tablets.
The
bucket
sits
for
30
minutes,
giving
time
to
kill
bacteria
and
parasites.
It
is
then
placed
on
top
of
the
second
bucket
and
allowed
to
filter.
There
is
a
spigot
on
the
lower
bucket.
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100%
of Singing
Rooster's
efforts
go BACK
to Haiti;
our
goal is
to provide
direct
assistance
to rural
coffee
farming
communities
through
interrelated support
for the sake of self-sustainability, dignity and economic autonomy.
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