One sustainable and effective way that Barbados can help Haiti at this time is for each secondary school to sponsor one Haitian child per classroom. The school’s old scholars and Parent Teacher Associations can assist with the necessary fundraising. If a school does not have the spare capacity, then they can sponsor a child in another school that has the capacity.
The Haitian student’s experience will be like that of attending a boarding school, with the exception that the student will board with a responsible host family. This exercise can have a profound meaningful impact upon the students who will be immersed in a culture without the distractions of the levels of corruption, violence, and poverty to which they were accustomed. Haiti should benefit developmentally from Barbados’ investment in the Haitian students, and Barbados can benefit from the cultural exchange.
Barbados should be able to afford this type of investment, since most of the funds raised to support the Haitian students need not be converted to foreign currency, but can be spent in Barbados. Perhaps some consideration can be given to using the funds already collected by Churches, schools, other social groups, corporations, and the Government, in this manner.
Regards,
Grenville
