As many of you have seen in the news, political unrest has affected parts of Haiti over the past year. Our program manager, Jean Marc Didis, wanted to take this opportunity to describe the situation on the ground in his own words:
“Since September, Haiti has been experiencing a situation unprecedented in its history. The country is most of the time paralyzed, no social or economic activity is possible. People are demanding the resignation of our current president. Schools remain closed. People cannot go to work and when they do, they are not productive because they are afraid about how they will “go home”. Sometimes we have to run home before it gets worse.Everyone now has a new daily routine: wake up, read their Whatsapp messages about the current security situation to find out if they can go to work, listen to the news to check the information received, and read their messages again or call a friend to get a better idea of the situation. Some of the youth in the music program said that they now hate their home because it’s like a prison. They are forced to stay in without electricity, drinking water (sometimes), and entertainment.While people are blinded by selfishness and hungry for power, they forget that the future of the country – children and youth – is being left behind. Yet, I still have hope. When the children have the chance to sneak in for even two hours at the Community Center to practice, their smile gives me hope. It will take time, but the next generation we are training with your support through MHI will be better.”-Jean Marc Didis