Literacy - Haiti Observer Blog

A Haitian delegation, headed by Secretary of State of Literacy Brutus Paula Julien, went to the Dominican Republic in order to have a better understanding of "Quisqueya Aprende Contigo", a literacy program that has shown some success there. They want to use it a a model for literacy in Haiti. The Haitian delegation was introduced to the three main programs currently in application in the neighboring country, including: "Quisqueya Sin Miseria" with 3 social programs that composes it "Quisqueya Aprende Contigo", "Quisqueya Empieza Contigo" and "Todos Somos Quisqueya".

Haiti is looking at implementing this new plan for illiterate people aged 16 to 50 years for a period covering 2016 to 2021

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Have you ever wondered while we are often confronted with attitudes, passivity or resistance when we go to ask for government services in Haiti? It's simple, the public employees are incompetent in the position held. A good number of them don't have a clue what you are talking about or if they do know what you want, are unable to help.

According to Jean Wilberson Timothee, Secretary of State for literacy in Haiti, close to 5,000 public employees in Haiti can't either read or write.

I wouldn't be surprise if some of these employees are managers

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On January 30, 2015, the UPS Foundation held a function that served as a handing over ceremony of a check the corporation has donated to fund a literacy program in Haiti. The UPS division, which has been a leader in programs of global citizenship, has given $30,000 USD to the cause, handing the donation over to the YMCA d'Haiti Literacy Program, which is an organization with the mission of teaching the skills of literacy and reading to the youth, seniors and women who are underprivileged in Haiti.

At the ceremony, the corporate executives of the UPS were present including the UPS Caribbean country manager, Pedro Capote, the UPS Americas Region vice president of Human Resources and Labor Relations, Charnley Conway, as well as members of staff of the YMCA d'Haiti including Board Chair, Roges Lamothe, and the General Secretary, Gwénaël Apollon. The grant will service two of the community centers of the YMCA in Port-au-Prince and Laboule. The current programs offered will benefit through an advancement in their capacity to reach more of the old, young and women who gain knowledge through the activities and initiatives given.

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Haiti suffers from a very low literacy level of 53%, well under the 90% average in other South-region countries. A plethora of reasons exist as to why this is so. Private schools teach 90% of the school population, operated by churches, non-government organizations, and communities. The government of Haiti (GOH) spends only a fraction of its budget, 10%, on education for primary and high-school grades.

Haiti's first Constitution stated ". . . education shall be free". And the Constitution of 1987 declares education is "a right for every citizen". But neither of these goals has been realized. Private schools, 75% of them, have received no accreditation from MOE, meaning they are not held to minimum standards.

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There are a lot of facts to know about children in Haiti. Primary school is attended by just about 20% of the children and after primary grade many of the children don't attend school. Many of the schools barely have canteens or cafeterias.

Estimates On Status Of Haitian Children As Per 1998
As per estimates of 1998, the death rate per 1000 children was 99. Lack of care and medication are the main reasons for 25% to 30% death of children in the provinces. It is through a church that the missionaries support around 60% of the private schools in Haiti. Around 60% of the children hardly get three meals per day. Many of the children have no breakfast or lunch.

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Haiti is a desperately poor country, the poorest in the Western Hemisphere in fact. Up to 80% of the population is illiterate. So it is interesting to consider the program the National Directorate of Books, National Library, and Libraries without Borders (BSF) is attempting to do to combat the problem.

On July 12, 2012, the tripartite began the Biblio Tap-Tap Program, a mobile library, which will deploy three jitney buses to several areas in the country. The stop-off points include the region around Port-au-Prince and north and central sectors of Haiti. Jitneys will visit each destination point monthly, with a library of 400 titles for each locale, out of its inventory of 2,400 books. The program is designed to serve the unemployed, youth that have dropped out of school, and the homeless. The literacy program will meet the education needs of approximately 5,000 youth and adults.

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