I'm just back from Haiti where little progress has been made in the three months since the earthquake, and things are very slow going in all sectors, but education in particular. Only about 50% of schools have managed to re-open and, of them, there is only about 50% - 75% attendance as people are either afraid to send kids to schools which may not be structurally sound, or don't have the means to send kids back (only 15% of schools in Haiti are public, and the rest are private which require tuition and supplies to be paid for with money nobody has). 

 

There is very little clear leadership and support coming from the government in this regard. They have a fund to pay salaries teachers in the public schools, but won't pay them for private schools. In addition, a new government policy of not wanting "transitional" schools to be set up in the IDP camps has just been put forth as they say that this would "encourage" people to stay there....of course, they have nowhere else to go (though frankly many are there just to take advantage of free food and services).

 

With respect to the program we've proposed, I'm still waiting for the Haitian partners to step up and provide clear indications of their commitment and ability to participate, and have not yet received these. I'm not interested in imposing things onto them at all, and would only recommend the program if they are not only interested but willing/able to fully participate and manage the program. It remains to be seen, but time isn't on our side, and there are any number of other organizations with established operations on the ground with the resources and means who have already begin programs that are competing and could potentially conflict with ours.  It's a real feeding frenzy down there. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether the program we've proposed can be realized, in particular given the timeframe for training availability on the Indian side of the equation. 

 

All this being said, other possibilities exist to accomplish similar activities, particularly on the Dominican side of the island where there is interest in the RIVER methodology and the approach we're proposing to provide vulnerable Haitian children over there access to basic education as well.  Once piloted, and shown to be successful, this methodology can ultimately be applied to Haiti itself once the dust settles and they get their respective acts together.  My meeting with APEC University in Santo Domingo was very encouraging in that they'd provide access to their distance learning facility and potentially help identify Haitian students who might be able to participate.  But, again, the timeframe is prohibitive given their own school calendar and the logistics and funding required to accomplish it if/when they determine they could officially participate - and it ultimately needs the buy-in from the Haitian partners given they have the curriculum and programs on the ground in Haiti.