Finding hope in Haiti
Five years after a massive earthquake, Canadian youth continue to help
Drake had just emerged as Canada’s newest hip-hop phenom when he rapped these lyrics in K’Naan’s global anthem, Wavin’ Flag. The version recorded in 2010 by Canada’s Young Artists for Haiti featured musicians Jacob Hoggard of Hedley, Avril Lavigne, Lights and Kardinal Offishall, rallied together by Canadian music legends Bob Ezrin, Randy Lennox and Gary Slaight.
The group used music to rally support and funds among Canadian youth for the victims of the devastating earthquake that shattered Haiti on Jan. 12, 2010. Five years after that disastrous day, we know the song’s impact has been so much greater than the crew of caring Canadian musicians could have ever imagined.
Every morning at 8 a.m. in the mountain community of Dos Palais (two hours outside Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince) hundreds of children gather outside brand-new classrooms built with the fundraising support of young Canadians — and they watch Haiti’s flag rise before singing their national anthem and starting their school day.
When we first visited Dos Palais in the weeks after the earthquake, we found a dilapidated old school and a community hard at work. Residents were preparing to receive children from Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas who had lost their homes. Many children had lost their families, too. There was a camp set up for internally displaced people and an orphanage.
Billions of relief dollars were pouring into Port-au-Prince from around the globe. We made a decision on the spot to help people in the nearby countryside build communities so they wouldn’t have to migrate hours away to overcrowded Port-au-Prince for jobs, schooling and services.
With the backing of Young Artists for Haiti, the Michael “Pinball” Clemons Foundation and thousands of students from school boards across Canada who raised money with our organization, Dos Palais has thrived.
On a once-neglected piece of land now stands a vibrant school with trained teachers, a student garden and a well with clean drinking water. Of the 450 students who attend classes here, one-third come from the local orphanage and one in 10 were displaced by the earthquake and are now permanently settled in this supportive rural community.
Everyone gets a hot meal at lunch time, and everyone pitches in to maintain the pristine school grounds.
There’s no sign of Haiti’s ongoing cholera epidemic here because of the clean latrines, hand-washing stations and regular education on good hygiene. Some children are also participating in a national music program.
What’s also remarkable about this school is that it’s supported by young Canadians who continue to fundraise for their Haitian peers, long after the rest of the world moved on. New donations go toward the garden initiative, educational materials and just recently, livelihood programs for families.
Five years after the earthquake, the next step for Dos Palais — as in much of Haiti — is moving toward financial self-sufficiency. This year, parents will form small groups and participate in training programs on community development, preventive health care, financial literacy and entrepreneurship. They will receive training in trades and agriculture, and a goat that will multiply and provide milk.
Haiti has suffered through centuries of strife and poverty — not to mention the earthquake in 2010 — and it will likely take decades to build the kind of sustainable communities its people deserve.
But young Canadians have proven they refuse to be distracted by the next big disaster. They stand with our Haitian neighbours, doing their part to encourage the people’s resilience to shine.
“How come when the media stops covering … We forget about the people still struggling … You have to know the urge to make a change lies within And we can be the reason that they see their flag rise again.”