3 Principles to Ensure You Do (or Support) Effective, Appropriate Work in Haiti

In the first post following Lavarice Gaudin’s visit to Minnesota, we argued that development is political. Any NGO that ignores the political factors perpetuating Haiti’s poverty can’t contribute to meaningful, structural changes.

This time, we outline the steps you can take to get involved in a better way. These steps apply whether you’re an NGO looking to do work in Haiti, or a donor looking to give money. The Haiti Justice Alliance was established with the belief that these steps are critical to successfully working for real change in Haiti:

1. Research the history of the problem you want to work on as well as the method you want to use to get involved;
2. Empower people in Haiti through partnership rather than unilateral action;
3. Complement existing efforts rather than duplicating them.

 

Why Don’t More People Do This Already?

There are, of course, many who work in Haiti effectively, but several obstacles make this regrettably uncommon.

For starters, US government involvement reads like a laundry list of pitfalls to avoid in Haiti. People who take their cues from US aid programs are almost certain to get it wrong.

Links Round-Up: Minister Forced to Resign, Army Put on Hold, And More

Breaking News Alert

The Minister of Justice, Josué Pierre-Louis, resigned yesterday under pressure from Haitian parliament. He was charged with participating in the illegal arrest of an opposition party parliamentarian, Arnel Belizaire. Most believe the arrest was retribution for a public spat between Belizaire and the President.

 

Security

President Michel Martelly delayed the re-establishment of the Haitian army pending a ‘civilian commission’ recommendation, due on Jan. 1. Most likely this change occurred because of insufficient funds, or pressure from international actors.

Pairs Well With: The homicide rate in Haiti is not only lower than implied by the media, but is actually well below the average for Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a new study.

Also Pairs Well With: Our post urging everyone to move past the debate over lawlessness in Haiti, which is one of the main justifications for bringing back the army.

 

Economy and Trade

The Ministry of Trade seeks to attract investors, declaring: Haiti is open for business (h/t @moiracathleen).

Pairs Well With: Two articles showing how wage and union suppression have been used to deny the benefits of foreign investment to Haiti’s poor. In other words, investment is great – but only if the right regulations are in place.

The emergence of a vibrant entrepreneurial class in Haiti is one of the best defenses against predatory foreign investment. That’s why it’s exciting to hear that one of our partner groups, the What If? Foundation, is starting a club focused on developing students’ entrepreneurial skills.

Pairs Well With: Haiti’s first annual Global Entrepreneurship Day just concluded, which serves as another positive model of promoting Haitian-driven business ideas, as imposed to foreign-imposed ones.

 

Aid to Haiti

The Center for Economic and Policy Research again picks up on a story that HJA previously covered: the fact that USAID’s reliance on enormous contracts decreases the quality of its aid to Haiti.

Pairs Well With: HJA’s two pieces that focus on the effect of tied aid contracts and “indefinite quantity contracts” (IQCs), which are used because they’re administratively cheap, even though they produce terrible results.