What and who will help Haiti for the long term?

In spite of the near miraculous recovery of another survivor yesterday, the search and rescue operation in Haiti is, for all practical purposes, over.  The chances of anyone else surviving while buried in the rubble is almost none.  Now the focus will necessarily shift to the immediate concerns of food, water, shelter and medical care for those displaced by the earthquake.

The clean-up process is not going to be easy.  The large scale destruction will take some time to clean up.  Haiti's infrastructure was already a mess, so there wasn't much to work with from the start.  This is a country that was already largely dependent on some 2,000 charitable organizations working within its borders before the earthquake struck.  The average income was $310.00 and the unemployment rate fluctuated between 50 and 70% before the earthquake.  Only 48% of Haitians are literate and if you measure functional literacy it is more likely around 20%.

I think we can be proud of the response of American to the crisis in Haiti.  As has happened repeatedly over the years, when America saw the need she opened her hand to give generously.  Supplies, personnel and money has poured into this small island nation.  The church has played and will continue to play a large role in that response.  A quick survey of Tulsa, Oklahoma area churches reveals that almost every denomination and type of Christian church is doing something for Haiti.

But now that things are going to be transitioning from a search and rescue operation to a recovery and rebuilding operation, it might be time to step back and think through what the best strategy and approach would be.  This might well be Haiti's opportunity to not only survive this catastrophic event, but become a thriving nation-state.  That will require the right kind of help.

First, it is going to require strong, clear-thinking leadership and if it is going to be effective long-term it needs to be Haitian leadership.  This doesn't mean outsiders can't help, but if Haiti is going to become a viable, independent and thriving nation it needs some indigenous leadership to step forward.  Maybe God will lead Haitians who have left their homeland and learned how to be successful leaders outside the country to return.  Maybe there are leaders waiting in the wings in Haiti and they just need to be given the right opportunity to step in.  The bottom line is the outsiders need to do everything they can to help quality Haitian leadership take the lead.

Second, there needs to be some way to discover what the real needs are and what is the best way to meet those needs.  Sometimes buying things here and shipping them to Haiti is more expensive then just giving the money to purchase items in the country.  It is also possible that by allowing them to buy items in Haiti it will help to boost their economy and have a better long-term impact.  Further, past experience has taught us that sometimes countries who go through these events end up with loads of things that aren't helpful or needed.

Third, as important as it will be for volunteers to help in the recovery process, there needs to be serious thought given to who actually needs to be there and what kind of help will really help.  It is possible that it would be more helpful to give the money that the trip would cost rather than take the trip. 

Finally, as the rebuilding begins it needs to be done in a way that helps Haiti become a viable nation.  This might be accomplished more effectively by investing in some targeted infrastructure, providing the Haitian people skills training that will allow them to do the rebuilding themselves, and through micro-enterprise type loans that will unleash the potential of the Haitian people.

I pray for the kind of leadership that will help Haiti in ways that will result in long-term health for the people there. 

If you would like to read further on helping without hurting I recommend the book "When Helping Hurts."