Haiti
Part A
Many human rights are denied to the people of Haiti. Haitians have little control over the future of themselves or their country. Even before the earthquake, corrupt people with more control (and money) would abuse their power, selfishly treating those less fortunate unfairly. When the earthquake hit, the outside world and media started to pay attention to the suffering country. They knew there was no way that the Haitians could get out of Mother Nature's cruel mess alone. They needed aid, support and care. And that's what countries should do for each other; we all share this world together after all. So aid started coming in from neighboring countries and the news was spread- Haiti's in trouble (watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glny4jSciVI) and if we don't help them, who will? The support allowed people to rebuild their lives, rebuild their jobs, rebuild their families, and rebuild their nation. Slowly and surely, they will become more and more in control of their rights, choices, and capabilities. Of course, the rebuilding isn't very easy. The organizations that are helping face many obstacles when trying to clean up. One problem that gets in the way for them is garbage. With all that rubble, how are garbage trucks supposed to get through to the garbage. Won't it all stack up? Absolutely. That's what's happening.
What now? How are people supposed to help clean up when their surrounded in piles of rubbish? Problems like this are not easily solved. But slowly, things will get better. How was this country so effected by the earthquake? You may be wondering, why don't they just shake it off? Well it's not that simple. For a more wealthy and secure country like, say, Germany, that may have been possible. But Haiti started out in poverty. After years of suffering from corrupt leaders, the punch of the earthquake wiped them off their feet. When trying to earn the country a little money, the government pushed people to wipe out their natural forests for lumber. That wasn't such a bright idea, evidently. With only 2% rainforest left to hold the land together, it crumbled when the disaster struck. So how can this country get over such a big blow? How in the world will they get back on their feet? Many things could happen, and everyone has an idea of what might save the nation. For one, supplies being sent and clearing has to happen before anything else. Then rebuilding and jobs. I see this as a chance to start fresh. Thinking long term, eco-friendly rebuilding would save money and the environment (solar panels ect...). Then reforesting needs to happen. We need to learn from our mistakes and fix that problem. A nation built on dry, crumbly land won't be good. Once all that is done, I believe that Haiti can start again and grow as a country, and thrive.
Part B
http://ayiti.newzcrew.org/ayitiunicef/ When I played Ayiti: The Cost of Life I felt kind of sad and frustrated. That's because I know that life is really like that or worse for some people. I was frustrated because it was so hard to win the game and stay alive. Then I was horrified by the thought of how it must feel for real human beings- not just avatars. If I were to describe the game to a friend, this is what I'd say:
"The game is not just a silly or destructive game like WOW or COD, it's a game that makes you think about the big picture. When you have to care for a 3rd world family, you find how difficult their life is. It's really humbling. You decide what jobs they take, how much education they get, what kind of things they buy, and what they do when they get sick."
Before you start the game, you choose your primary objective: what you want to fulfill when playing. It sets a goal and purpose in your mind for while you're playing. I chose health. I chose it because you can't have education, happiness, or money if you're dead. That was my point of view. I used a couple different strategies during the game. At the beginning, when all the family members were in good health and with 300 money, I sent the girl to protestant school and made everyone work hard to earn a lot of starting money. That gave me around 500 money. So right off, I bought a home remedy set to keep the family in good health, toys for happiness, books for education family-wide, shoes for easy work, and a bicycle for more job choices. Each turn, I reloaded on home remedy sets and books. Every so often, I would send one family member for some education or to rest at home for a season. If I had plenty of money, I would send a family member to the clinic for a season to reload on health. Schooling is very important in the game. The main reason is that it opens up new job choices that can make your family more money and do good for the community. It was difficult to keep the children in school, though, because sometimes we were running short on money or we needed them to help with work. They also couldn't study if they were sick. That's why I did the "studying at home" thing with the books and supplies. Although some parts of Malaysia are poor, most are not in total poverty. It's a little hard to relate to the game because I've never been in that kind of situation before in real life. Getting education is definitely a challenge for LEDC's as demonstrated in the game. Sometimes, people just can't afford to send their kids to school, although it will help them in the future, they just can't see that far ahead. Education is vital for those countries, though because people need to get jobs better than farming. Every country needs it's carpenter, mechanics,secretaries, and construction workers. Women need education especially, because that is the only way for them to earn the respect of the powerful men in the communities. Otherwise, they're seen as lowly workers. If LEDC's made education cheaper and more accessible, their citizens would be so much more well off. They could lower the costs of good schools, get better teachers for the teachers, and make it easier for working kids to study and read at home.The UNMDG's are at work in Haiti. Let's take a look at the progress in the Caribbean so far.
GOAL 1 | Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger:
Progress insufficient to reach the target if prevailing trends persist.
GOAL 2 | Achieve universal primary education
Progress insufficient to reach the target if prevailing trends persist.
GOAL 3 | Promote gender equality and empower women
Progress sufficient to reach the target if prevailing trends persist
GOAL 4 | Reduce child mortality
Progress sufficient to reach the target if prevailing trends persist.
GOAL 5 | Improve maternal health
Progress insufficient to reach the target if prevailing trends persist.
GOAL 6 | Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Progress sufficient to reach the target if prevailing trends persist
GOAL 7 | Ensure environmental sustainability
Progress insufficient to reach the target if prevailing trends persist
GOAL 8 | Develop a global partnership for development
Already met the target or very close to meeting the target.
Sources:
http://cdn.wn.com/pd/27/5d/f89ffa7883d50a46c4b53a564e85_grande.jpg
http://msf.ca/blogs/photos/2009/01/08/floods-in-gonaives-haiti/
