Poverty in Haiti

I'm currently working on a group project on child poverty in Haiti.

This morning I saw a story on the Today Show about the effects of Gustav on Haiti. This is a country where more than half of the population lives on less that $1 per day. In recent months four tropical storms including Hurricane Gustav battered this country and left then in an even more vulnerable state. Since Gustav, an estimated 1,200 Haitians have died due to starvation and disease and approximately 1 million people have become homeless. The biggest problem is that there is no food left in Haiti the feed the citizens. Many end up Haitians eating mud cakes made of mud, salt and oil in order to receive some substance. However these mud cakes, which are not very nutritious, have tripled in price since Gustav, so many families can’t even afford to eat them.

I looked to find a link to the Today Show story online, but couldn’t. I did find a couple of interesting videos about the children of Haiti and how poverty is affecting them. Approximately 10% of all Haitian children are “restaveks” or “servants.” This link shows you a little more about what their lives are like.

One fun way to that anyone can help world hunger is by playing the Free Rice game online. For every vocabulary word you get right 20 grains of rice are donated. People get fed and you get smarter!