Volunteering in Haiti

Until such time as Haitians decide for themselves that the time is right to better their own country and living conditions, your volunteer efforts might be more useful and have a better chance of long term benefit somewhere else. Eventually the futility of using your fingers to plug holes in the dyke becomes apparent to all except those who benefit financially from continued involvement there.

Disheartening for sure, but that seems to be the present day reality in that country. There does not appear to be any sort of solid foundation upon which to advance change or offer anything other than limited short term relief for a finite number of individuals.

Even something as simple and straight forward as planting some trees is doomed to fail. If you are really intent on making a difference, an armed revolution might be something worth considering. I can't think of anything individuals or private groups can reasonable expect to accomplish other than perhaps for x number of days, feeding some children or giving them a blanket for a few nights before it is sold at the flea market.

Haiti is a corrupt failed state that needs a reset before charity and good intentions will stop wastefully disappearing into that black hole.

Not what you wanted to hear, but if you are going to go and "help" anyways, you should at least be aware of what you are up against so you can cultivate realistic expectations of how effective your efforts will be. Kudos for caring and wanting to help though - just not a practical objective at this point in time.

You might have to wait for the next disaster then you could ask Sean Penn or Anderson Cooper. Seems the only time you hear about Haiti is when disaster strikes then these 2 clowns and a host of others show up for some sound bites.

read 'Travesty in Haiti' before signing up -

Been discussed (disgust) thoroughly here - Haiti has