Children's voices to be heard in Haiti's recovery

Children in Haiti's Croix-des-Bouquets region take part in a consultation process.

Interviews with Australian Plan staff in Haiti available (see details at end of release)

Plan International is giving Haitian children a voice in the development of their country. In an unusual move children and young people are being given the opportunity to have their opinions, wants and needs heard in the reconstruction process.

The Haitian government is asking for $11.5 billion dollars to rebuild, and Plan believes that children and young people in Haiti should have a say in how this money is used.

Plan spoke to about 1000 children across Haiti through children friendly focus groups. The groups ranged in age and focused on issues such as gender, disability, vulnerability, education, access to services and disaster risk reduction. Children were encouraged to discuss their hopes and dreams for their futures and the future of their country.

Plan in partnership with UNICEF led a consultation with children to ensure that their voices would be heard in the Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) process.

Traditionally, children and young people are excluded from the decision making process in Haiti. However, as half of Haiti’s population is below the age of 18, it is extremely important that the development of Haiti ensures that a positive transformation is made in their lives.

Plan found that what Haitian young people wanted the most right now is to get back to school and their educations.

“I want rights of children to be respected and all children to know what their rights are. I also want everyone to have access to education,” says quake survivor Daphmika, 15, in Port-au-Prince.

The children of Haiti need the international community to commit generously towards the costs of reconstruction. If the money is available, this will be the best opportunity in a generation to improve the situation there and reduce the underlying vulnerability that caused such a serious crisis,” said Roger Yates, Director of Disaster Risk Management at Plan International.

“The reconstruction process needs to address the priorities voiced by children if it is to realize long-term benefits.”

Plan will help Haitian children bring their ideas to important decision makers of the PDNA, by hopefully bringing two representatives to the PDNA donor meeting on March 31 in New York. Participants in this donor meeting include representatives of the Haitian Government, international experts, and representatives from the World Bank.

ENDS

Notes:

Plan International has two Australian staff in Haiti helping with disaster response. They are:

Glenn Bond

Glenn is Plan in Australia’s Program Effectiveness Manager, and is in Haiti on a short-term placement.

Penny Jones

Penny has been in Haiti for almost three weeks. She is working as Deputy Emergency Programme Manager for Plan Haiti on a six-week contract. Until recently Penny was Program Effectiveness Manager for Plan International in East Timor.

To speak to Glenn, Penny or other Plan staff in Haiti please contact:

Kristie van de Wetering
Public Relations Coordinator
Plan Haiti, Port-au-Prince
Tel: +509 34 56 27 99
Email: Kristie.vandeWetering@plan-international.org

Or

David Cook
Media Officer
Plan International Australia
Mob: 0448 816 900
Ph: 03 9672 3652
Email: david.cook@plan.org.au

Extra information

Plan consulted children throughout the country during the past few weeks and their message is clear. What Haitian young people wanted most is to get back to school, to pass their exams and get jobs in Haiti;

“I wish now that this will be the moment of change for Haiti. We need to create jobs for the youth, to rebuild all our schools. I wish to live in a better Haiti where the government takes responsibility for children and youth, because they are the future of the country. I wish that schools will start again where there will be good education, where children learn in safety and can study without fear." Yvenie, 15.

Investing in education is an investment in the future of the country. About 50 per cent of Haitian children couldn’t afford to go to school before the earthquake. Educating half of the overall population is no doubt the way forward for not just a return to normalcy for Haiti, but a step towards development and rebuilding the local economy.

During the consultation Plan spoke to children and youth in nine departments across Haiti, including; West, North East, South East, Artibonite, Nippes, South, North West, Grand Anse and Central Plateau.

The January 12 earthquake killed about 230,000 people and displaced more than 1 million, and children are one of the most vulnerable groups; with their survival, protection and development increasingly at risk in the months following the earthquake. About 76 per cent of Haitian children lived in poverty before the earthquake – 56 per cent in extreme poverty, meaning they survived on less than $1 a day. Child mortality rates are some of the highest in the region, and children that do survive often face high rates of malnutrition, have little access to clean water and no access to healthcare. Almost half of children don’t attend school.

Plan International has raised more than $30 million globally for its Haiti appeal.

Plan’s Haiti response includes:

• food aid distribution
• water and sanitation projects
• temporary schools
  
• anti-trafficking projects

Plan, has operated in Haiti for 37 years and currently has projects in the following areas: Beudet, Cayes-Jacmel, Croix-des-Bouquets, Dolney, Fort-Liberté, Frères, Jacmel, Lavallée, Ouanaminthe and Trou-du-Nord.