Haiti is, of course, part of Hispaniola, an island in the Caribbean; it is the western half of the island that also contains the Dominican Republic. Haiti has everything that you imagine a Caribbean island would have: palm trees, beaches, stunning views of the sea, lively music, plentiful tropical fruit, beautiful people. What it does NOT have, however, is a comfortable standard of living, because its assets have long been controlled by a few families while most of the population live in desperate poverty.
The week after Christmas, Mercy Beyond Borders treated its highest-performing Scholars to a week at a beachfront conference center for our annual MBB Leadership Training. There, the young women enjoyed a rare respite from poverty and a glimpse into the kind of development that can transform their homeland. Today, Haiti is known primarily as "the poorest nation in the western hemisphere." MBB is investing in Haiti's talented young women so that some day Haiti will be known as a beacon of reforestation and development, a mecca for businesses and tourists, a success story proving that educating females offers the surest path out of extreme poverty.
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