Part of a special journal issue dedicated to strategies for societal renewal in Haiti., Fonkoze, "the bank the poor can call their own," is a bank that provides more than just loans. It also sees access to reasonably priced savings, remittance transfer, and currency conversion as a right of even the poorest. This article tells the story of how -- after the devastation of the 2010 earthquake -- Fonkoze found itself positioned to serve Haiti's rural population before other banks were back on their feet.
Preidis,Geoffrey A. (Author), Shapiro,Conor D. (Author), Pierre,Inobert (Author), Dyer,Monica J. (Author), Kozinetz,Claudia A. (Author), and Grimes,Richard M. (Author)
Format:
Journal Article
Publication Date:
May 2010
Published:
Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press
Location:
African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The HIV/ AIDS pandemic disproportionately afflicts regions of the world that have minimal access to formal schooling and low literacy rates. Health educational interventions are difficult to evaluate efficiently in these settings because standard approaches such as written questionnaires cannot easily be employed. Describes a method of rapidly assessing health interventions among large groups that does not require the ability to read or write. This evaluation tool was tested within the context of a community-based HIV/AIDS drama education program in a low-literate region of rural Haiti.
This paper utilizes both narrative analysis and statistical techniques in an investigation of the principle of cumulative causation to explain underdevelopment, relative poverty and spatial disparities on Hispaniola. The events that explain this process in the underdevelopment of Hispaniola have resulted in a tragically downward spiral in Haiti, placing its future in great peril. The Dominican Republic is relatively better off than its neighbor; however, the shortage of basic services, poverty and malnutrition are quite prevalent in the Dominican Republic.
Examines Haiti's past, present and future sustainability based on a thorough cause and effect analysis of the country's current situation, research on relevant social and economic factors, years of field experience, as well as training and consulting for businesses, political parties and non-profit organisations. In addition to identifying the current major core conflicts of Haiti, the article also suggests solutions to various social, economical and environmental issues.
The problems associated with disaster relief assistance following the Haitian earthquake are described. International aid groups have been ineffective in reaching victims of the earthquake, as the poor administration of relief money has inadequately helped feed the population.
The Sphere Project, "Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response," identifies the minimum standards to be attained in disaster response. From a human rights perspective and utilizing key indicators from the Sphere Project as benchmarks, this article reports on an assessment of the living conditions approximately 12 weeks after the earthquake in Parc Jean Marie Vincent, a spontaneous IDP camp in Port-au-Prince.
For a truly cosmopolitan anthropology to come about, we need to reflect critically on the conditions of our knowledge production. Using the example of women's under-representation within anthropology, and the marginalization of the Caribbean. Argues that we need to think more about the social ground beneath our feet and recognize the differential access that anthropologists across the globe and at home have to the ongoing larger conversation that constitutes the discipline.
Part of a special journal issue dedicated to strategies for societal renewal in Haiti., Based on what is known about the role of women in development, the highest returns to investment are likely to come from initiatives that harness the productive capacity of women.
The Haiti earthquake prompted offers to send aid and assistance in various forms from governments, nongovernmental organizations, and private foundations. The need for manpower on the ground to orchestrate the relief effort brought together military forces from the world over, to include the United States, which stood up Joint Task Force-Haiti (JTF-H). The combined effort of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti and JTF-H in providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Haiti following the earthquake demonstrates the importance of developing strong relationships, both institutional and personal, with partner nation armies.
Advances in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) have led to most of the growth and wealth gains in developed economies, but developing countries such as those in the Caribbean with a dearth of technological expertise and development continue to lag behind. This commentary discusses inequalities related to the use (or unavailability) of STI from the perspective of Jamaica. The main focus of the paper is on education and Information and Communications Technology. It also looks briefly at health, employment and security.
Journal Article, Uses data from a nationally representative panel survey of Mexican adults to examine the extent of skin color based social stratification in contemporary Mexico. Despite extreme ambiguity in skin color classification, the author finds considerable agreement among survey interviewers about who belongs to three skin color categories. The results also provide evidence of profound social stratification by skin color. Individuals with darker skin tone have significantly lower levels of educational attainment and occupational status, and they are more likely to live in poverty and less likely to be affluent, even after controlling for other individual characteristics.
This article discusses different views about sustainable development, emphasizing -- on the basis of a survey conducted in Brazil, Mexico, and Cuba -- the role of rural women in food production and natural resource management, the strength of the rural women's movement in the conquest of rights, and the decisive participation of women in defining proposals for public policies that guarantee gender equality in rural areas. A brief comparative analysis leads us to conclude that the development model in the three countries still prioritizes the male figure in relation to land tenure, access to credit and purchase of equipment or other material resources, it is suggested that both in Cuba, a socialist country, and in Mexico and Brazil, capitalist counties, the assumptions of social policies directed to rural female workers should take into account the basic needs of rural women to guarantee a more humane and sustainable development. Adapted from the source document.
At different times in its history, the Caribbean has been a strategic region -- initially with the arrival of the first Europeans in the late 15th century, then, among other things, by its proximity to the Panama Canal & later as a result of the Cuban revolution. But for some years now it has played a less important role internationally. However, as Viktor Sukup points out, "Russia's recent rapprochement with Cuba & Venezuela & the increasing engagement of China in the region" suggest that the Caribbean still has strategic importance.
It is not uncommon to hear about how corporations bring investment to developing countries and even their willingness to address problem areas such as environmental contamination and child labor practices. But in some cases, corporations leave a trail of destruction of violence. The article highlights the Caribbean region of Colombia, where the construction of a mega-port has seen the displacement of communities and takeover of property and livelihoods with complete impunity.
This article uses the details of those who fled to Trinidad from the violence of the Venezuelan war of independence in 1814, 1815 and 1816 as a prism through which to view female agency in the southern Caribbean during first two decades of the nineteenth century. In particular it focuses on free coloured women as being able to exploit the poorly controlled edges of empire for their own advantage. Characterised by a self-reliant independence these women were at once highly mobile, independent and influential. These women have been marginalised in the histories of the region and yet this research suggests that they had a far more prevalent and powerful role in shaping its character and history than has been recognised to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR].
Analyzes the use of text messaging and crisis mapping in disaster response by drawing on Haiti as a case study. Describes the design and deployment of the system, outlines what worked and did not work, and considers organizational and institutional implications of this response and articulates policy recommendations.
Equipped with new legislative powers, Canada's government is able to pick and choose immigrants more aggressively than ever. The average wait time for someone wishing to bring a spouse into the country through Kingston, Jamaica has ballooned to 15 months, fully three times the processing time in 2006. A similar application lodged in New Delhi takes just six months. Is the country engaging in country profiling?
