VOA常速英语2007-Rebuilding Efforts in Haiti Shift to Education

By Brian Wagner
Port-au-Prince
09 October 2007
 
Thousands of Haitian schools reopened their doors for a new school year last month, thanks in part to the support of the United States and other international donors¹. As Haiti's government works to recover from years of instability, foreign aid remains² a key source of backing for its struggling education system. VOA's Brian Wagner has this report.

One year ago, violence involving criminal gangs, police and U.N. peacekeepers tore apart Cite Soleil in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. Since then, joint³ police efforts have brought peace to the nation's largest slum, and allowed residents to return and businesses to reopen. The streets are much safer without drug gangs around, but there are still few opportunities for Haiti's youth to receive an education and rise out of poverty.

On one Cite Soleil corner, resident Job Civil says he and many others long for opportunities to help them escape long days of boredom⁴. "Young people like us are on our own. We need an environment that will give us an education and create jobs that we can do in the community."

One nearby school for about 300 primary students is struggling to reopen after violence forced it to close in 2005. The director says he missed the start of the new school year in September, but he hopes to open in a few weeks with the help of the United Nations mission.

Across Haiti, international and private funding are crucial to the education system. Some 90 percent of primary schools are supported by religious or community groups. Conditions in Haiti and years of instability mean Haiti's government can support only a fraction of the nation's 15,000 primary schools.

Ernst Alexis is the assistant principal at a religious school in Port-au-Prince. He says parents also bear the financial burden to send their children to school. "Students, parents and schools must make constant sacrifices. Parents will do anything to find ways to send their children to school."

Alexis says many families struggle to pay school fees and purchase supplies for their children, and while some students can afford text books, others make do with photocopies⁵.

To help overcome some of those challenges, the United States has given $24 million to education efforts in Haiti over the past three years. The U.S. Agency for International Development recently presented a check for $8 million for textbooks and other materials.

At a ceremony, Haiti's Education Minister Gabriel Bien-Aime welcomed the U.S. support to help expand the government's role in education. "The money will help schools overcome some of the difficulties we face, as the government tries to provide books, uniforms and other materials to students."

Overall, U.S. aid to Haiti since 2004 has totaled more than $600 million. The Inter-American Development Bank says additional funds come from Haitians living abroad. Last year they sent back more than $1.6 billion.

Remittances⁶ help many students pay for their education. Fania Joseph's father lives and works in Florida. The tenth grade student says she is sad that her father lives far away, but the money he makes helps to send her to a better school. "My father was unable to find work here, so he left. That is not the fault of the government, but conditions are very difficult here."

Like many of her classmates, Fania says she would like to finish school and leave the country to find work. But she adds she would like to be able to return some day to help her people seek a better life and improve the country.

1 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

4 boredom   

n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊

参考例句：

• Unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.失业会让你无聊得发疯。
• A walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么乏味了。

5 photocopies   

n.影印本( photocopy的名词复数 )；复印件

参考例句：

• Make as many photocopies as you need. 你需要多少复印件就复印多少吧。
• I made two photocopies of the report. 我把这份报告影印了两份。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 remittances   

n.汇寄( remittance的名词复数 )；汇款，汇款额

参考例句：

• He sends regular remittances to his parents. 他定期汇款给他父母。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Remittances sometimes account for as much as 20% of GDP. 在这些国家中，此类汇款有时会占到GDP的20%之多。 来自互联网