The earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince on the Caribbean Island of Haiti a year ago did a great deal more than wreck the nation’s ailing economy. It also tore the heart out of an education infrastructure that was sorely neglected 
too. Shortly after the disaster struck with such great force Haiti Education Minister Joel Jean-Pierre went public and confirmed the “total collapse of the Haitian education system”.
Dramatic words indeed. Nearly half the Island Nation’s education resources were thought to be too dangerous to enter to seek survivors. This would have been a disaster for any nation – for the poorest and most backward people in the Caribbean it was a tragedy of cataclysmic proportions. To make things even worse if that were possible, the earthquake struck while second sessions at overcrowded universities and schools were still in progress and “many, many people died inside”.
The world’s wealthy nations flocked to Haiti with promises to help regenerate the country, including assistance to 
rebuild the shattered classrooms. The most desperate needs identified were getting children back to school, providing them with hot meals their parents no longer could provide, and psychological support where needed.
One year on, and what has achieved? Did the world’s leaders turn off the television and go back to bed, or has real progress been made towards getting the Haitian education system back on track? What has been done thus far is largely thanks to the indomitable will of the survivors on the Island, and the support they received from organizations like UNICEF and other international agencies. By sad contrast, many promises made directly by foreign governments appear to have been overtaken by what for them are more pressing priorities.
Immediate solutions included tents and temporary classrooms that all prayed would not feature on the landscape for 
many years to come. This seems likely to happen though, because, thus far, a paltry 57 semi-permanent schools have been built, with another 60 planned for the near future. These numbers are almost an insult when compared to the number of schools built annually in say China, Europe and America as part of normal growth.
Has the world forgotten us, Haitian children wonder as they pick their way through shattered classrooms still waiting to be cleared? Journalists returning from recent visits seem to wonder the same too. What hope is there for youth in a country that was already so desperately poor in education resources, if, a year later, their school is still a tent and their lamented teacher just another grave?
