Reflections from my trip to Haiti
Since I got back from Haiti over a month ago, I’ve been meaning to write about my experiences in my blog but haven’t had the time. Hopefully now that school is ending I’ll have time to reflect on my experiences, tell some stories, and post pictures.
I’ll start today by sharing what I wrote in my journal the day after getting back from Haiti. This is from my field notes journal, which I kept as part of my senior thesis project on the role of spirituality and morality in socioeconomic development.
March, 25th, 2010
When I think back on what it was like to be in Haiti, I get a comforting feeling of being where I was meant to be, of being at home. I never feel like that in the States. Something always feels slightly off here. There I felt a part of something real–an amazing country courageously trying to recover from a devastating tragedy and hundreds of years of slavery and neocolonialism. Here I am in a sheltered bubble of efficiency, safety, and material comforts. I like the real world better.
My research in Haiti definitely taught me something about the ideal way to develop a community, or at least about how people can help to develop communities in countries other than their own. Those with will, knowledge, and strength of character must humbly devote their lives to serving communities that they become a part of after years of living there and adopting the language and culture. This ensures that their motives are pure, their impact is greater, the problems they address are much more relevant, their willingness to reflect on and change their approach endless, and their ability to inspire others to work towards change is infinitely higher. This is the future of international development.
So the role of spirituality and morality in development lies in creating individuals capable of commiting to this type of service, of allowing these individuals to teach and inspire others, and of ensuring that systems and organizations that grow out of indivual initiavites remain honest, just, and effective.
April 29, 2010 at 5:53 pm
Beautiful. You are such an inspiration. Lots of love.
May 2, 2010 at 12:13 am
You are so eloquent.