Help for Haiti and the Human Trafficking Problem

I found an article through Yahoo News that is titled “International Campaign Launched to fight Child trafficking, Exploitation in Haiti” The author of the article writes about The Pan American Development Foundation and it’s efforts towards fighting to suppress the human trafficking industry specifically in Haiti. The PADF named their Us campaign “I Too Am Haiti.”

Jimmy Jean-Louis, and ac tor on NBC’s “Heroes” and the PADF’s goodwill ambassador for Haiti’s children made several comments on the horrific situation that afflicts too many Haitian children. He explains, “We're talking about children as young as 7 or 8 years old who are the victims of exploitation, they should be riding bikes and going to school. Instead, they are kept out of school. Some children are exposed to violence. Others are forced to live in horrendous conditions.”

The author also emphasizes how the US State Department claimed, “Haiti is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.”

This campaign is sad to be the first campaign in a series of campaign for “Building Haiti form the Ground Up” Starting with “I Too Am Haiti” will help get peoples attention and will help to make Haiti a better place and help the Haitian people to have a better life.

The article continues to explain the fact the eighty percent of Haiti’s population live in poverty. The author claims that half of the eighty percent of people who are living in poverty are also living on a dollar a day.

PADF has already helped nearly one million Haitians and hopes to continue helping more in the future. The campaign includes supporting fifty safe haven shelters in Haiti, training of communities to be able to detect an abused child and outreach to congress.

This article makes me wonder why this is happening in Haiti and what makes Haiti such a popular place for human trafficking. I imagine it is because it is one of the poorest countries in the world. I am extremely happy to see that this non-profit organization is making a large effort to help defeat human trafficking and to help Haiti. In the past I have felt as though many have turned their backs on Haiti.