Our Mission As A People...The United Haitian Students of Florida

As I sat on my meager 30 minute lunch break attempting to relax a little before going back to the jungle of incensed victims of Florida’s health care system, I read our company principles posted in our break room. Three of which could very well be applied to the Haitian and Haitian American diaspora as it relates to the current relief efforts in Haiti and the Haitian community as a whole.

The first is we must take ownership, we must own it, and we must solve it. It has now been a little over a month since the devastating 7.0 earthquake hit the city of Port-au-Prince Haiti, and I find myself more involved than ever in the efforts that are taking place to help those in dire circumstances in Haiti. I only hope that you too as an individual and others in our community have been just as active and doing whatever it is that is necessary to help out with the efforts. The current circumstances of Haiti have forced us as a people to take ownership of Haiti’s dire circumstances. While we may live abroad and may not reside in Haiti, this disaster has forced us to face the destitute state that Haiti has been subject to for far too long. While we may have not directly contributed to Haiti’s poverty and may simply be products of an impoverished country; remaining silent and inactive in this ongoing movement to uplift Haiti does in fact make you a contributor of the lack of resources, poverty, and inability of a country to sustain its people. Irregardless of how or why Haiti is in its current circumstances, we as a people must begin to take ownership and help solve the issues that have afflicted our native brothers and sisters in Haiti for so long. How do you help solve? You help solve by taking your craft and bringing it back to Haiti. No skill or craft is too little to help those who literally do not have anything.

In order to help in the efforts going on in Haiti, we must also acknowledged the fact that we are not alone and the world is not simply made of individuals, but more so a collective group of people. This brings me to the second principle which is service is in everyone’s job description. No matter what skills it is that we have been blessed, they should in essence be used to serve one another and not ourselves. What good are our talents if they are horded and not used to serve the needs of others?

Once we as individuals learn our particular skills and crafts it is our duty to Bee Hive; just as bees work together with different roles to protect their queen, we too must collectively work together despite our different crafts, skills, or roles to uplift the spirits of the people and make their tomorrow a better tomorrow.  

Despite the aforementioned three principles, some may still be saying to themselves “I don’t have the means to help now; I am only a student…” Well them y question to you is when will you begin to help…when it’s to late? Now is the time to help. We must help now and do whatever it is that we’re doing to help Haiti, right, we must do it right and must do it right now.  

Life has never once waited on us to move, so we too must work accordingly and not wait for life (i.e. disasters and blood shed) to happen in order for us to move.

This is the mission of the people…The United Haitian Students of Florida.