TRUSTEES AND EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
OUR VISION
Elevate Haiti Toward Economic Independence
Celebrate Haitians in Pursuit of Excellence
OUR MISSION
Haiti is one of the world’s most historic nations and among the most naturally beautiful. Known as the First Black Republic, it is the cradle of Black liberation and racial equality worldwide. We believe that Haiti as a nation can achieve economic prosperity and self-sufficiency within a few decades by focusing on four foundational pillars:
-
TRADE – Improve the quality and marketing of Haitian-made goods and services to generate demand locally and abroad; apply the necessary resources to create a more business-friendly climate in Haiti.
-
INVESTMENT – Develop and introduce new, innovative ideas and methods to facilitate development of basic commerce, focusing initially on tourism in beautiful coastal cities like Cap-Haitien.
-
EDUCATION – A growing economy always needs great institutions and world-class tools to educate its young people and develop their talents and skills to prepare them for the sophisticated jobs of the future.
-
NUTRITION – Along with education, adequate nutrition is a key component in the development of an effective long-term sustainable economy. Haiti must be able to feed its population for a strong economy to survive.
SISTER CITIES
Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida has been an official sister city to the beautiful city of Cap-Haitien, Haiti since 2009 under Fort Lauderdale's Greater Fort Lauderdale Sister Cities International (GFLSCI) program. Over the years, GFLSCI has been organizing humanitarian and environmental programs to benefit the citizens of Cap Haitien, the second largest city in Haiti.
New Orleans
The Haitian Revolution had deep international repercussions. It ended Napoleon's attempts to create a French empire in North America and caused France to sell its holdings to the U.S. in the Lousiana Purchase. French colonialists from Saint Domingue (now Cap-Haitien) and ex-slaves poured into New Orleans. In 2019, New Orleans' mayor LaToya Cantrell signed a sister city agreement with Cap-Haitien's mayor Yverose Pierre. Mayor Cantrell added that “the origins of this relationship and our shared history are born from the independence of Haiti and the doubling of the New Orleans population."
HAITI'S HISTORY
The Pearl of the Antilles - The Jewel of the Caribbean!
PRE-COLUMBUS HAITI AND THE CARIBBEAN
Haiti is a nation of approximately 12 million inhabitants located in the Caribbean sharing the western side of the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Hispaniola is the name given to the island by Christopher Columbus, but the indigenous native people, the Taïno tribe, called it "Haiti" meaning "land of mountains."
THE ARRIVAL OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS AND THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE
Before the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the island was populated by native indigenous people primarily from the Taïno tribe who got wiped out subsequently by new diseases and the hardships of slavery. Then later on, the French colonialists imported large numbers of African slaves from West Africa. The African slaves continuously revolted against the lack of freedom, cruel treatment, hard unpaid labor, and gross inhumanity they experienced from the French colonialists. One of those rebellions called the "Bois Caiman" sparked the Haitian Revolution through which the slaves eventually became victorious and expelled their masters, took over the French side of the island and founded the Republic of Haiti in 1804.
THE HAITIAN REVOLUTION AND THE POST-INDENPENDENCE PERIOD
The Haitian Revolution ushered in an unprecedented wave of freedom movements across the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa. Haiti is one of the world’s most historic nations. Haiti is known as the first Black republic and the cradle of Black liberation and racial equality in the modern world.
Following Haiti's independence, the western colonial powers, including the United States, imposed a stiff trade embargo on the newly freed nation for nearly a century until Haiti had compensated France for the loss of slave property, the enslaved people freed by the Revolution. Now over two hundred years later it is still plagued with deep and intractable poverty, political and economic problems that seem to form an impervious barrier to prosperity for its people. Recently, the country has been mired in political in-fighting, natural disasters and other calamities. Unfortunately those challenges have made it very difficult for Haitians to regain their economic footing and maintain a sustained course toward stability.
RELAUNCH INTO A NEW HAITI
The H.A.I.T.I.E.N. organization was formed to help bring Haiti to its feet economically and help the Haitian people live with the pride and dignity that they deserve. We believe that until Haiti becomes economically independent and self-sufficient, political stability will only be a fleeting dream that continuously promises a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, only to disappoint again and again as the fog disperses.