Through this letter we would like to open a window for you, a window through which you may see something that touches your own life. - Jean-Bertrand Aristide

The people write to me with the hope that I can solve their problems. But since neither the problems nor the solutions begin and end in Haiti, I feel I should forward some of the contents outside of Haiti.

The people are bright, the people are intelligent, the people are courageous

The exceptional resilience demonstrated by the Haitian people during and after the deadly earthquake reflects the intelligence and determination of parents, especially mothers, to keep their children alive and to give them a better future, and the eagerness of youth to learn – all this despite economic challenges, social barriers, political crisis, and psychological trauma. Even though their basic needs have increased exponentially, their readiness to learn is manifest. This natural thirst for education is the foundation for a successful learning process: what is freely learned is best learned. Of course, learning is strengthened and solidified when it occurs in a safe, secure and normal environment. Hence our responsibility to promote social cohesion, democratic growth, sustainable development, self-determination; in short, the goals set forth for this new millennium. All of which represent steps towards a return to a better environment.