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Haiti Facts |
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Paske, Bondye sit�lman renmen l�z�m li bay s�l Pitit li a pou yo. Tout moun ki va mete konfyans yo nan li p�ap p�di lavi yo. Okontr� y�a gen lavi ki p�ap janm fini an.
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Jan 3:16
(John 3:16 in Haitian Creole) |
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For your interest and education about Haiti, we have included a quiz about the island, its people and our ministry there. The elaborated answers are hidden beneath each question. To reveal the answer, use your mouse to CLICK, HOLD and DRAG your pointer to highlight the blank area starting after the Answer: section beneath each question. But before you do, try your best to answer each question! |
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1. Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with what other nation? |
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Answer: the Dominican Republic. Haiti comprises the western 1/3 of the island, while the DR takes up the eastern 2/3; however, the populations of both countries are almost equal.
Click here for a political-topographical map of the Caribbean. |
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2. The name "Haiti" is derived from the Arawak word Ayiti, describing the island's terrain as being what? |
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Answer: Mountainous. Haitians describe their land as "mountains beyond mountains" which is also a figure of speech for the fatalistic obstacles in the Haitian people's lives. |
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3. What famous explorer established a settlement in Haiti in the 15th century? |
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Answer: Christopher Columbus established a short-lived colony at Mole Saint Nicolaus on the NW coast of Haiti in 1492 after the Santa Maria ran aground on a reef. The first government sanctioned shipment of slaves arrived in Haiti in 1508. |
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4. Which country has never invaded nor controlled Hispaniola?
a) USA b) Spain c) France d) Portugal |
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Answer: d) Portugal. Columbus claimed the whole island for Spain in 1492 naming it Hispaniola. By the mid 1600s French boucaniers (buccaneers) were prevalent in the northwest of the island. The 1697 Treaty of Ryswick granted the western third of Hispaniola to France, which named it St. Domingue, while the remaining Spanish side was called Santo Domingo. Haiti declared its independence from France in 1804, becoming the first black republic in the world. The United States Marines invaded and occupied Haiti twice, from 1915-1934 and 1994-5. Currently in 2007 Haiti has a democratically elected government, with the police force bolstered by a Brazilian-led UN peacekeeping force. |
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5. What percentage of Haitians are fluent in French? |
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Answer: 10%, although French is one of the two official languages of Haiti, it is primarily the language of business and government. Since illiteracy is high in Haiti, only those who can afford a good education become fluent in French. All Haitians speak Haitian Creole, which is a French patois.
Sean will need to teach and preach in French and Creole and the Bible school textbooks are in French. Some churches conduct their services in French, and many sing hymns in both French and Creole. |
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6. Haiti's independence day is January 1, 1804 and is celebrated by Haitians with a traditional meal of:
a) iguana b) pumpkin soup c) rice & beans d) fish |
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Answer: b) pumpkin soup, and it is very good! Rice and beans is the staple diet in Haiti. Fish is also common, along with goat. |
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7. What is the average life expectancy in Haiti? |
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Answer: 54 years. 20% of children die of malnutrition or dysentery. AIDS is also a serious problem in Haiti. The median age is 18 years because of the short life-span.
Our Haitian church association we partner with runs a clinic and small hospital in Cayes and the Hospital of Light in Bonne Fin, in the mountains, which was used more than once by Heather's family when she was growing up there! |
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8. It is said that Haitians are 75% Catholic, 25% Protestant, and 100% Voodoo. What do you think that means? |
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Answer: Haitians are predominately Roman Catholic because of the Spanish and French colonization. The Catholic Church ceased being the State Church in 1987. About 50 - 70% of Haitians actively practice voodoo, but voodoo is also a mindset or worldview that understands the cause of everything being controlled by spirits, good and bad. This worldview produces two great challenges: the first is a fatalistic mentality that one cannot do much about one's circumstances because the spirits control everything. This is one contributing factor to Haiti's chronic poverty. The second is the belief that personal wrongdoing "is not my fault" because even personal decisions are ultimately controlled by the spirits.
As with any society, one of the challenges of the church is to educate and retrain its members to replace the faulty cultural worldview with a biblical one. This is no less important in North America, it's just the culture's lies are different. It is the light of Christ that brings all men out of darkness! |
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9. T/F The Evangelical Baptist Mission of Southern Haiti (MEBSH) is called Baptist because it was started by Baptist missionaries from the U.S. |
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Answer: False. The MEBSH was started by Haitians in partnership with West Indies Mission (now World Team, which is non-denominational). Those Haitians were led to Christ in Cuba by Cuban and North American Baptists and Presbyterians while the Haitians worked the plantations in the early 1900s. In the 1930s Cuba repatriated the Haitian plantation workers mostly to Cayes, Haiti, which became the launching pad of their evangelistic and church planting efforts and the headquarters of the MEBSH. Although MEBSH has beliefs and practices quite similar to conservative Baptists, their ecclesiastical structure is more akin to the Methodists. They were given the title "Baptist" because of the Baptist churches and missionaries they knew in Cuba and by the mostly Catholic Haitians because they practice believer's (or adult) baptism.
Click here to learn more about our specific ministry role in Haiti.
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10. What fun things are each member of the Christensen Family looking forward to doing in Haiti?
Sean - birdwatching
Heather - riding motorcycles
Ian - making new friends
Erik - hunting tarantulas
Josiah - riding motorcycles
Elliana - eating rice and beans |
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Sources:
Operation World by Patrick Johnstone (2001, Paternoster)
Drumbeats That Changed The World by Joseph Conley (2000, William Carey Library)
Written in Blood by Heinl (1996, University Press of America)
The CIA World Factbook (2007, online) |
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Ministry Partners and Related Ministries:
World Team
Lumiere Medical Ministries
Reciprocal Ministries International
STEP Seminary, Port au Prince |
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home |
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