Flooding and Hunger

Why did more than 600 people die in Haiti this summer from the widespread flooding caused by four hurricanes while only a few died in neighboring nations that were hit almost as hard? Answer this question and you’ll also understand a key reason Haiti has become one of the hungriest countries in the world.
Upstream: Haiti’s mountainous terrain has become almost completely deforested. Poor farmers cut trees to make and sell charcoal and burn off land before cultivation. Without tree cover or roots, the naked soil is easily washed down the steep slopes. Without soil to capture runoff, rain fills ravines that quickly become raging rivers. The loss of soil is just as deadly when the rains stop. Without soil farmers can’t grow food. They lose their livelihoods and flee to cities swelling with some of the poorest slums in the world.

Our Work: Working with two partner organizations in Haiti (Fonkoze and Limyè Lavi) Beyond Borders recently developed a new adult education program that teaches sustainable agriculture and environmental protection. In response, participating farmers have stopped burning their land and are planting trees and building contour barriers that prevent soil erosion. They’ve learned composting, organic pest control, and natural fertilizing—techniques that cost almost nothing and allow farmers to grow more food, protect their land, and reduce flooding.

These parents in a small rural area outside the town of Sodo gathered in a church this summer to discuss the challenges they face educating and feeding their children. Beyond Borders helps organize hundreds of meetings like these all over Haiti that serve to ignite hope and birth new grassroots initiatives that address problems upstream.