On the eve of the first anniversary of the catastrophic magnitude 7.0 earthquake that demolished Haiti's capital and outlying cities, killed hundreds of thousands of people, and left millions homeless, the United Nations Association of Trinidad and Tobago (Unatt) will host a fund-raising event to benefit students and children of Haiti whose lives and continuing education were and still are affected by that earthquake.
On January 8, 2011, the benefit concert will feature many of this country's most popular and enduring music personalities, all united for the following purposes:
• To mobilise resources for meeting the MDG (Millennium Development Goal) on achieving universal primary education, with specific reference to Haiti in the procurement of quality, value-for-money supplies and materials, such as the Unicef School-in-a-box, and its replenishment kit.
• To contribute to the UWI Haitian Student Fund, established to finance the completion of the education of 70 Haitian students at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus, who will return to their homeland with needed skills in healthcare, administration, and infrastructure development.
• To raise awareness of the continuing tragedy in the aftermath of the earthquake one year later, in spite of the indifferent global response to a series of disasters that afflicted the impoverished nation.
• And in this 21st year of the signing of the Declaration on Convention of Rights of the Child, rallying attention on children in Haiti is also a chance to address larger systemic issues affecting children there.
"By empowering children through ensuring that interruptions of their education are reduced or are not prolonged, Unatt hopes to maintain the focus on the Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education and on preparing students of Haiti to manage the destiny of their own country," Unatt president, Elton Prescott, SC said.
Unatt's mission is to encourage the people of T&T, the Caribbean, and the international community to participate in the work of the United Nations and to support its activities. More expressions of sympathy are not needed now. Unatt is more engaged with a thrust for passionate advocacy. Advocating for money and for effective assistance, committed personnel, more resources, and direct action are needed. The United Nations (UN) and its agencies are spearheading that action. One plan of action undertaken by the UN is the provision for the well-being of Haiti's children, and early access to schooling. Unicef is a lead agency working with the Ministry of Education in Haiti responding to the education needs by the distribution of basic materials and support to teachers, among other things.
Unesco, recognising that education is at the core of Haiti's recovery and is the key to its development, has
urged "academia to show solidarity" and universities elsewhere to take in Haitian students. The potential of live music performances to educate and inspire has been borne out locally and internationally, and experience shows that this is an effective medium for spreading the message of the UN. Production One Ltd will create the three-hour live event from the main stage of NAPA, and hundreds of patrons will experience this inspirational concert live. The Haitian story has to be told to the national community and to other Caribbean people so that the country is not seen only through "north Atlantic lenses." Haiti needs sustained aid after the cataclysm of January 12, 2010. A continued focus on the plight of Haitian children and students is necessary to erase the "donor fatigue" and the international indifference that creeps in after a tragedy is no longer news. Unatt sees this concert as a catalyst for enduring philanthropy with a focus on making a difference where it is needed.