Interns John Wolf and Emmanuel Charles, along with Canadian Red Cross delegate Francis Ollivier, take a pause from their training on the Canadian Red Cross IT infrastructure.
Stories from the field
Professional Development in Haiti
By Louise Taylor, Canadian Red Cross delegate
Port-au-Prince
October 29, 2010
The Canadian Red Cross is proud to be part of a valuable professional development program that is helping information technology (IT) students in Haiti gain skills and job experience. This October, the Canadian Red Cross, in collaboration with NetHope, proudly welcomed three interns to their offices in Port-au-Prince, Leogane and Jacmel. Emmanuel Charles, 24, Enock Duval, 27, and John Wolf, 24, will be spending the next six months with the Canadian Red Cross to support IT needs.
The internship program, developed by NetHope, sponsors recent graduates or near-graduates for 6-month internships in various humanitarian organizations contributing to rebuilding efforts in Port-au-Prince and surrounding rural regions. Nearly 300 students applied for the 30 coveted spots.
“After the earthquake, it was very difficult to find professionals who could assist organizations with their IT needs,” recounts Francis Ollivier, Canadian Red Cross IT delegate. “By giving Haitian youth the opportunity to get hands-on work experience and further their training, we can help youth find jobs and, in the long run, help rebuild Haiti.”
“It can be difficult to access proper training and equipment in Haiti,” says intern Emmanuel Charles. “We face enormous challenges in our training and once we enter the workforce, the competition does not ease up.”
But pursuing a career in IT is well worth it, despite the apparent challenges. John Wolf never considered anything else. He saw his first computer at the age of 12 when his cousin brought it home from the United States. “The computer operated on MS-DOS but as soon as I saw it, I had this ‘feeling’,” John recalls. “My cousin showed me lines of code that didn’t mean anything to me, but the right combination created something amazing. I was fascinated from the beginning.”
Although curiosity put these three interns on the path to become IT professionals long before January 12th, all are conscience of the importance of their role in Haiti’s future.
“Without the capacity to communicate, we cannot control and refine our work,” says Enock. Emmanuel echoes, “Without communications and a means to keep an institutional memory, industry will never properly develop. That is why I want to continue to transfer what I have learned and make myself useful through programs such as this one. It is essential for the youth of Haiti.”
