Summary

“Me, I don’t go anywhere. I would love to go to school because without that I won’t be able to achieve my dreams. I am suffering of hunger a lot. When I spend a day without meal, I feel like a person who is dumb. I love to sing. I always go at church with my mother but I never have the chance to celebrate my birthday. I am sad every day.” Dialine Nelson

Household

My name is Dialine Nelson. I am 10 years old. I was born on March 11, 1998. I was born in Port au Prince, Haiti. I stopped going to school in first grade because my mother has no money to pay my school. My mother has four children, one girl and three boys:
Jean Mare who is 7 years old
Moise Desir who is 4 years old
Richalson who is two years old and I. Our father is dead. My mother’s name is Mimose St. Fort. She is 30 years old. She comes from Jeremie. My father disappeared when I was 5 years old. I have one another brother named Jackson; he is my father’s son. Only one of my brothers who attend school (Jean Mare). I am living with my mother. My mother has been living in Cite Soleil for 20 years. I have a relative who is living nearby, my aunt Anise. She is 20 years old. My aunt has one daughter. Her name is Faline.

Living conditions

General Economic Situation
My mother takes a loan from someone to make a small business to make a living. She buys dried coffee and prepares it for selling with bread in the area. She is going to sell everyday. When she finishes selling, earns sometimes, 75 or 100 gourdes [$2.00 – 2.70 US] a day. She puts a part of money in a box, and the end of the month, for paying interest of the loan back. For example: my mother’s loan is 500 gourdes [$13.50 US] and she has to give 125 gourdes per month in interest. It takes about 5 months to finish paying. She does that kind of work everyday, there is no day off. Sometimes things are easy for my mother and sometimes more difficult. The situation of our country is complicated.
Job opportunities
My mother rents a one room house for 1500 gourdes [$40 US] every 6 months. For paying the rent, my mother saves some money in another small box every day which she gets from selling. There is not enough space for everybody to sleep. I am sleeping on the ground on a carpet and when it rains I can’t sleep until the rain stops because the roof leaks. My mother can’t do anything to fix it because she has no possibility. There is no safe place to put the waste but we use abandoned land to throw dirty water, garbage and sewage.. There are a lot of rats, mice. When I put my food on the ground, rats eats it and mice use my clothes. There is electricity in my house. My mother pays 150 gourdes about [$4 US] per month. The responsibles don’t give power regularly.  Sometimes, they give it two days per week. When there is no electricity my mother uses candles.
Education
I did go to school when I was 3 years old but after 4 years of school I stopped. From that time, I had no opportunity to continue my studies. That gives me so many problems when I see other kids like me are going to school. Me, I don’t go anywhere. I love to go to school because without that I won’t be able to achieve my dreams. For instance I can’t read and write but I can count from 0 to 20. I can sing.
Health and food
Everybody in my family is not healthy because our zone is too dirty. For example: My mother doesn’t feel good, she has fever. And me, I have bellyache. To see a doctor is not easy for us because things are really hard for my mother. Sometimes, we use medicine without seeing doctor. We haven’t any other choice. Where I am living the dwellers get sick, when Mosquitoes bite them. Or caused by garbage, dirty water, sewage and miss feed etc. The common illnesses are fever, malaria, cold and infection vaginal, not only in my block but all of over Cite Soleil [the slum where she lives].
About the food: I eat by miracles, because the price of everything is rising in Haiti. I love to eat rice but now I can’t eat it because it very expensive. Right now, a little can of rice costs 50 gourdes [$7.15 US]. In which case my mother can’t use rice. I was eating three big spoons of rice a long time, but for the moment my mother has no possibility to cook that kind of food, because nothing is cheap here. When my mother cooks, this meal has to share for 6 people. We are often going to sleep without eating a meal. I am in a difficulty situation, I have two weeks without eating solid food, and I eat only sugar with bread. I am suffering of hunger a lot. Even when, my mother cooked food that never is enough to share in the house. About 5 months ago my family was starving. My mother asked to borrow from some friend but she did never find someone. The only other option, we had to stay without food. Things are very hard and sad for the manner my family is going out to find something, because when I spend a day without meal, I feel like a person who is dumb.

Community information

My mother sends me to get water in a public tank. I pay a bucket of water for 5 gourdes [$14 cents US]. Most of the times in the tank there is no water, so I go to a private cistern. There I pay a bucket for 8 gourdes, and the public water is a little bit more safe than the private. But we have to use it to drink and wash clothes. Sometimes, through this water we get sick.
Education and opportunity
There are so many schools, but the one that is closest is: HANDS TOGETHER in (Soleil 24) Action Chrétien in (Soleil 20) ST MAGUERITE School in (Soleil 19). Sorry, no school for adults.
Health care situation
In my area there are two big local health services. One is in Soleil 19, its name is St Catrine. It is not far, about 15 minutes on foot. The visit cost 50 gourdes [$1.50 US]. But when I am sick sometimes my mother has to get up at 2:00am, or sleep in the hospital. Without that she can’t find the visit card to buy. The medicine cost $50 Ht or 300 gourdes [$1.35 - $8.00], it depends on illness I have. There is another Hospital in Soleil 3. I must take a tap-tap [communal taxi], or walk. It is about 4 miles away and the cost the same for visit and medicine. I don’t often go there because it is not all times my mother is going to Hospital with me when I don’t feel well because of money.
Safety and Authorities
It is a little bit safe in my area because my mother is out everyday late. They never steal her money that she sells in the day. There is a flee market a little bit far from my home. I can take a tap-tap or walk on foot if I want. My mother doesn’t often use it but she prefers to use some shops close to her house to buy things to eat. I always go at church with my mother but I never have the chance to celebrate my birthday. I don’t need to talk about parties. The people in my area don’t care about that kind of thing.

Personal qualities

I am a little girl, generous, respectful, kind, and obedient and sometimes, I am capricious, curious, shy and disturbing also. I am honest. I like to keep my words. And I don’t like to be involved in what doesn’t concern me. I would like to describe myself as a small girl who likes to share to others, loves to play so much with my fellows. I am a little bit lazy to clean the house. I dislike people stealing my thing without giving to them. I don’t hate my friends. My mother describes me as intelligent, affectionate. I prefer playing instead of cleaning the house. I have respect for adult and children. My little friends describe me as a girl who is severe, sensitive but likes to share too..
My talents are: Singing and accounting. My interests are: My education, sharing and being respectful. I admire to be obedient, kind and generous. Most about me, I love to be honest. Most about my personality, I like my shy, rude and disturbing. What I like least are: poverty, stealing, telling lies and ambitious. I like to change my poverty life. My habit is playing everyday and I get my feelings when I am singing.
The main forming experiences of my life were: Sleeping without meals, living in misery and missing my father for 5 years. About my mother, she had every bad experience because when my father left her with two babies, she couldn’t pay for a small room. Sometimes there was a friend of hers who was giving her something to eat. Now, she is doing business with a little bit of loans.
I would like to share something with my possible future partner. I am born in a poor family. I am leading a poverty life together with my mother. When I am sick, I can’t go to see a doctor. I am sad every day. I’d like to have a friend who will help me to change sadness to happiness because I’d like to live like children in another country.
Dreams
I want to tell you, I care about my living condition most, my education and health are most important in my life. The source of my joy is going to school, having food to eat regularly. My strongest hope is finding someone to help me to go back to school. I would like to learn to be a nurse, and that my mother stopping borrowing money with so much interest. I would like it if my mother had her own business in the future. I think with that she could help me a little bit. If I need to buy something she will be able to do that. I think I can achieve my dreams, if I find someone help me to go to school, and gives me some basic things.

Life Plan

Sponsorship plan

Immediate needs:
Going to school, food and clothes
Development:
A business for the mother, rebuild house.
Dreams:
Finish my classical school, go to university, become a nurse.

Interview details

This interview was conducted by Jean Marcel. Date: August 14, 2008.