Introduction
The humanitarian division of the United States Navy being a customer focused section of the Navy proposes to construct an elementary school for children in Haiti. The US navy is uniquely qualified as the largest fighting force in the world with constant deployment (Roughead et al., 2014). This gives it the ability and capability not only to achieve this daunting task, but also perform it in a manner that makes it uniquely qualified for Haiti. The Republic of Haiti is a modest country of just over 11 million inhabitants who share the island with the relatively smaller Dominican Republic (Lundahl, 2015). Currently, the reputation of Haiti is rigged with misfortune as the nation has been ravaged by several natural and man-made catastrophes (Lundahl, 2015). It is, therefore, on this premise that the humanitarian arm of the US navy intends to build a school in the poor nation. This research paper focuses on the importance of innovation in the project’s vision, mission, and values as well as the input of innovation on the project’s model.
The Proposed Product
The proposed product is an elementary school for the less privileged young children of Cite Soleil, a community within Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. It is worthy of notice that the US navy does not require a school at Haiti neither does it seek to profit from it. The institution will therefore be specifically tailor made for the target customers.
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Targeted Customer
The target customer in this perspective is the less privileged children in the neighborhood of Cite Soleil. Whereas poverty is a universally acknowledged term, it is also relative. Being poor in a country reputed for poverty among its majority pushes the definition of the adjective to a higher level. People who live on a dollar a day in the poorer neighborhoods of Cite Soleil are considered to be affluent (Lundahl, 2015). Further, the Haiti suffers exponentially high death rates due to HIV and AIDS as well as violence (Alexandre, 2016). So powerful are the armed gangs in this Cite Soleil that at some point in the 1990s they had evicted local police (Lundahl, 2015). Therefore, the targeted customers are young and poor.
They are, therefore, not able to make any contribution to the development, management or maintenance of the project. Further, these children will require more than just education. Their situation requires the provision of other basic amenities such as food and clothing. The fact that there is a high prevalence of HIV in Cite Soleil also means that a good number of these children will be HIV positive. Security will also be a fundamental issue for the school as crime is exponentially high in the neighborhood. Finally, with a population of over 200,000 people in Cite Soleil most of whom are poor, the school will attract a very high number of children (Lundahl, 2015).
Vision and Mission statement
The vision of this project is to educate the children of Cite Soleil so as to break the generational poverty in the area. The project will, therefore, entail the construction, management and maintenance of a continuously expanding learning institution. Since the customers are not in a position to pay for the services provided, the project will also include an innovative self-sufficiency concept. This self-sufficiency concept will have an educative and inspirational element to the children whose future will benefit more from innovation in entrepreneurship given the high levels of unemployment in Haiti. The mission statement of the project is ‘Innovatively ensuring the transformation of the future generations of Cite Soleil through educating today’s children vide a self-sufficient, all amenities providing academic complex’. The vision is ‘To become the best innovative learning institution in the society and beyond.’
Overview of the Project
The project will be located at the area of Cite Soleil that is most applicable from the perspective of security as well as access for the pupils. Further, the sight will also be on a high ground to avoid the predicament of flooding which is perennial to Cite Soleil. The system of education in Haiti is the French educational system (Alexandre, 2016). The elementary part includes kindergarten between the ages of three and six as well as primary school from the age of six to eleven (Alexandre, 2016). Over and above academics, the school will also have a feeding program for the pupils. There will also be a fully functional pediatric based hospital within the institutional.
For sustainability, there will be a secondary project for creation of simple and colorful beaded ornaments from recycled plastics. These can be sold at exponentially high prices premised in the charitable nature of the purchaser. Further, this product will provide an avenue for the children to learn both innovation and entrepreneurship.
The integral part of the project will be the construction part, which will include erection of an academic block, the hospital unit building, a kitchen alongside a dining area as well as several workshops within the same compound. At a different point, a good distant from the school, there shall be a small manufacturing plant for the production of colorful plastic beads out of waste nylon papers which are in great supply around Cite Soleil. Alongside the actual construction is the infrastructure development which will include roads and connection to the national power grid as well as alternative sources of power. These alternative sources include solar energy and diesel powered generators. There will also be a borehole for water as well as a play field for the children and the local populace.
Product differentiation
A humanitarian based school is not a novel concept in Haiti. Due to the general poverty in the nation in general, over 80% of all schools are humanitarian in nature and managed by nongovernmental organization, churches, and other non-profit entities (Alexandre, 2016). The first point of distinction of the instant project is the fact that it is all inclusive for the needs of the children. It will provide education, healthcare and other basic needs of the children. The second point of distinction is that it includes the children in sourcing the funds for the project.
Normally, humanitarian schools in Haiti are managed through cost sharing and donor funding (Lundahl, 2015). The US navy has enough funds to keep the school running almost indefinitely. However, the project prefers to involve the children in generating funds to run the school. This creates an avenue for the children to learn innovation and entrepreneurship. It also instills a sense of self-sufficiency in the mentality of the children which will be pivotal during their adulthood.
Correlation between the Vision and Mission of the project and that of the US navy
The US navy is arguably the largest military force globally (Roughead et al., 2014). Indeed, the size and scope of operations of the US navy surpass that of the combined militaries of any other nation on earth. The primary vision and mission of the US navy entail the defence and protection the USA, her citizens and interests (Roughead et al., 2014). However, it is the belief of the US navy that its global presence and a powerful capability creates a fundamental obligation to assist all those who are in need. It is on this premise that the humanitarian arm of the US navy was formed (Roughead et al., 2014).
The humanitarian arm operates as a form of corporate social responsibility by the US navy, and has seen the US navy conduct humanitarian missions in disaster stricken areas all over the world (Roughead et al., 2014). As indicated herein above, Haiti has become synonymous with misfortune. Years of Civil Wars ruined the country’s economy. The 2010 earthquake and 2016 floods destroyed most of its infrastructure including academic institutions. This creates a clear correlation between the vision of this project and that of the US navy.
Summary of Guiding Principles from the vision, mission and values of the project informing the strategic direction of the company
Albeit performed by a military arm of government, this is not a military operation and the laws, cultures and ways of life of the locals must be respected. From an ethical perspective, this is a humanitarian mission, therefore, no profits or quid pro quo is factored or envisaged by the US navy. From a very broad perspective, the project’s strategic direction is geared towards the establishment of a basic amenity providing elementary school that is innovatively different from others. This is because the school wishes to continuously develop the capability to run itself, through the efforts of the students, without asking for any school fees or begging for alms.
This is based on the principle that, enabling children to study requires provision of other necessities such as healthcare, food, and clothing. The second principle is that, to create a better future for the children, they must be taught how to become self-sufficient. This entails helping the children understand that the solution to Haitian problems lie with the Haiti and not international charity. The combination of these principles, as derived from the values, vision and mission of the project helps the children even as they are taught to help themselves.
Conclusion
The US navy, which has been considered the most powerful military force globally, has developed into one of the most benign humanitarian entities. Among the needy countries in the world currently is Haiti. The nation has for many years been ravaged by civil unrest that sometimes degenerated in to civil war. In recent years, Haiti has also been plagued by natural disaster that killed hundreds of thousands of her citizens and ruined most of her infrastructure. It is on this basis that the US navy proposes the construction of a learning institution. The basic concept is to target the little children of Haiti to bring up a better future generation that will continue to rebuild the nation. Cite Soleil is among the poorest parts of Haiti hence its location for the project. The said project entails the development of an innovatively all inclusive learning institution that is also self-sufficient.
References
Alexandre, M. (2016). Curriculum Development and Transcultural Service Learning in Post Earthquake Haiti. In Sigma Theta Tau International's 27th International Nursing Research Congress . STTI. 21-25 July 2016. Cape Town, South Africa.
Lundahl, M. (2015). Peasants and Poverty (Routledge Revivals): A Study of Haiti . London: Routledge.
Roughead, G., Morrison, J. S., Cullison, T., & Gannon, S. (2013). US Navy Humanitarian Assistance in an Era of Austerity . Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publ.
