Positive Changes in Countries, Part 26 – Divine Governments, Divine Citizens: Guyana, Haiti, the Holy See

My South American country, Guyana, means “Land of Many Waters.” Along with four large rivers that run through the land, there is the spectacular Kaieteur Falls, the world’s largest single-drop waterfall by volume. We also show our care for these God-given treasures through sustainable forest management and green development strategies that protect biodiversity and rainforests. Another preservation effort has come through eco-tourism, where visitors to Guyana are able to enjoy the nation’s unique ecosystems without adversely impacting the environment. What’s more, the vegan trend is on an exciting rise in Guyana. Besides the growing number of vegan and vegetarian restaurants, the nation’s newspaper, Guyana Times, included a vegan recommendation for the New Year 2021, saying, “Opt for more vegetarian and vegan meals.” Vegan organizations are springing up as well, such as The Guyanese Vegan and The Vegan Outlet in the capital city Georgetown.

The government of Haiti has been striving to tackle various socio-economic challenges. In recent years, however, the World Bank along with other international organizations has funded an education project that offers free tuition for students and salaries for teachers. In addition, the World Food Program has been offering hot lunches to some 300,000 children daily and is working closely with the Haitian government to develop a nation-owned school lunch program. Healthcare, which has been another major national challenge in Haiti, is seeing the light of improvements as well. In keeping with National Health Policy guidelines and thanks to the full support of United Nations agencies, all aspects of healthcare - basic, preventive, and emergency response - have improved.

Located within Vatican City State, the Holy See is a monarchy defined as a sovereign state and the top spiritual governing body of the Roman Catholic Church. Today, the Holy See strives to help the poor, refugees, children in conflicting regions and natural disaster victims, etc., regardless of their faith or ethnic origin. The Holy See also endeavors to promote inter-faith dialog and rebuild relationships among different religions for peace. In 2018, His Holiness Pope Francis made a historic change to the teachings of the Catholic Church on the death penalty, ruling that punishment by death is never acceptable. Finally, rejecting the old interpretation that humans have an “absolute domination over other creatures,” without reservation, the Holy See advocates animal protection and compassion towards all God’s creations.