Global Potential Youth Ambassador Xiang speaks of Technology and its potential impact for countries like Haiti

I believe that science and technology can positively affect people’s lives. In the last two decades technology has drastically changed the world. While living in China a decade ago the price for cell phones was very expensive, making it difficult to communicate with my family in the U.S. Today, the use of web cameras and the Internet makes this very easy.

Last year I participated in an international youth program called Global Potential, completing 4-months of training in community development, cross-cultural education, leadership and social entrepreneurship to prepare for our six-week experience abroad in a rural village of the Dominican Republic. We lived in Batey Ocho, a community surrounded by sugar cane fields close to Haiti and mostly populated by Haitian migrant workers and Dominicans of Haitian descent. Every youth participant, including myself, lived with a host family. We worked with community members on various development projects, including sidewalk construction and a community census.

Hearing about the recent earthquake in Haiti and reflecting upon my experience in the Dominican Republic has made me think about how technology can impact the lives of people living in these underdeveloped countries. If Haiti had more advanced technology, maybe they could have predicted the earthquake earlier so that more people could have escaped the disaster. I believe that in the future technology will bring more benefits and hope to mankind.