Haiti: Brain Drain or Brain Retain?

Brain Drain---when the best and brightest move up and out of the community of need.

Brain Retain---when the best and brightest move down and in, stay in poor and oppressed communities.

Humanly speaking, it is easy to understand why people choose to leave a socioeconomic hell and move on to greener pastures.  Would it be possible for a Christian university to have a high brain retain rate among its graduates?

Paul Farmer writes in Haiti: After the Earthquake, the following:

     ....even before the 2010 earthquake, the majority if Haiti's physicians and nurses had left the country. . . .  The dean of Haiti's oldest and largest medical school said publicly that 80 percent of medically trained Haitians now reside outside the country.

Instead of an 80 percent brain drain, could a Christian university achieve an 80 percent brain retain rate?  If so, what would it take to do so?

Haiti Christian Community Development is in the brainstorming stage about the possibility of starting a Christian university in rural Fond-des-Blanc, Haiti.  Most Christian education in the States is geared toward individual progress, personal success.  When I taught at a Christian college, I estimated that only about 10 percent of our graduates caught the vision of a kingdom centered life and ministry career.  We were more successful in preparing students to pursue the American Dream.

What would it take for the University of Fond-des-Blanc to achieve an 80 percent brain retain rate?

1.  A kingdom of God, Jubilee justice oriented theology; Christ/kingdom; church/community
2.  A community progress oriented curriculum, personal success comes second.
3.  Every year require a community building internship of all students; possibly an internship each semester or a two month summer internship each year.
4.  Women as community leaders, servant leaders, program; Didi Farmer, consultant
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