Future for the Kids

I'm sorry for my absence the last few days, but I didn't have power!  Glad to be back online and able to share what has been going on with the trip.

On Friday, our planned cleanup in Cité Soleil was cancelled because they weren't able to secure a truck, so instead we went to a different part of Cité Soleil with friends from GRU.  We visited a neighborhood where our friend Frantz has been trying to secure a place for the children and women of the community so they have a safe environment to learn & play.  

Frantz, Found of Future for the Kids.

Most of the children come from single parent homes, and are unsupervised for most of the day, so his organization, Future for the Kids provides them with activities, meals and supervision.  I'm working on a video for him about the organization which I'll post when I'm home, so I'll keep this brief, but after hearing this story I felt compelled to try and help.  


A woman in the community had donated a building to Future for the Kids so Frantz and the children decorated and painted the space, and were ready to move in.  The children were ecstatic!  Unfortunately, once the woman saw how beautiful the room looked after they cleaned it up, she took it back.  Despite the setback, Frantz is still working with the community and has found a small lot of land that he wants to buy for the children.  It's only $900 and I'm determined to try and help him raise the money.  It's definitely going to need a lot of work, it's filled with trash and has no structure, but I see it as a project the community can work on together.  


After spending time with "Sister" and the kids in the community, I can honestly say a center for Future for the Kids will make a difference in their lives.  Without it, they are literally playing in the gutters and streets.  When we visited, we brought a One World Futbol Project soccer ball and sidewalk chalk for the kids; their smiles were electric.  Seeing the children simply be children literally made my day.  If you're interested in helping make Future for the Kid's community center a reality please send me an email at samantha.yarock@gmail.com.  Mesi Anpil!!

Frantz & children with the One World Futbol - oh how kids love soccer.

Girls using the sidewalk chalk as lipstick!

Bringing the Inside Out Project to Haiti

One of the main objectives of this trip is to bring JR's Inside Out Project to Haiti.  Before coming, we chose pictures from our first trip that we felt represented the people and messages of Haiti, and submitted them to the project.  For those who aren't familiar with the project, you should definitely check out this video on the 2011 TED Prize Winner JR and check out the website.  It's really amazing!


But to give you a little background, it's a large-scale participatory art project that challenges people around the world to "reveal and share the untold stories and images of people around the world."  To get involved in the project all you need to do is take a black and white photographic portrait, upload the image to the project's website, and then paste the poster you receive back for the world to see.   That's exactly what Mike and I did and I can't wait to wheat paste the portraits so they can be seen by the world.

One of the portraits we'll be wheat pasting in Haiti.
Photo by Mike Zuckerman

We have portraits that are going up at GRU, a transitional house for children, a Lakou in the Central Plateau, and even a 30 foot water tower in Cité Soleil!  All of the locations will have photographs of people from the community.  


In addition to the pre-planned installations, we've added another since we arrived.  A friend of ours lives and works in a part of  Cité Soleil called Little Haiti.  It's an incredible community -- which I'll cover in another post, because they deserve their own piece -- that is working on a memorial for the two year anniversary of the earthquake.  The memorial is going to go up on a wall in their neighborhood and I feel honored that they've invited us to participate.  Working with local Haitian street artists, we're going to combine their art with our photographs to create a giant message of hope & inspiration for a brighter future.  Tomorrow we're participating in a community cleanup around the wall to get the area ready for the memorial.  I love how art (even before it's created) is bringing the community together.  Art truly is a powerful tool for social change...

Home in Haiti

Here are some pictures to give you a better idea of where I've been staying in Haiti.  GRU, which will soon have a new name, is by far the best place to be when you first arrive.  It's comfortable, safe, and full of motivated and inspiring people.  You can check out the video I made about the organization in an earlier post here.

So many innovative organizations and people stay here, so it's no surprise that a lot has changed since my last visit.  But even with all of the change, it still feels like home.  Thanks GRU!

The Hole in the Wall, the best bar in Haiti and it's right in my backyard!

My home in Haiti, the beautiful Earthship.

The lovely Superadobe house, built by the Love & Haiti Project.

Happy New Year from Haiti!

It feels great to back in Haiti to start off 2012.  2011 was quite a year.  It was filled with so many wonderful memories and firsts, but the thing I'm most thankful for is my journey to Haiti.

So....it feels extremely fitting to be back here to start off the new year.  I'm looking forward to connecting with friends from my last trip and to meeting new ones during this one.  I'm so excited to continue the projects we began on our first trip and to embark on some new ones as well.

I'm not big on resolutions, but since it's a new year, here's my resolution for my time in Haiti.  I'm really going to try and stick to blogging and capturing my experiences while I'm here.  Last trip was tough, it was my first time in a place like this and even though I hate to admit it, the heat got the best of me.  By the time I was home from a full day in the field, I was wiped and surrendered to my exhaustion.  This time I'm going to force myself, even if it's just a few lines, to get on my computer and share my day because I know I'll be happy I did it once I'm home.  I learned so much the last time around and I know this incredible place has even more to teach me.

I can honestly say that Haiti made me a better person in 2011 and I hope that in 2012 I can help make Haiti a better place.

Beat Monday blues with two songs for Haiti!

Whenever I'm trying to beat my Monday blues I turn to music so if you're having as much trouble as I am on this Monday morning, these should do the trick!

Not to mention, they both benefit Haiti's recovery efforts!  Enjoy!

The first is a rendition of K'naan's "Wavin' Flag" performed by Young Artists for Haiti. Musical Icon, Bob Ezrin gathered more than 50 of Canada's most talented young artists to record this song.



The second, although I've seen it a million times, never fails to lift my spirits. I loved We Are The World 25 for Haiti even before I went to Haiti, and love it even more since my return. The diversity of the artists and the message they sent collectively is one we should all embrace; we are the world. Even though we all come from different walks of life, we are all a part of one great big family and should always come together to help our brothers and sisters around the world.

Welcome to the Sustainable Haiti Series!

One of the reasons I chose to go to Haiti was to highlight groups doing sustainable relief and rebuilding work.  It's hard for the mainstream media to cover everything going on there and often report on the negative stories rather than the positive. I understand that the latest Cholera case is breaking news, but what about the groups that are working to ensure Cholera never even makes it into the water stream?

I don't know about you, but those are the stories I'm interested in.  I want to learn about solutions, not just read about the problems.  That's why I'm creating the "Sustainable Haiti Series" -- to share the sustainable solutions to Haiti's problems and the kick-ass organizations that are making them happen!  

Each segment of "Sustainable Haiti" will highlight a different organization I was fortunate enough to meet and spend time with in Haiti.  While they all address different needs, they all have one thing in common -- they offer a sustainable solution to a problem!  

I hope through this series, I not only raise awareness for these incredible groups, but also educate people around the world about sustainability. With natural disasters becoming more prevalent and devastating, sustainable disaster relief and rebuilding are things we all need to be educated on.

Here's a video I made about the group I'll be highlighting in Part 1 of the series, GrassRoots United.  Enjoy and stay tuned!!

     

Back in my comfort zone, but definitely not comfortable.

I've been back from Haiti for almost a month and it's still hard for me to process everything I experienced while there.  Returning home from a trip like that is overwhelming to say the least.  Within one day, I went from waking up in the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere to going to sleep in one of the wealthiest cities in the world.  Talk about culture shock...

I found myself back in my comfort zone, but suddenly not feeling so comfortable.  My San Francisco life was moving forward, but all I could think about were the people and places I left behind in Haiti.  All I wanted to do was go back and help the country rebuild sustainably. Despite what you read or hear, there is still so much that needs to be done.  It's been over a year and a half since the earthquake and parts of Port-au-Prince look like it could have happened yesterday.  It's really upsetting.  Especially after spending time with so many incredible Haitians who are eager to rebuild their country and move towards a better future.

Me and Jean Lucho of GiveLove.

GiveLove is one of the amazing organizations that I spent time with and filmed while in Haiti. They are bringing sustainable low-cost solutions to Haiti and focus on eco-sanitation.  Don't worry, there will be an entire post dedicated to GiveLove and eco-sanitation coming VERY soon!

Anyway, until I'm able to return to Haiti I'm going to do as much as I can for the country by sharing my experiences with the world. Keeping the stories alive and making sure people don't forget about Haiti is half the battle and the good news is I hate to lose. Please feel free to comment and share your own experiences in Haiti -- I love to connect with people who share my passions!

I truly hope that through this blog, others will come to feel the same way I do about Haiti.  

Tet Kale!