Haiti

HAITI

The Republic of Haiti is located in the  Caribbean basin which geographically is part of North America. Haiti became an independent  state in 1804 after gaining it's sovereignty from France.  The population of Haiti stands at 10,455,800. Haiti shares it's borders with only one country the Dominican Republic.

​

Haiti was thoroughly unprepared when the catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit on Jan 12 2010. The disaster struck at the centre of a country's capital Port-Au-Prince which collapsed an entire administrative system and hit all segments of the population as well as the entire country. Over 220,000 people lost their lives and over 300,000 were injured.  The destruction affected over 3,000,000 people leaving 1.6 million people displaced, 800,000 of them were children.

The earthquake hit one of the poorest countries in the world with 70% of people already living under the poverty line and 46% of the population under 18. This event triggered an unprecedented emergency for children.

Spontaneous settlements or camps emerged and as charitable organisations moved into the area ‘Child Friendly Spaces’ were established in the communities.  Large tents were constructed as safe and protective spaces for children.

​

Haiti continues to be affected by a convergence of humanitarian needs further worsened by hurricane Matthew in 2016 and hurricanes Irma and Maria this year. There has also been an outbreak of cholera cases. The camps are still erected and there are on-going issues and problems with health, hygiene and sanitation.

​

One of the country’s official languages is Haitian Creole, a French-based creole with African influences, French is the other official language.

​

The Education system in Haiti yields the lowest rate in the education realm of the Western Hemisphere. The 2010 earthquake exacerbated the already constrained parameters on Haiti’s educational system by destroying infrastructure and displacing 50-90% of the students.  The country faces shortages in educational supplies and qualified teachers.  Many teachers were lost or displaced after the earthquake and have found themselves in no position to return to teaching.

​

Spaces that were once homes, places of work, schools and community pillars have been replaced by rubble and unsafe structures. Amongst the destruction and despair we must not forget that there are remarkable people achieving remarkable things in all walks of life, bringing hope to Haiti.

IMAGES FROM CAMPS SET UP IN AND AROUND PORT-AU-PRINCE