I traveled to Haiti in 1985 with my local church.  Our mission was to help refurbish a school while participating in cross cultural experiences with the Haitian people.  We arrived in Port-au-Prince to an eye opening scenario.  Having traveled from tony Short Hills, NJ to the other side of the world, metaphorically if not literally, struck a deep cord inside me.  The people that we met while in Haiti taught me more in a week than I had learned in years.  What an experience.

Since the earthquake I have heard that the school we worked on no longer exists.  I look back at my photographs of the children and think how they would all be grown up now, with families of their own, all of whom were certainly highly impacted by the recent destruction.  It tears at my heart to think of all those faces, and where they are at today.

What I saw in 1985 were a determined people living under unimaginable conditions.  But the people were happy, and that has always stayed with me.  For all that they did not have, they were happy, and beautiful.  I know that that same determination I witnessed in 1985 still holds strong in Haiti today.  Helping the Haitian people is different than helping people in the US.  The Haitian people do so much with so little.  They persevere and they thrive with what they have.  Right now they do not have a lot, but hopefully that will change with aid arriving daily from organizations who know how to help.  One of these organizations that I am familiar with is Burners Without Borders.  They have been getting aid into the country through the extraordinary measures of ordinary citizens.  I like these people.  Please donate to Burners Without Borders today so that can continue to make a real difference on the ground in Haiti.

You can find my full image set from 1985 here.