Haiti Take 3: Village 87

Some may find these images disturbing, and honestly my goal is to illicit emotion.  And my hope and prayer is that you will not stop with just emotion, but you will be moved to action and fight against the unjust and inhumane conditions in Haiti. On the way to the small village we were to visit, we found beautiful coastlines and vistas that would rival any Caribbean country.  One unique and telling feature was that within feet of beautiful blue ocean water were cactus and dry ground.  I'd never seen that before. The images you will see below were taken of the people in a tiny place called Village 87.  It is a place that almost no one goes to and doesn't even have a name.  87 stands for its distance from Port-au-Prince, 87 kilometers. This area was devastated during the hurricanes last year and the people there don't have access to clean water or food.  The infant mortality rate is shocking, with some estimates as high 75%.  As we handed out portions of rice, it was heartbraking to see the hopelessness on the people's faces.
 
There are 2 images that stick in my head.  First look for the baby that has what looks like powder on him.  The man holding him didn't get in line to get some rice. He sat on the side and had this look of despair on his face that I will never forget.  Second, find the boy running with his bucket to the rice, holding up shorts that are several sizes too big. I don't speak Creole, but the boys were clearly asking me if I had shoes to give them and I hated that I didn't.  They don't have any, and I can't imagine walking for miles everyday with no shoes.
 
Like I said, this is a place rarely visited by outsiders, and there are 100s of villages like this all over Haiti   This is the reality of Haiti. Almost.  There is hope for Village 87.  There is hope for Haiti.  I'll show you that hope in my next posting.