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The photos show the emergency assistance soon after the January 2010 earthquake. Meals were taken to emergency shelters, hospitals, and to families with extreme additional burdens. Click on the photo in order to enlarge it.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
The management:
Haiti-Partner was founded on October 23, 2010 in Wehr/Baden, Germany.
ABOUT HAITI:
The country comprises 27,750 square kilometers (10,714 square miles) - a little larger than the US State of Vermont. It is estimated that about 80% of the Haitians are Roman Catholic; but at the same time, most of the Roman Catholics are adherents of the Voodoo cult which originates from Africa. Most of the rest of the inhabitants belong to various Protestant denominations; they are mainly Baptists (about 10%) and Adventists (about 4%). Haiti is said to be the poorest country of the Western hemisphere. 80% of the Haitians must live on less than $2.00 per day. More than two thirds of the employable adult population has no regular work.
Furthermore, Haiti has been plagued again and again by natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes. The worst earthquake in the history of the country and probably of the whole world occurred on January 12, 2010. According to government calculations, it took the lives of about 300,000 people. (Source and further information: Wikipedia) |
The Republic of
Haiti is situated on the Western Part of the Caribbean
Island of Hispaniola, West of the Dominican Republic and
East of Cuba. Most of the approximately nine
million inhabitants are descendants of African slaves.
Port-au-Prince is the capitol. French and Creole are the
national languages.
The country has a unique
history: It was discovered in 1492 by Columbus. After
that, the whole island became a Spanish colony. The
Indian original inhabitants were exterminated over a
brief period. Then, African slaves were imported
to work in the sugar cane plantations. In 1697, the
Spaniards ceded the Western part of the island (about
one third) to France. In the 18th century, it became the
richest French colony. But 1791, the first slave revolt
occurred, which finally caused Haiti to become
independent in 1804. Yet, France demanded compensation
for former plantation owners for the recognition of the
independence of the country, so Haiti had to pay a total
of 90 million gold francs - this is one of the causes of
the country's poverty. Unfortunately, independence did
not provide freedom, justice, and peace to the Haitians.
The country has been oppressed and exploited by many
despots.