ARTS - EDUCATION - SCHOOL - FOOD - HEALTH CARE - LOVE - SECURITY |
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 ABOUT HAITI AND ART I have been traveling in and out of Haiti since 1997! The places that I have visited and the things that I have seen probably account for my inability to sleep or stay still. Every time I begin to remotely feel sorry for myself and feel that things are too stressful or tough, I think that I could be one of the mothers in Haiti who carries 5 gallons of water on her head all day, comes home to a screaming infant and two more starving children to begin phase two of her already difficult life. Phase two consists of taking her paltry sum of money and buying a cup of rice or a couple of tablespoons of oil to make food for children who have been abandoned all day, fending for their own survival. Visualizing this makes me realize that I have plenty of food in the refrigerator, and if my biggest complaint is that traffic was insane or that a shipment was late, then I need to just regroup and move forward! In the many years that I have been going to Haiti, I have felt that it is difficult to change the downward spiral. However, I feel that it is possible to change and help one life at a time. The children in Haiti are the ones who suffer the most. Poverty robs these beautiful children of their innocence and youth as they fight for daily survival and still go to bed hungry! It is a bold statement to say that it would be wrong if someone could actually go to Haiti and not feel a burning desire to make a difference. Haiti is just over one hour by air from Miami. It is unfathomable and unacceptable that such poverty should exist, especially being so close geographically to the affluence of the United States.
As stated earlier, there are approximately 9.3 million people in Haiti. I wonder how many of those are children? For now lets all help one child at a time and as we do, we build community. Sandra Renteria
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ART CREATION FOUNDATION FOR CHILDREN
Art in Haiti is a very important foundation that provides a means of survival to a large number of people. Unlike artists in the United States who may be referred to as "starving artists:" because they have not "made it," Haitian artists are considered a component of the 'hopefuls'of the Haitian socio-economic structure. Artists are to Haiti what accountants and engineers are to the United States. Their existence creates a trickle down effect, impacting up to 50 to 100 people in a community; each artist assists to provide stability by having the money to buy food from a local vendor, fabric to be used as canvas from a neighbor, etc. Almost all Haitian artists are men. Women maintain a lower status, doing most of the hard physical labor for day-to-day existence. However at ACFFC, girls and boys have equal status and opportunity for sure.
