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What is Haiti?

• Haiti (Republique d'Haiti) is a Caribbean republic on the island of Hispaniola.
• It is slightly smaller than Maryland and is both tropical and mountainous.
• The capital of the island-nation is Port-Au-Prince.
• Haiti became the first black republic to declare its independence in 1804.
• French and Creole are the official languages of the nation.

Who are the Haitians?

• There are nine million Haitians, 95% of whom are black.
• The majority of the island is of Catholic and Protestant faith.
• Haitians celebrate Carnival with music, parade floats and people dancing and singing in the streets.
• Haitian Compas is a musical genre as well as a dance that originates from Haiti.
• New York has a thriving émigré community with the second largest population of Haitians of any state in the nation behind Florida.

Why does Haiti need our help?

• Haiti is the poorest country in the entire Western Hemisphere, with eight out of ten Haitians living under the poverty line.
• The UN estimates that 40% of families in Haiti are currently malnourished.
• Four out of ten Haitians cannot read or write.
• Access to education is abysmal: only 1.1% of GDP is used for education.
• Haiti lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and is plagued by severe storms, flooding, earthquakes and periodic droughts.
• There is extensive deforestation and inadequate supplies of potable water.
• Political corruption is pervasive.

What have our beneficiaries done to help?

• Project Medishare increased immunization rates in infants from less than 10% to 86% and increased the number of pre-natal visits for pregnant women.
• Hollywood Unites for Haiti donates sports equipment, art supplies, photography equipment, and musical instruments to the children of Haiti.
• Edeyo founded a school that now educates 172 students - 84 boys and 88 girls - all of whom had very limited access to education.
• Yele Haiti provides 900 families with basic sustenance (rice, beans, bottle of oil and salt) through a ration card program.
• Hinche is led by a long-time Haitian activist with in-depth knowledge of the poorest district in Haiti and promotes education, economic self-reliance and sustainable environmental stewardship.
• Cine Institute currently administers a film school offering training in fiction and documentary, giving Haitians a powerful tool to share their experiences with the world.

Find out more about the positive work our beneficiaries do by visiting their the “Our Partners” section of our website: www.theglobalsyndicate.org

The volunteers of The Haiti Project rememberthat
a global family does not abandon
its sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers and children in a crisis.