The other face of Haiti

Haiti, the poorest country in the hemisphere, is in the news again as Hurricane Ernesto sweeps over it. It seems that whenever we hear about Haiti, it is in connection with disasters - sometimes natural, usually man-made - and bleak grinding poverty. But there is another face of Haiti, and Jeff Mills wants you to see it.


Inspired by the documentary Born into Brothels, the Ottawa-area photographer took some cameras along with him when volunteering on a road-building project in March and gave two photography workshops for high school students. The cameras were then given to the students who proceeded to document their lives with the first cameras they had ever held.

It's obvious they see a different Haiti than the one we see in the news. Poverty, yes, but also hope and joy.


The project is continuing and expanding, with the young photographers immensely excited to see their work being published on the Internet. They're currently working on a writing project explaining the content of their work for inclusion in the photo gallery of Jeff's website, where you can go to look at all of the photographs to date.

To read more about the project and to find out how you can help encourage these young photographers and future leaders of Haiti, please visit the website. After all, any country that decks its cemeteries in cheerful colours has obviously not yet given in to despair.