This picture is from an area of Port au Prince called La Saline. La Saline is what is often referred to as a slum. This means that most of these people are "squatters" and do not actually own the land that they are on. Some may be paying a small amount of rent, but most are just hanging out until they get caught by the landowner and are forced out. These people are very very poor. What you see in the above picture is very typical of housing for a large majority of Haitian people. There is basically one room inside that metal shack, although sometimes they'll separate the room with a hanging piece of cloth to make two rooms and often there are at least 8 or more people living in the same home. The roof is most likely leaky and the floors are dirt. So during the rainy season, this home is often a muddy mess and the people living in it are dealing with hardships in maintaining their home and their fragile health. There is no toilet, they will just go outside somewhere, usually in the nearby ravine. They will also walk to the ravine for baths. Baths and sewage in the same water is not an uncommon scene in the slums of Port au Prince. There is no running water or electricity inside that little home. This is what many people deal with on a daily basis in Haiti. This area, La Saline, is near one of the most violent slums in Port au Prince, called Cite Soliel, so La Saline is often an unsafe place to travel through. Although these people are under nourished and often sick, it is amazing to me that they even survive with these types of conditions. It is a reminder each and every day for me how lucky I am to have the things that I am blessed with.
This picture is from an area of Port au Prince called La Saline. La Saline is what is often referred to as a slum. This means that most of these people are "squatters" and do not actually own the land that they are on. Some may be paying a small amount of rent, but most are just hanging out until they get caught by the landowner and are forced out. These people are very very poor. What you see in the above picture is very typical of housing for a large majority of Haitian people. There is basically one room inside that metal shack, although sometimes they'll separate the room with a hanging piece of cloth to make two rooms and often there are at least 8 or more people living in the same home. The roof is most likely leaky and the floors are dirt. So during the rainy season, this home is often a muddy mess and the people living in it are dealing with hardships in maintaining their home and their fragile health. There is no toilet, they will just go outside somewhere, usually in the nearby ravine. They will also walk to the ravine for baths. Baths and sewage in the same water is not an uncommon scene in the slums of Port au Prince. There is no running water or electricity inside that little home. This is what many people deal with on a daily basis in Haiti. This area, La Saline, is near one of the most violent slums in Port au Prince, called Cite Soliel, so La Saline is often an unsafe place to travel through. Although these people are under nourished and often sick, it is amazing to me that they even survive with these types of conditions. It is a reminder each and every day for me how lucky I am to have the things that I am blessed with.
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