February 26, my second day in Haiti, began with a visit to the Presidential Palace in Port-au-Prince. As the van pulled up in front of the Palace, I heard the sound of a marching band. Men dressed in matching band uniforms played beautiful music as I surveyed the earthquake damage. I looked across the street and saw the tent camps in Champ de Mars plaza and wondered how could music be made in the midst of heartbreaking devastation. The answer came in the form of a six-word memoir equation as I noticed Haitian people moving through their morning with grace and dignity. Faith + Hope + Determination + Resiliency + Creativity = HAITI.
Watch a video of my visit to the Presidential Palace and Champ de Mars Plaza, the location of the largest tent camp in Port-au-Prince. See below. Listen to my audio blog about the visit. Check out photos from my visit below.
The Heart of Haiti campaign is a partnership between Fairwinds Trading, Macy’s, and the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund. It was created to provide sustainable income to Haitian artisans impacted by the January 2010 earthquake. Through the partnership, the artisans create artwork that is sold as the Heart of Haiti collection in Macy’s stores. The sales from these hand-made products including quilts, metalwork, paper måché, painting and jewelry generate the sustainable income and provide trade instead of aid to the Haitian artisans. Everywhere, a social media firm that represents Macy’s, sponsored my trip to Haiti. Click here to read about my trip’s details.
Photos from Visit to Presidential Palace and Champ de Mar Plaza
Ananda Leeke 