The genesis of this project started a couple years ago with a chance meeting with Esperandieu Pierre and Aarron Sherick with Nehemiah Vision Ministries. Pastor Pierre was in the States trying to raise money for a water well in Chambrun Haiti. As he spoke of the need for clean water, I remembered thinking how we, myself included, take for granted the water that we have. We turn the faucet and expect water to come out. I approached Pastor Pierre and offered to donate my services and talents to help propel the message to a larger audience. Fast forward to a couple months ago and Pastor Pierre was in the US again and we met at our studio and to my surprise, he asked if he could just fly us down to Haiti to shoot what we needed. I told him we would be honored to do this. I would be lying if I told you I was not a little concerned with our safety after reading the US State Department warnings. I then remembered Pastor Steve Poe from Northview Christian Church who once said, "God tends to nudge and present opportunities and you just have to be able to recognize them and sometimes you have to step outside your comfort zone to make a difference." My hesitation was brief after remembering this short but powerful message and I recognized this as my "nudge".
I had performed some research before our trip to Haiti, seeing pictures and learning about the history and the struggles the people of Haiti have gone through and continue to experience. It was a realization that humanity often gets caught up with disputes between governments. The people of Haiti, like you, me and your children have hopes and dreams and have prayers they want answered. Haiti is a melting pot of every social problem you can think of. Working on this project gave me a new appreciation for law and order and that we have an infrastructure that is probably the best in the world. I left the US hearing news of the recession and bailouts and arrived in a country that has an extremely poor economy. The poorest nation in the western hemisphere. People in this country are in survival mode, doing what they need to do to survive, which includes adults and children looking for food in dumps along with dogs and pigs. Women and teens using their bodies as a means of income or for food. There is a multitude of health problems and many people cannot read or write. My brother Steve purchased a wood carving from one of the markets and we asked the man to write Haiti on the bottom....he could not spell his own country. People in Haiti are begging you for money, not for any vice, but for food, to get them through a day or two.
We spent much of our time in a small village which once thrived as a community of people who worked and harvested sugar cane. This was once a lush area. The fields of sugar cane are gone for a number of reasons. There is nothing here. The trees on the mountains were stripped long ago and all is left is the bare mountainside as far as the eye can see. I say there is nothing here, except for small children and adults looking for hope and direction. It was not uncommon to see a little boy or little girl with little clothing on, dirty, and hungry. A young girl while at the school Nehemiah Vision Ministry built, had to lay down on the ground because she was so hungry. Some children will go days without eating. You hear stories of children making mud cakes. Mud cakes are a combination of mud and butter, mixed and then left to bake in the sun. There is no nutritional value but it kills the hunger they feel. But when the children saw us, an incredible contagious smile spread across their face. It broke my heart to look into their eyes knowing their parents were dead or had abandoned them. There are still some children that have a mother or father present but they are all in need. In need of affection, love, food, medical, education, etc.
We met a little girl named Fedlane who was approximately 5 or 6 years old. She was abandoned by her mother and she was found under a small bush, near death, covered with flies. Nehemiah Vision Ministries rescued her and nursed her back to health thanks to the medical mission team. Fedlane and many other children are being cared for at the childrens home in Chambrun, which was created by Nehemiah Vision Ministries for the people of this small community. Images of Fedlane and others will be with me forever.
This was an amazing experience for me and my brother Steve, who also shot with me. As we captured images through our lense and although we witnessed many things this way, we would debrief at the end of each day, sometimes quietly sitting and thinking and other times discussing what we saw and the stories we heard. You wonder how and why we are so blessed. Why not them? Possibly they do feel blessed. Blessed for what they do have. We realized that we have the luxury of traveling to this part of the world but we also have the luxury of escape.
Our trip was short but one last message was sent my way. On our way to the airport Steve pulled to the side of the road to visit one of the street vendors one final time, looking for something to take back. I stood outside our vehicle and watched as Steve negotiated with the street vendor. I felt a slight tug on my shirt and I turned around to see a young boy about 7 years old. He was barefoot and his clothing was tattered and worn. His face and arms were dirty. He didn't speak any english except to say "one dollar?" Without hesitation I pulled my cash out and found a dollar bill between some other higher currency. I handed it to him and he rolled it up, placed it in his pocket and he gave me a hug. This made me think quite a bit because this was a boy who should have been in school. Who was he? What is his story? Our flight back to the States, I looked out my window watching the clouds and thought about the little boy. I wondered why I didn't give him more money. Why not the $5.00 bill or the $10.00 or $20.00. It was one of those moments I wished that I could go back and do over.
Thanks to Esperandieu Pierre and his wife Deanne for there hospitality during our stay. Special thanks to our new friends Aaron Sherrick and Aaron Elliot and for being help behind the scenes.
We look forward to piecing the footage together.
John
Posts
