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Hundreds of thousands of children are being forced into slavery throughout the world. Children are being sold or trafficked for labor or sexual exploitation in Asia, Africa and Latin America. One country though is mentioned with a morbid regularity: Haiti, the poorest nation on the Western Hemisphere. It’s estimated that nearly one out of ten of Haiti’s children is held as a slave. However, a more painful scandal in Haiti is not that you can buy a child, it’s that you can get one for free.

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A normal day in Port au Prince, Haiti. When Alexandra wakes up, it’s almost 4 am. She goes through her early morning routine - cleanses herself, gets dressed and begins her work: pealing peanuts that her “host mother” will sell later during the day, to secure her minimal daily income. The host mother however, is still sleeping, along with the rest of the family. Only Alexandra is, just like every day, awake and up on her feet. Her duties do not allow her to sleep in. She is a Restavek - a slave girl.

There are about 300.000 children in Haiti, who are engaged as domestic slaves or ‘Restavek’. Restavek is a creole word derived from the French ‘rester avec’ with the original innocuous meaning  ‘to remain with somebody’. Many of the children are orphans, others were sent by their families from the countryside into the city. It is upsetting to note that the economic distinction between host and natural family is negligible. Thus almost all Restavek go from bad to worse – from the countryside straight into the slums or from a life on the streets, with at least some tangible sense of liberty, to being deprived of even this last precious possession.

Alexandra, the girl, whose daily existence I spent ome week documenting, is 14 years old. For the past seven years she has been living with her host family. She moved in after losing both her parents to a sickness she cannot name anymore, as time and a very difficult life have erased this from her memory.On the 29th of March, 2011 I found myself in the slum of Wharf-Jeremie, where the inhabitants live under some of the most extreme conditions of want and deprivation one can imagine. The sheet metal shacks, which glowed eerily in the hot, dry sun, are home to an appalling display of poverty – now more so than ever, given the devastation of last years earthquake. On the streets I could see children running and playing in the most ragged of dressings and right in their midst was the girl I came to document – Alexandra.

This is not her first encounter with a journalist. Only as recent as last June, Mr Christoph Roeckerath reported on behalf of the ZDF (a German TV station) about the cruel fate of the Restavek. While prowling through Wharf-Jeremie, on the lookout for an especially moving case, he stumbles upon Alexandra. The resulting report describes, in a deeply impressive way, the shocking aspects of everyday life of a Restavek child. It reveals, for instance, the abuse Alexandra has to endure, as she is beaten with a aggressive regularity by her host family. Mr Roeckerath also accompanies the young girl to the social worker responsible for her quarter. During this meeting he hears the host mother justifying the abuse as being of educational nature and ‘not all that bad’.

Though, as poignant as the report is, it has done little in helping Alexandra. Mr Roeckerath knows this and this is how I came to know about Alexandra. He contacted me, asking for my help in keeping the promise he made to her and another girl Restavek while reporting last year – to help free them of their despotic host families. From half a world away, this promise turned out to be difficult for him to keep. I promised to do my best in aiding the girls.

A few weeks have passed since the arrangement was done. Now I’m finally looking into Alexandra’s eyes. We’re in the room she shares with her other five host sisters and the host mother. It’s approximately 10 square meters and has not more than two beds, only one of which has a mattress. Alexandra sleeps under one of the beds on a cardboard. Every once in a while, when one of her host siblings needs to relieve herself during the night and it happens that Alexandra misses the command to bring them the night bowl, she’ll  feel the warm spray dripping down on her.

Alexandra hardly ever smiles. More often than not she wipes the sweat off her forehead because of her demanding work. She fetches seven buckets of water on a daily basis, carrying them on her head, never complaining, never stopping for a short break. When I ask her if she is still physically abused, she denies it shyly, not convincing me at all. But in order to not become an additional burden to the 14 year old child, I don’t press the issue further. Suddenly though, she fetches a belt and points at it and then at the scars scattered over her legs, arms and face – it’s clear to me that she wants me to know the abuse hasn’t stopped, but that she is too afraid to admit it out loud.

She also confides in me that her host mother sells her to the neighbor as well. As a house aid she claims and reveals that the elderly man provides her with sanitary tampons for her monthly cycle. But she doesn’t reveal if she is sexually abused by him or not.

Despite all, she is allowed to attend school, after finishing all her duties. However ‘this is mostly not the case’, says her teacher, full of worry. ‘She misses school too often’ I am told. As a result, Alexandra is not able to comply with her learning pensum, resulting in the 14 year old still being in third grade.Day in, day out, for the last seven years Alexandra lives with this unbearable fate. She is constantly exposed to the patronizing looks of people in her neighborhood. Still more dreadful, children of her same age show and feel no respect for her. People whisper, smirk, talk bad and finger-point at her. All the while, Alexandra does her work and acts like she does not notice the mockery and scorn that surrounds her. For what else can she do? Nobody has ever thought of helping her. She is the house worker, she is the slave. So she continues to work day by day.

Until March 29th, 2011. One thing struck me from the very beginning however: the complete and utter indifference that the host mother was displaying towards Alexandra. She never once asked about the reasons for my presence in their household, allowing me to take as many pictures of Alexandra as I wanted. I thus decided to bet everything on one card: I asked the host mother if she would let me find another family for the girl. Without the blink of an eye she agreed. I was surprised. I repeated the question three times to avoid any possible misunderstanding but the answer remained the same - an indifferent and cold nod from the host mother signifying that I could do as I pleased.

It is early morning when Alexandra and I leave the room in Wharf-Jeremie. Together with my American friend Kelly, who has been living in Haiti for the last five years, we drive the girl to the Restavek Freedom Foundation, which is an organization specializing in ending child slavery in Haïti. But they also have limited possibilities, so they can only take children of the worst scenario cases.As we are driving, we feel the pressure of not knowing if Alexandra will qualify for a place in the foundation or not.

But after about an hour into the conversation with the aid workers at the agency, it becomes clear that Alexandra can stay at the Restavek Foundation. Her physical condition is extremely deteriorated. As the board director of the Association Viv Timoun, I reach an accord with the Restavek Freedom Foundation that Viv Timoun would co-finance most of Alexandra’s costs and will also receive the aid of Christoph Roeckerath in helping this young girl reclaim her life.Alexandra will now be able to receive an education, psychological help, as well as new clothes for the first time in seven years. She now has a clean furnished room to sleep in and is surrounded by people that care for her and give her trust and human kindness.But even if in the beginning she is still confused and mistrusting of these sudden changes in her life, one big shift has already taken place in her existence: Alexandra is able to smile again.

The last picture was taken by Joan Conn of the Restavek Freedom Foundation

See more pictures on my website. Click here! 

Please help us to finance Alexandras and other childrens education.

Donate to Viv Timoun VOG:

IBAN: BE78 7554 7338 2786

BIC: AXABBE22

Account holder: Viv Timoun

Banc: Axa Eynatten, Belgium

Thank you for your support!

‘Viv Timoun’ is organizing its first six-month photo workshop, between August 2011 and January 2012. I will lead this workshop which is aimed to help 20 children aged 14-22 find their way out of hopelessness through photography, and to deal with their trauma via their own creativity.

Fostering development using creativity and technology

 After the earthquake, many Haitians lost their hope. Numerous people continue to be traumatised by the catastrophic event of last January, and to be afraid of their future. Also, according to Alice Smeets – who has been traveling to Haiti extensively – the Haitian photography industry is far from being well-educated: ‘There are photographers in Haiti, but many of them just know the technical part, the mechanical aspects of their camera. The art behind composition, the game of light and many other artistic aspects are missing. This is why I would like to teach the art of photography to a group of older children, and contribute to a much-needed revolution in Haitian photography.’

Now that Haiti is receiving less attention from the media, we have an ideal opportunity to start documenting Haiti in a new light. We will be able to capture the changes this country goes through after such a devastation in a very personal way – not from a Western point of view, but through the eyes of Haitian children. This approach will open doors that have been closed to foreign photographer, and it will contribute to our goal of offering help to self-help. Moreover, it could help understand the Haitian nation and their needs much better. Most importantly, however, expressing themselves artisticly should also help the children overcome their trauma. The project will be carried out in collaboration with a Haitian supervisor: Natacha Marseille, a 29-year-old woman and  director of the MEVA primary school in Port-au-Prince since 2004.

The whole project will be presented on a website, featuring pictures, audiofiles and videos. An exhibition is planned to be organised in several places in Haiti, Germany and Belgium. If all works out, the project should end by creating a small photography studio in Port-au-Prince, where the older workshop participants would be able to work as photographers, and to continue organizing photography workshops for other traumatized children.

Finding a new way of development aid

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere. People eat mud cakes to survive, three quarters of the population lives on less than $2 a day. Especially Haiti’s children suffer from this situation. According to the 2006 UNICEF report ‘Child Alert: Haiti’, children there are more likely to die during early childhood than in any other country in the Western hemisphere. Only about 50% attend school, thousands of children are being held as slaves, so-called ‘restaveks’, and many boys and girls grow up as orphans in the streets of the capital, where prostitution and underpaid jobs are part of everyday survival. Since the earthquake, about a million people have lost their homes. Schools and universities broke down. Parents, children, teachers, professors, doctors have died. Many people, especially children, are traumatized. This obviously raises a critical question:

Are there no other needs than a photography workshop in Haiti?

Let us answer in the following way. Haiti has received development aid for more than 30 years. In these 30 years, much has been done, but almost nothing has changed. Before the earthquake, an estimated 80% of the population lived below the poverty line. Since the catastrophe, about 1.3 million people are living in horrible conditions, in tents or selfmade shelters. The Haitians have grown used to non-profit organisations being around. For many, it feels natural to receive help without working or giving back anything themselves. In order to fight against this dependence on foreign help, the aim of our photography workshop will be to teach the children to be proactive. No matter where they come from, no matter how poor they are, they will learn to help themselves through art. Furthermore, those who really want to work as a photographer in the future will learn how to sell their work, either to galleries or to the media. Another important aspect of the project is trauma relief via self-expression. The children will be taught to communicate their feelings by using their camera, light, composition, colours … The concept behind the project is help to self-help. We want to invest, not into another short-term aid, but into talent, with a concrete long-term plan and result: proactive children and independent photographers for Haiti who, at the same time, might find a way to overcome their pain.

What do we still need? How can you help or support us?

 We still need at least 8 Laptops (new or used ones) and 10 DSLR cameras (also new or used ones). Financial support is also always welcome through our bancaccount for donations:

 IBAN: BE78 7554 7338 2786
BIC: AXABBE22
Account holder: Viv Timoun
Banc: Axa Eynatten, Belgium

Thank you so much for your help and support!

The workshop will be held in our new built school MEVA.

It is in German, but could be interesting even if you don’t understand the language. You can observe me working in Haiti and see how Landa is doing today (the girl of the Unicef picture of the Year 2008).

http://www.3sat.de/mediathek/?mode=play&obj=22039

and if you speak German, here is an Interview I gave right after my return from Haiti after the earthquake also in “Kulturzeit” on 3Sat.

http://www.3sat.de/mediathek/mediathek.php?obj=16617 (please ignore my horrible looking face when you open the link It was 5am, one week after the earthquake and my face is full of mosquito bites)

I have found there is a common belief amongst photographers today, that a single picture is enough to provoke much needed change in this often unfair and inhuman world. I however believe that while a picture can certainly catapult horrific wrongdoings into the public eye, it has not enough power by itself anymore to also catalyse the world into action. It is my conviction that in order to achieve the desired effect of change, the photographer themselves has to get personally involved in the subject matter he is documenting. In the end, how can the eyewitness expect the viewers at home to act first?

With my pictures I do not only want to show the world’s problems and hardships people face, but I also want to play a small role in finding solutions and sources of comfort for those less fortunate. I have never been satisfied with being a simple voyeur of people living in utterly inhuman and undignified conditions. I want to bring about change, working as hard as it takes with my camera as my tool.

For me, the most effective way to achieve this is by focusing intensively on a topic or issue, thus gaining as much insight into the culture, mentality and problems of the region as possible, in order to find ways to help that will not create dependency but rather offer the possibility for independent growth for the people affected.

Early on I chose Haiti as my focus. The first time I visited was in 2007 and since then I have been to the country 9 times. In the wake of the devastating earthquake that happened last year, I founded and preside over the non-profit foundation “Viv Timoun”. The name literally means ‘live little child’ in Creole. We collect donations by selling my pictures as fine art prints and by showing my work on fundraising events. Amongst several projects, we support a local school that was destroyed in the earthquake, which by now has already been rebuilt. With the kind support of our donors and the Belgian government we are able to organize a 6 months long photography workshop this year, lasting from August 2011 to late January 2012, aimed at young adults living in and around Port-au-Prince. Our goal is to open a photo studio on site, thus creating the opportunity for the participants to receive assignments as portrait, wedding and documentary photographers, helping them gain financial independence and the strength to live and work without the risk of dependence on foreign aid or exploitation.

This is the very reason why I created my own foundation, rather than supporting existing ones and NGO’s full time. During the many months I have spent documenting the living conditions (in the largest sense of the term) in Haiti I have come to see that most NGO’s aid is very ineffective. More often than not they create dependence rather than nurturing independence in the developing countries and regions they are active in. Having my own foundation allows me the freedom to choose more freely which local organizations to support or partner with. One big criteria of my willingness to start something of my own is being capable of managing the funds of my organisation. I have first hand knowledge that often basic mistakes and oversights in this area lead to a lot of money never reaching the ones who need it most and, at the same time, creating a barrier of mistrust between the NGO’s and their target group. Another big freedom which results from having my own foundation is that I can put into practice ideas that mean a lot to me, like the photography workshop later this year.

In addition to my work in Haiti, you will often find me visiting schools and institutions in Belgium and Germany, where I hold presentations and/or give workshops using the pictures I take as mediums to educate the audience. I plan to expand this audience to include pupils studying in Haitian elite schools, creating awareness of how they can help the ones on the very poor side of their own country.

Call me an idealist and you are right. I consider myself a human rights activist who uses her photographs as a device to raise awareness to the human rights violations I witness. This is what drives me to grow as a photojournalist and what makes me want to become a better storyteller. I intend to travel to as many places in this world as possible, observing, learning and photographing. Having currently chosen Haiti as my primary focus, doesn’t mean I don’t want to discover what else this world has to offer and which other different stories can be told through my camera.

As I move forward in photography I want to keep on exploring what it really is that draws me to these places and people, while continually trying to convey the emotion that I feel as successfully as possible to the viewer. In my opinion a photograph should be clear and easy to read with the ability to teach the viewer about its subject, sending out a comprehensible message to everyone. Pictures are able to capture reality that people believe in and therefore I don’t share the new idea to mix photojournalism and modern art. Photojournalism is an art by itself as it is necessary for the photographer to understand the interaction of line, tone, shape, pattern, texture, light and shadow and how these elements work together to create something of inherent visual interest. I am a photo reporter in the classical sense and I also use the camera to explore new relationships, new chances and new beginnings - and most importantly new stories.

From the time when I assisted Philip Jones Griffiths one of his often repeated sentences is stuck in my head: “Let’s shoot real pictures for real people”.  That is my conviction and my inspiration, when I am out taking pictures. I believe in the “decisive moment” to be the instant in which one captures the importance of a situation.

Currently I also dedicate a lot of work to improving my multimedia skills, because the combination of the written word with sound and pictures creates a bigger impact than the individual components alone. While the written word has the information, the picture, the sound and the spoken word contain the emotions. The interviews with their own voices make the stories and the people real, help to engage with the audience in their stories and feel with them. It is one of the many reasons I believe in the benefits of modern technology and why I intend to use it to the fullest of its advantages.

Now I want to go further in my work and maybe have a bigger influence and higher impact with my pictures. These photos together with talks about my experiences in places like Haiti will help me to transmit my knowledge. As an additional benefit it will make it easier to collect even more donations from individuals, companies and different governments. This in turn will help me work even closer with the Haitian people to improve their living situation by bringing out their pro-activism and strengthening their trust in their own force, rather than creating a debilitating dependency on outside funding and aid. And these improvements again I will capture with my camera.

Yesterday I arrived back home in Belgium after a 6 weeklong trip to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, New York and Washington DC.  It definitely was one of the best trips I ever had.

POYi

It all started in New York, when I arrived there on the 3^rd of March. I looked into my emails and found a message of my professor of the LCC (London College of Communication). He congratulated me on winning the 3rth place in the category “Multimedia Portfolio” in the Picture of the Year international Award. I had no idea; nobody of the organisation “POYi” had notified me. I didn’t want to believe it until I got an official email a week later. It’s amazing, what a wonderful feeling to get such a high recognition for the hard work. All my gratitude goes to Frederic Biegmann, who helped me for weeks, day and night, to produce the different multimedia pieces.

Haiti Carnival

On the 7^th of March carnival was celebrated in Haiti. During 2 days I spent my time in Port-au-Prince watching, photographing and dancing in the parades. All Haitians told me that it this year’s carnival wasn’t as nice as the year’s before because of a lack of money. In my opinion (I have never been in Haiti for carnival before) it was a stunning celebration. The costumes were beautifully self-made and the dances looked spectacular.

Dominican Republic

In my last blogpost I have posted the pictures and the story I have worked on in the DR. For nine days I went almost every day into the Bateys (name of the towns where Haitian immigrant workers live) and documented their really hard work and life. Like I said before: It makes me angry that this topic has been an issue since a long time, but there are no visible improvements. The companies continue to exploit the people, treating them almost like slaves.

Back in Haiti

On the day that Aristide arrived in Port-au-Prince, I went back to Haiti. I was too late to see him at the airport, but I went straight to his house where hundreds of people were having a big party. They stormed into his house and apparently robbed him. It was crazy being in the middle of a yelling crowd and it felt great. Much more exciting than the elections two days later – they went very well and calm – no demonstrations, no overwhelming emotions and not much fraud.

On the 4rth of April they announced the results and Martelly, the singer “Sweet Micky” was the winner - he got 67% of the votes. All around the country people were happy, celebrating and dancing as if they had won the world cup.  For me it was a wonderful evening. I run into the middle of the crowd, jumping on and off cars of strangers who were all driving into the direction of Martellys house. I was just happy to be a part of this event of tremendous sentiments.

Washington DC

The highlight of my trip was the end, when I went to Washington DC. Last December I met a man on the plane, he was sitting right next to me.  His name is Charles ‘Chic’ Dambach, he is the CEO of the Alliance for Peacebuilding. I was fascinated by the story of his life (which he also just published in a book) and decided to go and see him in Washington, where he lives. We spent 3 days together, he invited me to his house and the next day we drove together to Virginia where he had 2 book readings that weekend. It was awesome to spend time with him and listen to his stories. I got so much inspiration to continue what I am doing and work even harder for a better world.

Check out his book, his life is amazing!

http://www.amazon.com/Exhaust-Limits-Times-Global-Peacebuilder/dp/1934074578/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302699172&sr=8-1

Batey communities in the Dominican Republic are company towns or neighborhoods where Haitian sugar cane workers and their families live.

Cutting sugarcanes is physically demanding and extremely low-paying work. An estimated 250,000 residents live in approximately 500 bateys. Most residents do not have access to drinking water, proper sanitation facilities, medical care, or education.

I spent 10 days in Barahona in the Dominican Republic documenting the life of those people. It is making me angry that this topic has been an issue since a long time, but there are no visible improvements. The companies continue to exploit the people, treating them almost like slaves. Here is a first selection of my pictures.

Barahona, Batey 3, March 2011.

The workers start early in the morning burning the canes and then cut until the end of the day.

Barahona, Batey 3, March 2011.

During the burning of the sugar cane, the particles in the air burn the eyes and infect skin lesions.

Barahona, Batey 3, March 2011.

Pierre is Haitian, 51 years old and has worked as a sugarcane cutter since he came to the Dominican Republic as a teenager. He is exhausted and his body hurts often, but he cannot think about stopping, since he would not get a pension.

Barahona, Batey 3, March 2011.
The workers start early in the morning burning the canes and then cut until the end of the day. The burned cane, easier to cut, is less well paid. Sometimes, the exhausted cutters get caught by the flames…

Barahona, Batey 3, March 2011. Once the cane has been cut it is loaded onto wagons and sent to be weighed.

Barahona, Batey 5, March 2011. A little girl next to the railways that are used for the transportation of the sugarcane.

Barahona, Batey 4, March 2011.
Mario is 12 years old. He was born in the Bateys. His family is very poor, so he has to help working in the fields. His family cannot even afford proper clothes or shoes for him to work in.

 Barahona, Batey 4, March 2011.
Alexandro is 10 years old. He was born in the Bateys. His family is very poor, so he has to help working in the fields. He is crying after his mum hit him with a machete, because he didn’t do his work properly.

 Barahona, Batey 5, March 2011.
Inside the home of Haitian workers. 6 people share one small room. There is no electricity, no clean water and poor sanitation facilities.
Keketo doesn’t know his age, but has spent more than half of his life in the bateys. Now he is too old to work and dement. He depends on his single child, who is also a sugar cane cutter, to support him.

 Barahona, Batey 5, March 2011. Living conditions in Batey communities are very bad.

 Barahona, Batey 4, March 2011. An old woman carrying water. There is no water in the houses in the Bateys.

 Barahona, Batey Cucilla, March 2011. Suady Garcia is 16 years old and handicaped. His mum lives in Santo Domingo to make money to pay for his living. He lives with his aunt. His father left when he heart that his son is handicaped. He lays the whole day on the floor, cannot talk and depends on his aunt to feed him.

Barahona, Batey 4, March 2011.

 Barahona, Batey 5, March 2011. Petit Louis is 60 years old and still works in the fields. Every morning he waits that a bus comes to pick him up. Sometimes the bus doesn’t come and all workers have to go back - a forced break without pay.

Barahona, Batey 3, March 2011.
The workers start early in the morning burning the canes and then cut until the end of the day.

Barahona, Batey 3, March 2011.
Michel Joseph is 37 years old. He worked every single day since he arrived from Haiti 2 years ago. He would like to go back, but the lack of jobs in his homecountry forces him to stay. Fifteen hours per day, the braceros suffer the hot sun combined with the heat of the burning sugar cane.

 Barahona, Batey 5, March 2011. After work the workers go to the nearby river to wash themselves.

Barahona, Batey 5, March 2011. A sugar cane worker is waiting for the bus to come to drive him to the plantation. Sometimes the bus doesn’t come and all workers have to go back - a forced break without pay.

I am sitting in Haiti at the desk of my friend Natacha not able to go outside because of a knee injury. Two days ago I found myself in the middle of a motorbike accident. Someone opened the door of his car when my driver and me were passing by. My knee was in between the car and the motorbike. We drove to the hospital and found out that it was only a contusion. I have to lie in bed for three days. But as long as I will be healthy on Sunday for the elections, everything is fine. 

When I arrived in Haiti on Tuesday I went to visit Landa and her siblings at school. They all changed school, to get a better education. It is working well, they already understand everything I ask them in French. To keep up with the level of the school, they get private lessons every day after school.

I have great news: I have just finished my final project for my MA in photojournalism/documentary photography. It is a website with 5 different multimedia stories about Haiti. Check it out: www.alicesmeets.com/haitistories

Also the website of our foundation is online in German as well as English! Have a look: www.vivtimoun.org

I have moved place end of November and live now 2 kilometers from the German border.  It is a beautiful little place in which my grandparents used to live when I was small. So it brings up many childhood memories, that’s beautiful.

This year is going to its end. It was definitely one of the most adventurous years of my life. All started with the emotional and heartbreaking earthquake in Haiti, which made friends and me create a foundation for Haiti. I returned 4 times to Haiti this year and met amazing people on my trips. I went to Benin for the first time, danced with Africans in the middle of the night and stayed with a family of a man who had 5 wives, about 32 children and 150 grandchildren. And not to forget: my beautiful holiday in Bali together with my great friend Miranda from New Zealand.

3 different continents and 3 new countries. It was a great year, even though it was full of stress. My plan for the next year is: do it exactly the same but less fast and less stressful. Friends and me are planning a photography workshop for teenagers in Haiti from August to December 2011. If you want to read more, click here or for informations in German click here.

I have been in Haiti in June-July and to Benin in August. Both awesome trips! I will go to Hamburg next week, to London the week after and to Bali on the 13th of October. In Bali I will finally take some rest, try to learn how to surf and just have normal holidays (of course with my camera ). But this time I don’t have a project in mind - I will just photograph whatever is beautiful!

For those who understand German have read my last post about the situation in Haiti. It is really depressing. Not much has been done, storms and rain make it almost impossible to live in tents. But it seems like the Haitian people have to stay in tents for years. There is a lot of violence in the tent-cities, a lot of rape and shootings. People are getting aggressive, they don’t want to live in such horrible situations anymore. I really hope the elections in November will change something…

Benin is a lot like Haiti. I call it: Haiti light. It is poor, but people still have the basic needs to live. It is chaotic, but you can still find some quite corners. It is much more relaxed and not stressful, as Haiti (or better Port-au-Prince) is. And it has the voodoo like Haiti has.
For those who don’t know: The Haitian people have been imported to Haiti as slaves many hundred years ago - many of them came from Benin or the surrounding countries.
“Viv Timoun” also supports projects in Benin. A friend of mine, Max Küchenberg, has started a project of rural development there 2 years ago, which is now integrated into our foundation. The project is based on a PhD-thesis in which our Beninese partner, Luc H. Dossa PhD, researched the breeding of the Beninese goat and its impact on the farmer’s quality of live. “Viv Timoun” has built a farm to breed strong, reproducible goats and grow vegetables at the same time.

Furthermore “Viv Timoun” also deals with ‘animal loans`. A couple of goats, pigs, sheep or chicken are donated to a family, which will help them to strengthen their income. The following year they will give back the first descendants of these animals and “Viv Timoun” will give them to another family. This project aims to the creation of a circle of sustainable help.

If you want to support Viv Timoun, here are the details:
IBAN: BE78 7554 7338 2786
BIC: AXABBE22
Bancaccountholder: Viv Timoun
Banc: Axa Eynatten, Belgien

If you understand German and wish for more infos, please visit: www.vivtimoun.org (sorry, the English translation will appear very soon).

Please also watch my new multimedia-piece (which is part of my final project):
http://www.vimeo.com/15296403

And at the end I want to show you some pictures I found today, that I never really looked at before.
Voodoo in Haiti from 2009: