Voices of Haiti
A daily photo essay by Jeremy Cowart
After the 7.0 earthquake rocked Haiti on January 12th of this year, I was deeply moved as most of you were. For days I watched as the television flashed images of gloom and doom... dead bodies, crumbled buildings... It just felt like a heartless display of numbers and statistics. "How were the people feeling?" I wondered. I was tired of hearing endless reports from strangers that just arrived to this devastated nation. So I decided to go to Port-Au-Prince myself and ask them directly. My question was simply "What do you have to say about all this?" This photo essay reveals the many answers to that question.
About the Photographer: Jeremy Cowart
Jeremy Cowart is a professional photographer from Nashville, Tennessee. Beginning his photography career in 2005, Jeremy quickly became a respected artistic voice in the industry. Having shot numerous musicians, entertainers and celebrities, Jeremy is also the founder of Help Portrait, a worldwide movement of photographers giving free portraits to those less fortunate. As his list of clients continues to grow, so does Jeremy’s desire to improve, share, teach, and give back to those around him.
About the Printing: Wallblank
The printing and fulfillment is being handled by the WallBlank.com Printery, a boutique printery located in Rockford, IL. They've agreed to do the printing at a reduced price so that as much of your purchase as possible will go to the cause.
The prints are gorgeous, printed on archival professional photo lustre paper. The printing process uses the highest quality archival pigment inks which ensure that your print will look perfect for the next 80+ years. Prints are printed one at a time and each is inspected, wrapped and packaged by hand. Each image is printed 16" x 20" with a 1/2" border, making the finished size 17" x 21 and easy to frame.
Prints will ship via USPS Priority Mail to the US and via International First Class to other countries. If you have any questions, email info@wallblank.com.
Help provide much needed tents for Haiti:
When you make a purchase from VoicesOfHaiti.com, you are helping to provide an immediate home for nearly 700,000 Haitian men and women desperately in need.
Jeremy Cowart Photography is donating 100% of net proceeds minus printing and mailing cost from your purchase to Safewater Nexus, a non-profit organization aligned under the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. All printing and mailing costs will be accounted for by Jeremy Cowart Photography. As all proceeds are restricted solely for the purchase of tents for the Home in Haiti project, Safewater Nexus will purchase tents directly from the "A Home in Haiti" program and deliver them to the sites most in need. Exact funding for all the tents will be disclosed on www.ahomeinhaiti.org. For financial integrity and accountability, Safewater Nexus is aligned under their parent company, Go International, a 501(c)(3) "Not-For-Profit" organization based in Wilmore, KY and Bristol, TN.
Your photo purchase is valued beyond the purchase price you are paying to benefit the Home in Haiti project. As a result, your purchase is not tax-deductable, since the goods you are receiving are worth at least the amound you have paid.
Take a moment to browse these powerful messages delivered from Haiti. Support this special immediate need for tents.
“You learn how to walk by falling.”
When we arrived at the tent city in Ste Therese Parc, Bruno, 28, father of two, was put in charge of his part of the camp. He was the first one to greet us and instantly wanted to participate. I love his message. It’s the perfect example of the strength and resiliance of the Haitian people.
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“Work is freedom and we have what it takes.”
We were taking pictures on the main boulevard in Downtown Port-Au-Prince when this woman walked by and said that she had a message to tell the world. Haitians are hard workers, all they need is jobs.
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“In all of my struggles I’ve realized Jesus loves me.”
The marks on her arm are from a severe car accident she was in 2 years ago. She says she has miraculously dodged death many times in her life. She even lost her entire family in the earthquake. I’m honestly not sure that I’ve ever met a kinder, more gentle person in my life. We had a great connection and I bought her some nice, cold drinks after this photo.
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“God Save Haiti”
He worked all his life to dig this spot out of the mountain by hand and build a home for his wife and six kids. Standing in the rubble of what was once his house, he is eager to rebuild but has no money to do so.
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“I am not better than her!”
For 6 long days Christian searched the rubble for his older sister. He found her just before they gave up on the 7th day as someone was about to throw her in the trash. He said, “Hey, she’s not trash, she’s my sister!” He brought her home that day and buried her here in his front yard underneath where he’s sitting.
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“We need help.”
Jerry is the star graffiti artist in Haiti. You can see his positive messages everywhere you go in Port-Au-Prince. He initially turned down this offer cause he didn’t want people to know his face. But he then changed his mind and said “It’s at times like this that artists must lead the way.”
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“home sweet home”
This photo is half sarcasm, half sincerity. He is completely distraught and clueless as to how he is going to rebuild his home and his life. But he loves Haiti and has determination to rebuild.
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“Where will we learn now God?”
Before the earthquake Jimmy was in law school and minoring in English. His plan was to be the provider for his family pictured here. His school was destroyed in the earthquake.
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“We need change for the youth.”
In Haiti, even before the quake, few people had access to schools. Official numbers are saying 90% of the schools were destroyed by the earthquake… elementary, middle, high schools, colleges, everything. This young man knows that something must change in order for his life and the life of his friends to get better.
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“Where will I go when it rains?”
The rainy season is something Haitians fear even in the most normal of times. The quake destroyed over 250,000 houses and the homeless are now looking through the rubble for any piece of scrap to build themselves a new home.
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“Having my leg chopped off is nothing. What troubles me is my country’s government.”
This is a very common thought in Haiti. When I was there, the government was completely missing. Even cops were nowhere to be found. Haitians can get through injury and suffering. But they still need leadership.
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“The fact that I’m still alive does not mean I’m better than the others. It’s just a gift from God.”
This woman saw everything she owned collapse right in front of her. She now lives in a tent city among hundreds of thousands of others on what used to be Haiti’s only golf course.
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“Love Conquers All.”
We heard that evening that there was a wedding taking place. Immediately we started driving around in the general area where the wedding was and we finally found it. The bride and groom were walking out the door as we pulled up. We explained the concept and they agreed right away. As soon as we asked them if they knew what they had to say, they wrote down “Love Conquers All.” It was a stunning statement for such a devastating time of need. After the photo was taken, we drove them to their “honeymoon” in a tent city.
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“God do not abandon your children.”
The earthquake left over a million people homeless. We met this woman at one of the many makeshift tent cities where living conditions are incredibly difficult. “There is no worse feeling in the world, as a mother, than to be unable to properly take care of your child.”
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“The earth can shake but Haiti remains in my heart.”
Mathieu lost 2 siblings, but he still works the streets in hope of a better Haiti.
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