Video Summary of Haiti

After a few months of editing the hundreds of pictures from our trip to Haiti, here is a video that recaps the first trip in three minutes. Please Share this video.

-----------------------------

Après quelques mois passés à retoucher les photos de notre voyage a Haiti, voici la video qui résume notre voyage en trois minutes. N'hésitez pas à partager cette vidéo avec tous vos amis.

Costumes, toys and clothes donations

I just received this package from amazon today and it put a big smile on my face. A generous supporter of the project bought these twelve boxes of crayola from our Amazon Wishlist. I want to thank all the people who have been sending donations for this project, we couldn't do it without your help. Every little donation counts! We will be leaving in a month and there is still plenty of time to look at the list and/or donate costumes and props from your attic.

------------

Je viens juste de recevoir cette boite qui m'a rendu heureux à la fin d'une journée de travail. Une personne généreuse vient d'acheter douze boites de crayola depuis notre liste de costume et de jouets sur Amazon. Je tiens à remercier toutes les personnes qui ont envoyé des donations, votre aide est toujours précieuse. Nous partons vers notre prochaine destniation dans un mois et il reste encore assez de temps pour regarder notre liste ou envoyer de vieux accessoires et costumes de votre grenier.

"99 Cents Store" Toys

I went to the 99 cents store a couple days ago picked up a few items for the project when I go there. They didn't have that many toys when I was there but you can always find a prop or a piece of clothing that will make a kid happy. Last week I grabbed these two toys: a gardener set and a hairdresser set. I was very excited to find the "gardener" set since so many kids wanted to be "arborists" on our last trip.

Take a look at our Amazon Wishlist

-------------

Je susi allé au magasin où tout est à 1 dollar la semaine dernière et j'essaye toujours d'acheter un ou deux jouets pour le projet quand je vais à ce magasin. Ils n'avaients pas beaucoup de choix la semaine dernière mais on peut toujours trouver un vêtement ou un accessoire qui intérssera un enfant. La semainder dernière j'ai acheté ce set de jardinier et le set de coiffeuse. J'étais très content de trouver les jouets de jardiniers car nous avaons eu beaucoup d'enafants qui étaient intéressé par ce métier lors de notre visite à Haiti.

Vous pouvez commander des jouets et accessoire pour le projet sur ce link;
Amazon Wishlist

"Behind-the-scenes" at the last orphanage in Haiti

Here are some of the pictures that were taken during the last shoot we did in Haiti with an amazing group of kids who shared their time with us. The smiles and laughters they gave us were exactly what we had hoped for when we started this project.

-------

Quelques unes des photos prises pendant notre dernière session à Haiti avec ce groupe d'enfants incroyables qui nous ont accueilli lors d'un après-midi. Leurs sourires et leurs rires étaient exactement ce que nous espérions voir quand nous avons commencé ce projet

The yellow helmets

The yellow hats were a hit during this trip. They were the greatest buy on Amazon: 4.95$ for a 12-pack and all the kids loved them. they were light, easy to transport and surprisingly strong. It is the perfect kind of item or our project and we are constantly looking for new costumes and props to add to our crate to offer more choice to the kids and be able to leave a few toys and clothes along the way.

Les enfants ont adoré les casques jaunes. C'était une des meilleures trouvailles sur Amazon car nous en avons reçu 12 pour 4.95$. Ils étaients légers, facile à transporter et de bonne qualité. C'est exactement le genre de costume parfaiit pour notre project et nous sommes toujours à la recherche de plus de costumes et de vêtements pour pouvoir offir plus de choix aux enfants et pouvoir leur laisser des jouets et des habits lors de notre passage.

Take a look at our Amazon Wishlist

Soccer Player

Over my year of traveling, I learned that everywhere in the world where football is played with....the foot, people  will always associate your country of origin with its star player. Whenever I go through a border, I usually get an excited custom agent that smiles at me and screams: "Zidane!" while nodding approvingly. Kids also see their favorite soccer player on TV, partying with groupies and traveling around the world. So it is really no surprise that a lot of kids want to be soccer players when they grow up, especially with the salaries that European clubs have been paying their players.

--------------------

Au cours de mes voyages, j'ai appris que partout dans le monde oû le football est joué avec le pied, les habitants du pays associent toujours votre pays d'origine avec son meilleur joueur de l'équipe nationale . A chaque fois que je traverse la douane, je rencontre un officier qui sourie et crie: "Zidane" au milieu de l'aéroport tout en hochant la tête comme si il se félicitait lui-même de sa trouvaille. Les enfants voient aussi leur joueurs préférés à la télé faire la fête avec leurs groupies et voyager partout dans le monde. Il n'est donc pas du tout surprenant de voir que beaucoup d'enfants rêvent de devenir joueurs de football plus tard surtout quand on voit les salaires de quelques club européens.

Last Orphanage in Haiti: The Architect

Haiti still needs a lot of help to rebuild their country and seeing a lot of these kids wanting to be a part of the solution was endearing. The streets are still filled with ruins from the earthquake and even though a lot of local workers are trying to clean up the mess. they need all the help they can get. This kid, just like all the kids we met in Haiti, had the biggest smile on his face at the thought of being able to live a fulfilling life.

--------

Haiti à besoin de beaucoup d'aide et voir que la plupart des enfants veulent participer à la reconstruction de leur pays était émouvant. Les rues sont encore pleines de ruines du tremblement de terre et malgré les efforts des habitants de Port-au-prince qui essayent de nettoyer ce "désordre" tant bien que mal, il reste beaucoup de travail à faire. Cet enfant, commes tous les enfants que nous avons rencoontrer pendant notre séjour à Haiti, avait un immense sourire à la pensée de vivre une vie enrichissante.

Teachers, Port-au-prince

These four kids were the cutest future teachers. They already taught us a lot while we were there by bringing so much positive energy in front of the camera and smiling as if they had won the mega million...or whatever they play in Haiti. Each of them could barely hold the notebooks under their arms because they were all very young, but they already know they want to educate kids in the future, because they know how hard it is to not be able to go to school, socialize with friends, and get basic education...

----------------

Ces quatre enfants étaient les plus adorables futurs professeurs. Ils nous on déja beaucoup appris en ammenant une telle énergie positive et un sourire contagieux pendant la session de photos. Chacun d'entre eux pouvait a peine porter les gros cahiers sous leurs bras, mais ils savaient déjà qu'ils voulaient travailler avec les enfants du futur car ils savent bien ce que c'est que de ne pas pouvoir aller à l'école afin de se faire des amis, de s'enrichir et de se cultiver.

Teacher, Port-au-prince

These four kids were the cutest future teachers. They already taught us a lot while we were there by bringing so much positive energy in front of the camera and smiling as if they had won the mega million...or whatever they play in Haiti. Each of them could barely hold the notebooks under their arms because they were all very young, but they already know they want to educate kids in the future, because they know how hard it is to not be able to go to school, socialize with friends, and get basic education...

Ces quatre enfants étaient les plus adorables futurs professeurs. Ils nous on déja beaucoup appris en ammenant une telle énergie positive et un sourire contagieux pendant la session de photos. Chacun d'entre eux pouvait a peine porter les gros cahiers sous leurs bras, mais ils savaient déjà qu'ils voulaient travailler avec les enfants du futur car ils savent bien ce que c'est que de ne pas pouvoir aller à l'école afin de se faire des amis, de s'enrichir et de se cultiver.

Taxi Drivers

This first trip would not have been a success without the help of our taxi driver, Philippe, who not only found most of the orphanages for us but also became a vital member of our crew. First he was our translator, which helped us immensely. He knew the city very well and knew exactly where to go when we needed something. He loved to be the one printing the pictures when we were done shooting (picture below: his fiancée even came to help us on our last day). He was also in charge of the drawing station during the photoshoots, where he would ask the kids what they wanted to become and would give them a piece of paper and pencils to draw their dreams. because of the language barrier, it was sometimes hard to tell if the kids really came up with their idea or if Philippe was assigning them jobs. So when six of the kids we shot at the last orphanage said they wanted to become a taxi driver, were just happy to see that our wonderful new friend was a source of inspiration for these kids.

Ce premier voyage n'aurait pas eu autant de succès sans l'aide de notre chauffeur de Taxi, Philippe. Il a non seulement trouvé les orphelinats oû nous sommes allé, mais il est aussi devenu un mem bre important de notre équipe. Tout d'aord, il était notre traducteur, ce qui nous a grandement aidé. Il connaissait la ville par coeur and savait exactement oû aller quand nous avions besoin de quelque chose Il voulait toujours être elui qui imprimait les photos quand nous avions fini de photographier les enfants (photo: sa fiancée est même venue nous aider pendant notre dernière visite d'orphelinat). Il supervisait aussi la station de dessins pendant nos sessions de photos. Il demandait aux enfants ce qu'ils voulaient devenir quand il seront plus grand et il leur donnait une feuille de papier et des crayons afin qu'ils dessinent leurs rêves. Comme nous ne comprenions pas grand chose au créole, il était parfois difficile de savoir si les enfants avaient vraiment ce rêve en tête ou si Philippe les influençait dans leurs déçisions. Alors quand six des enfants que nous avons potographié dans le dernier orphelinat ont dit quils voulaient devenir chauffeur de Taxi nous étions tout simplement content de voir que notre nouvel ami devenait aussi une soure d'inspiration pour ces enfants.

Last Orphanage in Haiti

This is what an orphanage looks like from the outside in Port-au-prince. This one was at the end of a bumpy dirt road outside of the city. Just like the other orphanages we visited they had no electricity and no water but they were surrounded by an amazing staff of people. Since it was our last orphanage, we were running out of photo paper and we were disappointed that we couldn't give the staff members their pictures too but they were happy to see the kids holding their prints at the end of the session. The car in the front was our taxi driver's car, It's called a Tap-Tap.

Cette photo est le dernier orphelinat oû nous sommes allé pendant notre visite à Hati. Cet orphelinat était situé au bout d'une route abimée en banlieueu de Port-au-prince. Comme les autres orphelinats, il n'y avait ni éléctricité, ni eau courante mais ces enfants étaient entourés pas une équipe formidable. Comme c'était notre dernier orphelinat à Haiti, nous n'avions presque plus de papier photo et nous étions triste de ne pas pouvoir imprimer des photos pour les membres de l'équipe qui malgré tout étaient content de voir les enfants sourire avec leurs photos dans les mains.

Behind-the-scenes at "L'école des enfants du village de l'Avenir"

The kids drawing what they will become when they grow up / Les enfants en train de dessiner ce qu'ils feront quand il seront grand

The entire classroom listening to a song by one of the kids who wants to be a singer when he grow up.

La classe en train d'écouter un des élèves chanter. Il veut devenir chanteur quand il sera grand.

Helena Harper talking to the kids about their future and how to get there.

Helena Harper en train de parler aux enfants de leurs future et du chemin qu'il faut suivre pour y arriver

Sébastien Roche-Lochen taking pictures of the kids in costumes

Sébastien Roche-Lochen en train de prendre les portraits des enfants déguisés

The kids waiting outside of the classroom while we were printing their pictures

Les enfants en train d'attendre en dehors de la classe pendant que nous imprimions leurs photos.

All the kids in the classroom holding their print

Tous les enfants de la classe avec leurs photos dans la main

Photography by Helena Harper and Sébastien Roche-Lochen

Our day at "l'école des enfants du village de l'Avenir" was filled with laughters. These kids had so much energy were almost too full of life. They wanted more prints to be able to get a picture of their friends together but we had not brought enough printing paper on this trip because we were working on a tight budget. When they had to wait outside of the classroom for us to print all the pictures, they were so eager to get their prints that we had to block the door to the room with a small table to keep them out. In the end everyone was very happy when we gave them the prints and the smiles on their face says it all.

--------------------------

Les rires des enfants de l'école des enfants du village résonnent encore dans nos tètes. Ces enfants avaient tellement d'énergies qu'ils en avaient mème peut ètre un peu trop. Ils voulaient plus qu'une photo pour pouvoir avoir des photos d'eux et de leurs amis mais comme nous somme partis avec un petit budget, nous n'avions pas assez de papier photo. Quand il ont dû attendre dans la cour de récréation pendant que nous imprimions leurs photos, ils étaient tellement impatients que nous avons bloqué la porte d'entrée de la classe avec une table pour les empêcher de rentrer. A la fin de la journée tout le monde était content quand nous leur avons donné leurs photos et le sourire sur leurs visages en est la preuve.

Don't forget to take a peek at our Amazon wishlist, every costume or item you donate will give the next kids we will visit more choices and possibilities to envision their future.

N'oubliez pas de visiter notre wishlist sur Amazon. Tous les costumes et jouets que vous achèterez donneront aux enfants plus de choix et de possibilités d'imaginer leur future.

The Happy Engineer

The kids from this classroom were full of life and had the most contagious smiles. This kid wants to be an engineer when he grows up. I looked at his drawing as I was editing his picture and loved his outlook on life: When he grows up he's just going to hang out on a rooftop, smiling and looking at the sun that will be smiling back at him. I'm not sure if the plane in the back is to show that he wants to travel, but he already knows that he wants to enjoy every moment and that he will get to the top.

----------------------

Les enfants de cette école etaient plein de vie et avaient des sourires contagieux. Cet enfant veux devenir ingénieur quand il sera grand. J'ai regardé son dessin pendant que je travaillais sur sa photo et j'ai adoré sa vision du future: Quand il sera grand il se délassera sur un toit, en train de sourire et de regarder le soleil qui lui sourira aussi. Je ne suis pas sûr de savoir si l'avion représente ses envies de voyager, mais Il montre qu'il sait déja qu'il veut profiter de la vie et qu'il ira loin.

Haiti Day #4: Two Cops

NEW AND IMPROVED:
I will now blog both in English and French so that our followers in France can understand.
Je vais mainteant blogger en Anglais et en Francais pour que vous puissiez  nous suivre plus facilement....Malheureusement ce sera sans les accents.

- Port-au-prince, Haiti -

The kids at the school already had a lot more confidence than the kids at the orphanage and they loved to be photographed. These two futures cops were the "cool kids" of their class. They were definitely leaders, and a lot of the kids around them looked up to them. I guess it will be easy for them to play the good cop/bad cop routine in the future if they end up working together. It was great to see all of them acting out their dreams for the camera.
Hopefully next time they can wear the entire police uniforms and keep plastic badges.

Note: We did not bring the Von Dutch shirt with us as part of our costumes...she already had it

--------------------

Les enfants de cette ecole avait deja beaucoup plus de confiance en soi et ils adoraient etre pris en photo. Ces deux futurs policiers etaient les"chefs de bandes" de leur classe et beaucoup des autres enfants les regardaient avec admiration. Ce sera surement tres facile pour eux de jouer au bon et au mauvais policier pour resouder leurs enquetes s'ils travaillent ensemble dans le futur. C'etait emouvant de les voir jouer leurs roles repectif pour les photos.
Avec espoir, la prochaine fois les enfants pourront porter l'uniforme entier et meme garder des badges en plastique de policier.

Note: nous n'avons pas apporter le T-Shirt Von Dutch dans nos costumes....elle le portait deja.

Haiti: The airplane pilot

Photo by Sebastien Roche-Lochen

When we started receiving costume donations from some amazing supporters of the project, we mentioned them to some of the people who were already working with organizations in Haiti. We had a few contacts before going to Haiti, and since we had never been there before, we listened to every tip and critique we had about the project. One of our contacts, who worked with an organization helping kids, told me that she didn't think it was a good idea to bring costumes such as the astronaut or the pilot because the kids would never think of it if they didn't see the costumes and it would be unreachabe for them. Since I agreed that we wanted the kids to set a goal they could reach, I listened to her and left these costumes at home. So it broke my heart when one of the kids said he wanted to be an airplane pilot when he grows up.

We made the best of it and he drew a plane on the blackboard. This kid had so much charisma that the pilot hat would have been perfect on him but he made it work with his big smile. I guess he reminded us of what this project was about: hope for a brighter future. The higher these kids will set the bar, the more they can accomplish. So next time I will bring along every single costume that we acquired, because every kid deserves to dream big.

Haiti Day #4: Bigger Dreams in School

The kids at this school were had it better than the kids at the orphanage. They had electricity, toys to play with, and an excellent team surrounding them. They enjoyed dressing up and posing for the camera and they loved being models for a moment. They were all trying to impress each other and the rest of the class was cheering every kid who was being photographed. It was a lot of fun

Haiti Day #4: L'ecole des enfants du Village de l'avenir

Pictures by Helena Harper and Sebastien Roche-Lochen

After our first two days in Haiti we moved from the guesthouse where we were sharing bunk beds in dorms to a beautiful little Guesthouse located in Delmas. The owner of the guesthouse also runs a school, an hour away from her hotel. The kids were still on vacation so she asked them to come for one morning just to participate in our project. The school was under renovation but we could see a difference with the orphanages right away. The kids at the school had electricity, running water and lots of toys to play with.

The kids at the school were a little more demanding than the ones at the orphanages, they obviously had seen a lot of different people from various organizations go through their buildings in the past. There was even a photography school across the hall from them created by a woman from Belgium. She helps teenagers from Port-au-prince become working photographers.

When the director of the school walked in the class they all stood up and acted like the nicest kids. then we started explaining to them why we were there. They started thinking about their future and began working on their drawings. A few minutes later the director left the room and chaos started.

Haiti Day #3: Behind-the-scenes pictures

These are some of the pictures that were taken during our session at the girls' orphanage. You can see the girls drawing what they want to be when they grow up and some candid shots of the girls waiting to pick their costume before we shot them.