Extreme Poverty

On the return trip back to Port-au-Prince, we traveled through the other side of town. We thought we had seen poverty the day before, but we were wrong. These pictures don't do justice to the scope of the homelessness and the vast shanty-town dwellings that spread as far as the eye could see, nor to the scope of dire helplessness and hopelessness that you could see on the faces of people as we drove down the street. We were told that Haiti is the poorest nation in the western hemisphere and that it rivals that of many African countries.

The image of people washing clothes and collecting water from the murky, dirty and undoubtedly unsanitary water in the canal and gutters in the streets was absolutely heartbreaking.

For those that may wonder, the average annual income in Haiti is $350 us dollars per year. To put that in perspective, most americans spend more than that on their car payment each month, or on cable or internet in 1 year.

You can click on the pictures for a closer view.