Haiti Celebrates Life

Haiti TODAY
One year after the Haiti earthquake, Haiti is celebrating life and mourning its dead. The outpouring and support in the months following the disaster was immense...even cell phone companies made it easy to donate by text messaging. But its been a year and there is still so much to do...not just because the tragedy has become less of a priority to the world over time as other global issues have taken the limelight; but also because there was just so much to be done due to the nature of the tragedy as well as the poverty that was already widespread in this small country. http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/01/12/2012493/haiti-celebrates-life-mourns-its.html

Pictured above Haitian workers celebrate after the inauguration of the reconstructed Hyppolite Iron Market in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 11. The historic trading center was originally constructed in the 1890s and has been rebuilt this year after a fire leveled it shortly after the earthquake. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41006610/displaymode/1247?beginSlide=1)

How can you help? Most of us can't go over and lend a helping hand but we can lend a few dollars.  There are many organizations that we can donate to.  LeBron James tweeted yesterday - "Please support project medishare and Text SAVE to 501501 to donate $5"  You can find the charity of your choice and support.

Haiti YESTERDAY:

Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Haiti's population is part of the African Diaspora due primarily to the slave trade.  Haiti's regional, historical, and ethnolinguistic position is unique for several reasons. It was the first independent nation in Latin America and the first black-led republic in the world when it gained independence as part of a successful slave rebellion in 1804.[5] Despite having common cultural links with its Hispano-Caribbean neighbors, Haiti is the only predominantly Francophone independent nation in the Americas. It is one of only two independent nations in the Americas (along with Canada) that designate French as an official language; the other French-speaking areas are all overseas départements, or collectivités, of France.

“I was born a slave, but nature gave me the soul of a free man“
General Toussaint Louverture

Key Historical Figure:

Toussaint Louverture

General Toussaint Louverture, a former slaves, was the son of an African (Benin) Prince who had been captured and brought to Haiti as a slave.  Louverture grew up to be the leader in a successful slave revolt and achieved peace in Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) after years of war against both external invaders and internal dissension. Having established a disciplined, flexible army, l'Ouverture drove out not only the Spaniards but also the British invaders who threatened the colony. He restored stability and prosperity by daring measures that included inviting planters to return and insisting freed men work on plantations to renew revenues for the island. He also renewed trading ties with Great Britain and the United States. In the uncertain years of revolution, the United States played both sides, with traders supplying both the French and the rebels.[20]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toussaint_l%27Ouverture

Read more about the history of Haiti:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiti