Jen Kroll Photography - Couture Archivist » Haiti

Pray for Haiti

Jen Kroll — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 06:38:36 +0000

Wow, my poor, neglected blog. Do people even read these things anymore? I sometimes wonder if I’ve fallen off the blogging bandwagon because I can’t seem to find the time to read the blogs that I follow! In short, it’s been a crazy, wonderful, dizzying few months. I truly can’t wait to begin blogging the stories of this season. But for now, I need to finish editing the blur that was September and October!

I did want to take a quick moment to beg for your prayers for Haiti today and tomorrow. The earthquake hit without warning and over 300,000 people died. Now, TEN months later, they are facing another assault… Hurricane Tomas. They’re predicting a category 1 hurricane which is one category more than they can handle. Combine that storm with the recent outbreak of Cholera… this is an imminent catastrophe. It’s like hearing the train whistle in the distance and knowing there are a million people chained to the tracks.

My heart is torn for so many that we met in our short time there. They are estimating up to 15″ of rain in the mountains. What are the chances that this house will survive a mudslide along with all the other houses up and down this area? And what of the kids living there? This is a 30 minute plane ride from Miami. Same amount of time it takes to get from the Grand Rapids airport to the Chicago airport. This is not ok.

Then there’s the largest tent city at the Petionville Golf Course where 50,000 people currently reside. Rain is nothing new — but the wind combined with excessive flooding? All of the tents are literally staked on the side of a hill.

And for those of you just joining the ride — we have been passionately trying to get this little peanut to the States since April for surgery and treatment on her hips and legs. We’re so very close. Our home and our hearts are ready… and somewhat impatient. She is in a safe house near the top of the mountain over Port-au-Prince… I know she’ll be fine but a mother still worries.

Please pray that this horrible storm that has already taken 12 lives in St. Lucia will veer in a different direction and leave Haiti alone. She simply cannot handle it. I will ask for more from you very soon… but for now, please, please pray for the protection of innocent lives!

Toddler House (Haiti part five)

Jen Kroll — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 22:27:42 +0000

The fifth and final post from my time in Haiti (until our next project)! The orphanage is broken up into a couple of different houses about a mile away from each other. The house that we spent most of our time at was the baby house, or the main house. On our final day, they had us go to the toddler house and hang out with some pretty cool kiddos for a couple hours. Even though it’s called the toddler house, it is home to many kids from 2 1/2 to 15 years old. Some staying as long as it takes for the rest of their family to find permanent and safe housing. Many are in the adoption process and already assigned to forever families. And still others are there because their original orphanage was damaged in the earthquake. One thing was super clear to me as I was MOBBED from the moment they all came running out of the house… they all desperately want their person (Gray’s Anatomy reference). Someone they could belong to and would belong to them.

Adoption is truly a remarkable thing.

This little one planted herself between my legs for the first 20 minutes, then laid in my lap for the next hour and a half.

Another lap dweller! I didn't think my lap was big enough for two kids simultaneously. They did.

As with every group we met during the week, leaving was absolutely the hardest part. Ideas are brewing... stay tuned.

Hidden Families (Haiti part four)

Jen Kroll — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 07:20:12 +0000

My new friend Erin is a rockstar. Originally from Nashville, she is now making her residence in the hills above Port-au-Prince serving just about every demographic in the valley below. She is working with Thirst No More to coordinate need and relief efforts. From finding orphanages filled with kids who need wheelchairs to providing tents and coordinating medical aid… she’s doing it all. The need is so great — every day, she picks one and does her best to meet it. I’m waiting for the dust to settle here a little bit, but we’re already talking about going back and serving along side.

Erin was the one who told our driver where to go for the city photos I posted yesterday, and yes, she even led him down this crazy riverbed to get to an otherwise inaccessible neighborhood. These might be some of my favorite photos from the week. The joy in spite of baking in 95 degree weather and living in a tin shack with a tarp roof…well, I was speechless. Crystal’s word to describe the week was “resilience.” This neighborhood was the epitome of that. Garbage bag kites, cardboard store signs, and pigs sleeping where you wash your clothes. It was all really surreal. Hungry bellies and still, such a calm peace in their expressions.

Most of the photos are of the women, as our security detail waited in the car. Just to take natural precautions, we avoided the areas where the men were hanging out. Plus, I was generally mesmerized by the strength of the women who managed the home and kids and ran businesses at the same time.

Once again… our road… (color is funky on this first one as it was shot through a car windshield)

Port-au-Prince (Haiti part three)

Jen Kroll — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 07:55:43 +0000

After having seen the city for myself, I still haven’t seen a photo that has captured the magnitude of the devastation in Port-au-Prince, including my own. When looking at a pile of rubble in a photo there is definitely a disconnect. But when you’re standing in front of soccer ball sized chunks of concrete that form a 20 foot high mound and you learn that used to be a 3 story school, there really is not a good way to capture that. And then you turn onto another street and see more piles that make up hospitals, day care centers, grocery stores, homes, and churches. You round another corner and see hillsides that look like concrete landslides. Hundreds of thousands of buildings – pancaked or pulverized. One of the cooks at GLA (the orphanage) lost her 10 year old son. He was at school. Like most of the buildings, they still haven’t recovered the bodies. If they do, they may find a backpack that will confirm he was in the building. Now imagine that situation multiplied exponentially in every suburb, neighborhood, and street corner in a city that once housed 3 million people. There are indeed limits to photography.

Erin, a precious new friend who is doing incredible things for the weakest and most vulnerable Haitians. More on her in my next post.

A school once stood in this lot behind the Cathedral (which is completely open and exposed to the back window)

Notice the shovel’s handle. Hand carved. They’re not waiting for heavy equipment.

The next post will be from the neighborhood we found at the end of this river bed. The roads we inaccessible, so we did some four wheeling. Haitian drivers are awesome. A group of Muslim Red Cross workers were more than shocked when they saw us drive up next to them. They had left their brand new Land Rovers at the top of the hill and hiked down and then a good distance through the river. Rant Warning: **This group was the only Red Cross personnel I saw in Haiti. It’s about time they became accountable.** End Rant. Give where it makes a difference… send tents! Sheets and curtains covered by tarps are not cutting it.