Day 96: Restoring a creative spirit

Last week, Kelly Hauser was in Jacmel, Haiti, helping out with her alma mater’s sister city program, From Gainesville with Love. After visiting a community arts program for Haitian children, she learns that restoration and recovery also comes in the form of creativity.

“I love my little country. There is always something, but what can I do? I love my country so I keep coming back,” a Haitian woman told me as our flight descended into Port-au-Prince. The earthquake of January 12 was undoubtedly “something.” Some have doubted whether Haiti has the strength to pull itself out of the tent camps, the cholera epidemic and the fragile government that have kept it in the international news in 2010, but I think it can. The Haitian spirit is resilient, resourceful and creative.

The country’s multicolored and themed mini-buses, or taptaps, that whiz down the main avenues embody this spirit. They are tired and packed with people, but they somehow make it to their destination — with artistic flair, smiles and a lot of conversation.

Signs of vigor and healing are abound in Jacmel. On Monday, I had a chance to see the enduring creative spirit of Haiti coupled with support from a project called the Art Creation Foundation for Children. It empowers children and beautifies the city through public art, while providing three meals per day to its participants. The participants are all children ages 6 to 11 who, prior to enrolling in the program, had never attended school or eaten on a regular basis. In addition to learning art skills, they gain self-confidence, interpersonal skills and the nutrition they need to succeed in life.

The children were working on a mosaic mural that was dedicated yesterday to those who lost their lives, to honor those who survived and to celebrate life and the future. One of the keystones of the mural is the ancestral “Tree of Life,” representing Haiti and its innate power to persevere despite the loss of individual lives.

Watch the accompanying video and meet Whitney, a student at Art Creation Foundation for Children, as she talks about the project and what the Tree of Life means for her.  ONE.org

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