Haiti has a rich and colorful history, but also a violent one. It was colonized by Spain and then France, where African slaves were imported and worked often to death--only to be replaced by more.

 

Haiti was born in 1806 from a successful slave uprising against the French, becoming the first independent black republic in the world.

 

Unfortunately, other nations with slaves didn't want to encourage revolutions, so the country was blacklisted by many. It would be over 60 years before America would allow trading with Haiti.

 

The country has yet to recover. Known as both the “Pearl of the Antillies” and “the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere,” Haiti is a land rich in contrast. It is home to beautiful flora, flavorful coffee, mangoes, coconuts, bananas, cocoa, palm trees, coral reefs, mongoose, marble, silver, beautiful sun scenes and virgin beaches. Even the rocks are colorful.

 

But there is also a side of great suffering. It is estimated that over 75% of Haiti’s over 10 million are surviving on less than $2 per day. Unemployment is estimated at about 75%. Top soil is being washed into the ocean each time it rains on Haiti’s bare mountains, causing terrible erosion and poorly yielding crops.

 

And then on January 12, 2010, the country was hit by a devastating 7.0 earthquake and later in the year, a horrible outbreak of cholera. 220,000-300,000 people were killed. Only God knows the true number, and He has a way of instilling hope in seemingly hopeless situations.

 

Hope is help.