Life among the ruins of Haiti

By Paul Jeffrey/Act Alliance By Paul Jeffrey/Act Alliance By Paul Jeffrey/ACT/Alliance By Paul Jeffrey/ACT/Alliance By Paul Jeffrey/ACT/Alliance

DOMESTIC CHORES: The people of Haiti battle to find normality amidst the rubble.

FAMILY TIME: A girl left homeless by Haiti's earthquake has her hair done by her mother, in a partially destroyed school in Port Au Prince.

TIME FOR TEETH: And even among the earthquake wreckage parents make time to brush children's teeth.

FLY A KITE: Children make their own toys from whatever they can find.

LITTLE NEW YORK: Tent city for Haiti earthquake survivors.

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It's not the words you recall after a major tragedy, it's the vivid image that stays etched in your memory, and even more rare and magical is the recording eye that can see hope where others see hell.

Spirits at Christchurch-based Christian World Service have been boosted as the Haitian earthquake story unfolds, by the work of such a magic eye.

Photographer, Paul Jeffrey, in Haiti for CWS's giant global partner the ACT Alliance, has been filing daily photographic reports from Port Au Prince since soon after the quake.

Many CWS staff are well versed in facing carnage with direct monitoring experience of a smorgasbord of the world's most desperate places - Darfur, Gaza, Zimbabwe, Myanmar, the list is extensive and harrowing.

Their collective experience is that even in places like Haiti you will find the human spirit shining through, given the slightest chance.

The latest evidence for this comes amongst the Haiti photos filed by Paul Jeffrey.

They are a vivid reminder that the Haitian people don't want to be victims.

The images of life amongst the ruins of Port Au Prince that have moved us are visions of normalcy asserting itself amongst the rubble.

A toddler has a bath, another her teeth brushed. Boys make kites from rubbish and fly them in the ruins. A young girl gets her hair done by Mum. Mock street names are scrawled on alleyways between tents.

Life in all its mundane splendour goes on.

Paul Jeffrey reported soon after arriving in Port Au Prince that he had been moved by the resilience of the long suffering Haitian people faced with yet another massive disaster.

"Not having had a real opportunity to grieve their dead, and still panicked by rumbling aftershocks, women and men across the city are nonetheless setting up temporary shelters in parks and open spaces , clearing away debris, struggling to restart their small businesses and market sales, and caring for their children, and those who didn't survive.

"They are used to struggle, and so life goes on", he said.  

One of the many untold facts about the post quake relief work in Haiti has been that once aid and development teams rebuilt their teams on the ground it was more  a case of "business as usual" than a total cold start.

The reason? In a shattered nation like Haiti even before the earthquake it is estimated non government organisations were providing 70 percent of health care in rural areas and 80 percent of public services.     

Christian World Service's partner group the ACT Alliance has been able to build quickly on this existent base.

A water purification system has been bought from Norway to provide 10,000 Haitians with clean drinking water.

More equipment has been sent  to homeless families in Jacmel on Haiti's southern coast where ACT workers are handing out 4 million water purification tablets, jerry cans, blankets and enough healthcare kits to last 10,000 people three months.

Donations to Christian World Service will be put into the aid and development work of the ACT Alliance teams.

The photographs of Paul Jeffrey will continue to remind us here that the people of Haiti do not just need support, they deserve respect  and admiration for their courage.