Welcome to ThisIsHaiti.org
It has been one year since the earth shook and the ground opened. One year since over a quarter million souls left this world in a rage of mere seconds. One year that we have mourned, remembered, wept and prayed... But in this one year, we, the world, have come together. We have marched, we have given from our wallets and our hearts, we have taken the time to teach and to learn, and most importantly, we… have become a "WE."
Haiti is a land of unlimited possibilities, infinite crossroads and immeasurable challenges. Haiti's multi-hued blood and depth of history courses through every aspect of Haitian life. Her culture is the lifeblood that powers her people. While reconstruction and rebuilding remain imperative, a vertical approach to cultural initiatives remains vital.
The Green Family Foundation (GFF) and Fastforward have taken our collective decades of experience, lessons learned, successes celebrated, and love for Haiti and joined forces to engage the people of Haiti. We embraced the wisdom and words of Jacky Lumarque, president of Université Quisqueya in Port-au-Prince -- "As it often occurs in history, the oppressed took refuge in the arts: painting, sculpture, music, dance, handicraft and literature" -- and made it our mission statement.
On these pages you will experience the outreach, the music, the films, dances and songs that the people of Haiti have shared with us, and how these treasures have been shown around Haiti and beyond. Through integration of multi-media engagements with community health, education, gender equity, environmental preservation and food security outreach, we reached over 250,000 souls in Haiti alone. The unique approach Fastforward has developed for disseminating information, combined with GFF's years of experience in community health and development and work towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals, we have created a wonderful partnership with the people of Haiti.
ThisIsHaiti.org is a celebration of our year.
Kimberly Green, President
Green Family Foundation
Tatiana Magloire, Project Director
Fastforward
"Reconstruction is surely necessary, but it's not in buildings. It's not in facilities. The most important component of reconstruction is in humans. And to do that we discover that culture must be the most fundamental aspect of the reconstruction program." - Dr. Jacky Lumarque, Rector of Université Quisqueya, Port-au-Prince, Haiti - August 2010, PBS: Haiti's Lost Music
What Others Are Saying
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President Bill Clinton
"Through partnership with the Association for Cultural Equity's "Alan Lomax in Haiti", the Green Family Foundation has elevated the global importance of Haiti's cultural preservation for future generations to come. "
Alan Lomax in Haiti
Two 2010 GRAMMY Award nominations!
The box set has 10 CDs, DVDs, and
two books chronicling Lomax's 1936-1937 recordings in Haiti.
Film and music from Alan Lomax In Haiti: 1936-1937 courtesy of The Association for Cultural Equity, Harte Recordings, and The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
