Haiti

Haiti

LAMP - HA3

Surveyed Communities

Community 1 - 100 households in Haiti

Community 2 - 100 households in Haiti

Community 3 - 103 households in Haiti

This community is located in the Northwestern section of Haiti (Departement du Nord-Ouest) lying on the Atlantic coast opposite to Tortuga Island (Ile de la Tortue), which is 20 kilometers. away. The port town, population 33,000 according to the most recent data, was founded in 1665 by French filibusters driven from Tortuga by the British for fomenting insurrection. The original settlement was actually located near Môle Saint-Nicolas, where Christopher Columbus landed on December 6, 1492. The city is known for being a major point of departure for Haitian migrants, wishing to enter the United States by sea. The place is, in fact, Haiti's closest major town to the U.S. mainland, about 500 miles away from Florida.

The town is perhaps the most difficult major town to access in Haiti by car. The roads are bad and at times non-existent. After heavy rainfall, what is no more than a harmless creek can become a torrential river with the capacity to overturn cars and engulf unsuspected victims; at the very least, unpaved roads may become muddy paths waiting to trap a vehicle's wheels. Indeed, in order to avoid the danger of getting to the town by vehicle, many visitors rely on the small regional airlines that commute from Port-au-Prince.

Remittances from migrants in other parts of the Caribbean, and in the United States, have funded the moderately well to do homes that are scattered around the town. People are friendly and warm, albeit suspicious of outsiders with lots of questions.

 

About Us | Site Map | Contact Us