“How do these people survive? To see the richness of the Haitian people we must examine cultural factors: wealth of humor, warmth of character, ease of laughter, dignity, solidarity. We have traditions in Haiti that allow us to share food when we can. We raise the child of a friend or relative who cannot. We work together in a Konbit to bring in a crop, or build a neighbor’s house in exchange for a meal shared at the end of the day. We can make one more place on a tap-tap [a covered pick-up truck that serves as public transportation] that is already impossibly full. The majority of Haitians survive in a vast informal economy that remains beyond the statisticians, yet provides sustenance for 70% of the urban workforce. And then we still smile, and we still laugh. In Haiti we are rich in these. There is a wealth of spirit here and from it a third way emerges.”
–From “Eyes of the Heart: Seeking a Path for the Poor in the Age of