About this column:
Grant Park graphic artist Audrey Jones recently left for Haïti for the second time since the devastating earthquake that hit the island nation in January of last year. She returned to lend her artistic talents in relief and rebuilding efforts for the next several weeks. She writes about her experiences as the country continues to rebuild.Port-au-Prince, Haïti — My fourth consecutive trip to Haïti in response to the earthquake of Jan. 12, 2010, ended Oct. 5, 2011. During the past three months I have had the awesome opportunity to launch a pilot cultural exploration program entitled “Mwen Renmen Ayiti," which translates to “I Love Haïti.” Please visit us on FaceBook and click “like.” We love that! The name, logo and idea behind Mwen Renmen Ayiti began with some artwork I produced right after the earthquake. The tributary graphic is a Haitian flag with a heart defining the traditional artwork in the center with a subliminal map …
JACMEL, Haïti – Everyone here speaks of it.: “You mean you've never been? And you're an artist?” Well, I'm not exactly on vacation in Haïti am I? And, yes, I know the value of a break, but in the seven months I've spent here, the opportunity has not presented itself. So on April 18, two days after l'École Anis Zunizi convened for 10 days of Spring Break and after spending two days recharging with the perpetual cast of talent at GrassRoots United, I cocked the springboard of adventure and released me... [See accompanying video.] En route I kept asking myself, “Have you ever seen anything so …
Forgive me Patch for I have skimped. It's been a month and a half since my last submission! But since a large part of it was spent taking care of business in the United States between assignments in Haïti, may I please be forgiven? A quick breakdown of the excitement: Storage in Atlanta? Managed. Hugged by friends? Massively. Storage in Long Beach? Paid. Loved on by Dad, Mom, brother, his kids and my own? Oh yeah! What else? Well, I made it from Port-au-Prince including all of the above locations and back on five Spirit Air tickets for less than $500. How? A couple of $1 fares showed up at …
CAP-HAÏTIEN, Haïti — When I got home from Cap-Haïtien last Sunday, after an amazing visit with Sonje Ayiti, I was sick as a dog. The courtesy plane flight on the way out with Cammy of Bahamas Habitat had been a treat! But saving myself $80 on the way home by taking a bus was something else! While my budget certainly demanded the measure, my stomach was not prepared for what came next. The wheels rolled at 5:00 a.m., an hour after the hand written departure time on the ticket. I had been nauseous and dehydrated for three days prior, but the bus driver’s lurching forward and sudden breaking to …
Cap-Haitien, Haïti — I just scrapped this week's story twice already, which is not very word efficient for a writer. But how can I jump right into information about the groups I interact with here and the amazing work being accomplished, when all I really want to do is get right to the beautiful French doors, the delicious building colors, the smell of fresh Cassava and the vibrant local personalities coloring my first experience in historic Cap-Haitien, Haiti! (Also known as Okap or Kapayisyen in Kréyòl.) Still, I cannot deny the amazing humanitarian circle of life that I am now part of – it…
Port-au-Prince, Haïti — “Sonje Ayiti” means “Remember Haïti" and that's what this past Wednesday was all about. While nature was busy teaching the ATL a thing or two about who's in charge by epic freeze, Jan. 12 marked the one year anniversary of Haïti's painful bout with plate tectonics, another natural force which radically reduced the world's population by 250,000 lives. After last year's tragedy, to hear a Haitian child or adult refer to an earthquake using shaking hand gestures accompanied by the sound “Goudou, goudou, goudou" is unnerving. You don't have to worry about a language …
Port-au-Prince, Haïti — Bon ane de mil onz! Welcome to 2011! In Haïti, the arrival of the new year brings lots of focus on what has happened over the past year - and what has not. Get ready for negative statistics. Ultimately, no one can question the exasperation of earthquake survivors who have experienced slow- to no recovery, the tragic loss of life to Cholera and a political future that begs for social unrest vs. celebration. So is it fair to ask whether or not the cup is half full or half empty in Haïti when it seems to hold so little? Yes. Give what is in that cup a good shake and …
Port-au-Prince, Haïti — First let me say: Joyeux Noël! Now, to understand why this Grant Park resident is still in Haiti, you must know how I got here! My name is Audrey Jones and I am from the eastside of East Atlanta, specifically the Mattress Factory Lofts. I moved to the ATL in 2007 to work as a graphic artist having spent most of my life in Southern California working in the entertainment industry as well as for the state government. Now, I am quite proud to be in Haïti doing humanitarian work for the second time in response to the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake that took the lives of nearly…
