Photos

Here is a picture of President Florvil Hyppolite and his entire Ministers in 1889.

At the start of the last decade of the 19th century, Haiti welcomed a new leader in the stylish President Florvil Hyppolite, along with the equally stylish First-Lady Adelaide Marcial Florina Charles. His slightly controversial death (so for the speculation as to the circumstances surrounding his fall from a horse) was no more interesting than his time before becoming president, specifically the year before he took power.

At the time, David Blaine, the US secretary of state was sent by President Benjamin Harrison to treat with Hyppolite on the exchange. Blaine took with him to meet Hyppolite, Haiti's General Consul, Frederick Douglass. The deal however, was viewed as unconstitutional; not even a lease could be considered. The situation was weighed over by the Minister of External Affairs, Antenor Firmin, who put paid to the whole idea by citing the edicts of the Haitian Constitution.

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These Haitian bank notes were created in commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of Port-Au-Prince and President Florvil Hyppolite

Born as Louis Mondestin Florvil Hyppolite, he was a black man of the elite class who was chosen by the Constituent Assembly of Haiti, on a meeting in Gonaives on October 9, 1889, to be the nation's president, a title he would hold for a period of seven years. The decision was made following Hyppolite's clash with the then president, François Denys Legitime, who Hyppolite would overthrow. Within that war it is said Legitime had the backing of France and the British, while Hyppolite had tried to secure that of America by guaranteeing the US a Haitian region named Mole Saint Nicolas. From the deal, Hyppolite would receive aid and additional security.

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President Florvil Hyppolite was credited for many infrastructure accomplishments during his short government in Haiti. One of them is the establishment of telephone lines. He also created a diligent Ministry of Public Works, under which Haiti's famed Iron Market was built.

Haiti's famed Iron Market has received some reasonable amount of press in the last few months due to the timely renovation of the historical attraction. What hasn't garnered equal fame is the Market's founder, President Louis Mondestin Florvil Hyppolite. President Hyppolite was born in Cap Haitian in March of 1828 and became the leader of the country after defeating and overthrowing Legitime. What we will remember today, however, is not Hyppolite's birth, not his Iron Market, not his rise to power, but rather, his Panama Hat.

Many Haitians took this as a sign of his impending death. There were tales of strange objects, such as a cock's head and a dried human liver, being found sewn into his coat. His persona as a ruthless man, as well as the President of Haiti, meant that rumors of poisoning also abounded. Whatever the true cause of his death, the song that immortalizes it, ending with the line, "Whoever wants can go 'head and pick it up for me," has kept up throughout Haitian history.

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There is a Haitian folk song dated back to President Louis Mondéstin Florvil Hyppolite and we are still singing it. The famous story of his Panama Hat

To be a Haitian President, one needed, especially in the 1800's, to be well dressed. Few could imagine a better dressed man than one who was donning the very stylish and increasingly essential Panama hats that were all the rage. Hyppolite, already considered a well-dressed man with his glasses tinted blue and white suits was immortalized as the man in the Panama hat when, upon his death, a song that would live on through generations was born. In typical Haitian satire, the circumstances of his death, having fallen off a horse under what some called mysterious circumstances (though some say it was a simple heart attack), made for a catchy tune that seemed to reference an incidence five years before when his Panama hat had, indeed, fallen off his head.

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This is a picture of Marie Danielle Bernadin. As it was revealed in the press and by Josue Pierre-Louis. The former minister of justice in Haiti was accused for sexually abusing Marie Danielle Bernadin.

At a press conference following the accusation, the former Minister of Justice Josue Pierre-Louis proclaimed his innocence in the case stating that he never raped Marie Daniel Bernadin.

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Here is the most recent SOS Children's Villages built in Haiti. It is located in the city of Les Cayes

SOS Children's Villages (SOSCV) will launch its newest children's village in Les Cayes in January 2015. COO Hanne Rasmussen says the new village emphasizes SOSCV's ". . . commitment to providing vulnerable children with a loving home"

SOSCV Les Cayes has been made possible by donations from its member organizations in northern Europe and the USA.

SOSCV invests in education, community and vocational training centers, as well as its other villages in Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien.

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Here is a picture of signaling a new approach to battling diseases in Haiti. Architects taking advantage of Haiti's Caribbean environment with Open-Air Clinics

Haiti is opening two new healthcare clinics. Applying a new design principle, they are open air and have been relatively inexpensive to build.

Architects of the new clinics have used the tropical climate to allow island cross breezes to filter through the structures, bringing relief to patients.

The new clinics will be used to treat cholera and tuberculosis patients. It is hoped these clinics will be models for other poor countries that don't have funding for expensive, conventional structures.

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Here is a picture of the Empress Consort of Haiti, Adélina Soulouque, wife of Faustin I of Haiti

Adelina Soulouque, Empress of Haiti, was crowned in Port-au-Prince beside her husband Faustin I, given the royal name Her Imperial Majesty.

She was born to bi-racial Haitian mother, Marie Leveque. Adelina was Faustin I's lover for years before she married him, giving him a daughter, Princess Celita.

Faustin was overthrown by General Geffrard in 1859. Adelina went into exile with him in Kingston, Jamaica for eight years before he died back in Petit-Goâve.

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Here is a picture of haitian President Michel Martelly with Dr. Florence Duperval Guillaume who is the current acting Prime Minister on day of heroes, 2015.

Haiti's fight for independence began with a slave revolt lasting ten years. The event that set off the revolution was a Voodoo ceremony, presided over by a Hougan priest named Boukman. Boukman, once a slave of British occupiers, was sold to a French plantation owner. Because of Boukman's intimidating appearance and terrifying temper, he was put in charge of the plantation slaves. But Boukman turned the tables by performing a Voodoo ceremony to empower the slaves to revolt against the French. On August 14, 1791, with the help of a Voodoo priestess, Boukman called upon God's help. The words he used have become part of Haiti's cultural lore.

Boukman first acknowledged God's great creation. He next acknowledged God's awareness of the war crimes perpetrated against the slaves. He finally invoked God's almighty power: "He will direct our arms, and stands beside us. Destroy the image of the white men's god . . ." Boukman ended with a rallying cry: "Listen to the voice of freedom rising in our heart." Once the French caught Boukman and executed him, the killing provoked the slave revolt.

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This is a picture taken during on the day of Heroes in Haiti or January 2, 2015. Some of the people in this picture include President Michel Martelly, acting Prime minister, Dr. Florence Duperval Guillaume and current Prime Minister designated, Evans Paul, aka K-Plim.

Haiti celebrates its National Independence Day on January 1st. This year marks the 211th anniversary of Haiti's liberation as the first black-led republic in the world. Christopher Columbus first discovered Haiti and conferred the name Hispaniola on the entire island, which included the Dominican Republic on the eastern portion and Haiti the western. Later French colonists renamed Ayiti, Haiti.

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