Poverty in Haiti

Video Transcript

When you first arrive in Haiti, there's the heat that will just engulf you. And you can't believe a place could be this ridiculously hot. But the thing that most gets you is amount of people who are asking for food or money. It's overwhelming because, it's one thing to see it on TV, I think it's another thing to see it in real life. And you just feel [overwhelmed] like you're not going to be able to make it to the car. Because the sadness of seeing how much they need is just gonna overwhelm you and you're gonna just pass out from just the need of wanting to help people. But if you can make it to the car, you're gonna be OK. If you can make it from the airplane to the car then, 'cause that's usually the hardest strip to walk, because everybody needs something from you. And when I was a kid I never made it through that walk without giving someone money. By the time I got to the car, let's say I had a hundred dollars, by the time I got to the car I didn't have the hundred dollars, I didn't have my shoes, and I definitely had nothing left in the suitcase. So my father was like OK look, you can't help everyone. You can pick one person and then make your way." But if you can just make it to the car I think you'll be OK.

In this video, a native Haitian describes the poverty when arriving in her country.