Apparent.

On Saturday, I went shopping in Port-au-Prince.  One of the places that we stopped at was called 'The Apparent Project'.  

Their mission:

"Through our artisans' program, educational programs, and relief work we are dedicated to:  Helping parents rise out of extreme poverty in order to keep their children, responding to Haiti's orphan crisis and the needs of parentless children, and making the needs of Haiti apparent to potential helpers through media & the arts."

Orphanages are great, but sometimes they only serve to create more orphans.  In Haiti, this is especially true, where most orphans are not 'true orphans' and could be cared for by their parents or extended family.  This organization is trying to combat the increasing number of orphans by helping parents and families work to provide for their children in order to keep families together.  And by providing for their children, parents have an increased sense of dignity and self-worth and the opportunity to escape extreme material poverty.  

All of the products are made in Haiti and a lot of it is made from recycled materials.  They make a lot of beads from old cereal boxes or cartons and also make products from clay or scrap metal.  Everything in the store is absolutely beautiful and a really cool way to support Haitian employees and the effort to keep families together.

Go check them out here!

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And for something that has nothing to do with The Apparent Project, but may interest you foodies out there. I had 'crêpe salée' for lunch, which translates to 'salty crepe'.  It's a crepe with ham, cheese, onions, and 'special sauces'...trying new food here has definitely been successful.