In January of 2017, I had the opportunity to work with Angel Wings International, a non-profit delivering medical care to rural communities in Haiti, to photograph and document the final build and grand opening of their medical clinic 10 years in the making. The clinic was created to help provide medical services to the people living in and around Jacmel. Being four hours south of the capital, Port-au-Prince, it was a definite need, as there's very limited medical availability for people living in that area.
The trip ended up being an incredible and life changing journey. Moments of uncertainty coming into a new country, moments of joy meeting everyone and building relationships with the crew, moments of emotional breakdown from lack of sleep and work are all experiences I'll cherish for a lifetime. Getting to see first hand an impoverished nation so heavily effected by natural disaster is eye opening, especially to how good things really are in the states.
The first few days were standard 8-10 hour days of labor with relaxing dinners at night. The days and nights following were more strenuous, involving some crews volunteering to work all through the night to make sure things were completed by the grand opening. I will say that this trip challenged me as a photographer and as an individual. Managing this many photos, time-lapses, and videos while pitching in on construction when able, working on limited sleep, spending the last few days almost exclusively at the clinic working day and night showed me what I'm capable of, and being surrounded by such hard-working people left me with a lasting feeling of accomplishment and a new-found feeling of ability, an ability to overcome self-limitations and push beyond my comforts. This is the true value of an experience. One that leaves you with a better understanding of your self and the world.
Below are just a few of my favorite images from each day of the trip. I hope there will be at least one image that will give you a new insight to the country of Haiti and it's people.
If you would like to donate to Angel Wings International, follow the link below:
http://www.angelwingsinternational.org/donate.html
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
clinic time-lapse - door installation, painting, etc.
Day 4
Day 5
Mannequin challenge - clinic walk through
Day 6
laying the concrete driveway (time-lapse)
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9 (Grand Opening)
Day 10 (First Day of Patient Care)
Day 11
Views and explorations of Haiti (Jacmel & Port-au-Prince)
Donate to Angel Wings International below. Every little bit helps to sustain the operations of the clinic and deliver medication to the sick, and AWI's staff fully volunteers their efforts so all donations go directly to the clinic: