There's Always a Choice, Right?

Young women living in the displacement camps in Haiti are finding themselves with new and unexpected responsibilities. Whether having been a rape victim or having suffered the loss of a parental figure, these young women are now taking on the role of "Provider". Believing that they have no other option, these young women resort to prostituting themselves in order to provide for whatever family they have left.

In the United States and in other countries, prostitution and other similar activities are frowned upon, and the women who engage in these activities are told that they always have a choice. Could we really say the same to the young women in Haiti?

Please watch this interview with three young Haitian women who felt that they did not have a choice.

We are looking forward to the day when these young women not only have a choice, but have the opportunity to create whatever they would like for their future and see their dreams come alive.



Written By
Regine Riviere

WORLD AIDS DAY

We would like to bring to your attention the article "After the Quake: Looming AIDS Crisis in Haiti" by award-winning journalist Lisa Armstrong.  After the improvements that Haiti has made in controlling the spread of AIDS in the past years, it is devastating to know that after the earthquake, homes and buildings will not be the only things in need of reconstruction.
The article takes a look at the growing AIDS crisis in Haiti as a result of the devastating effects of the earthquake. Haiti used to be a model for combating AIDS. Before the earthquake, experts thought the epidemic might wipe out a third of the population. But instead Haiti became a surprising success story: With significant financial support from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief as well as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria prevalence rates fell from 9.4 percent in 1993 to 2.2 percent in 2008. January's earthquake, however, destroyed many health facilities, and experts fear that with the high rates of rape, prostitution, and promiscuity in the camps, there will be an explosive increase in the number of new HIV infections.