Alex+Missner

=**Haiti**=



Image Source: //cia.gov//


 * __Map of Haiti__**


 * __Geography and Climate__**

Haiti is an island with major physical features. A big aspect is that mountains cover about 80% of Haiti. People grow coffee beans and important resources on the mountains. A big mountain in Haiti is called Morre Le Selle. It’s on the eastern part of the country. Haiti has 10,714 square miles of the island Hispaniola, which shares its land with the Dominican Republic. Haiti a little bit smaller that Maryland. Haiti is made up of two peninsulas one is at the West end of the island. The other one is at the Northern part of the island. It is about 100 miles and goes into the Atlantic Ocean. The northern peninsula extends about 200 miles into the Caribbean Sea. One of the biggest and most used rivers in Haiti is called the Artibonite River. It lies between the mountains in eastern Haiti, and it is about 320 kilometers long. It is mainly used for irrigation. Haiti has a tropical climate with mild temperatures. The temperature is usually around 70 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit along the coasts and from 50 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit in the mountains. The tropical forests in the Northern part of the mountains receive a lot of rain usually about 80 inches a year. The southern coast receives about 40 inches of rain a year. A lot of the time destructive hurricanes strike Haiti between June and October. In country’s climate determines what jobs people have and they determine many things. In Haiti, there is a lot of coffee growing and farming on the mountains so the weather on the mountains are good for farming and producing coffee beans. Popular sports in Haiti are soccer and basketball the climate also dictates what sports people play and soccer and basketball are usually outdoor sports. In Haiti, people primarily dress like people in North America do; they wear shorts a t-shirt and sandals.





Source of Images: 1. realworldimage.com 2. http://www.belpoz.com/spa/_files/spa_album/pic_9096.jpg

__Attractions in Haiti__ In most countries, there are visitors and tourists. I learned in this project that even if a country has a lot of poverty, and isn’t always the nicest place to be, there are always some magnificent attractions. Visitors visit countries for business reasons and for tourism. In Haiti, there is extreme poverty and a lot of political problems. Although these problems are mostly what you here about, in Haiti there are still good things. One of the main attractions in Haiti are their superb beaches that tourists love. One of the beaches is named Port Salut and it’s on the southwest corner of Haiti. There is a popular historical tourist cite in Haiti called the Citadel which is about 5 miles uphill from the town of Milot. The Citadel is the largest fortress in the Americas. The massive Citadel was built between 1805 and 1820 to keep the nation of Haiti safe from French incursions. The Haitians put 365 cannons on the Citadel. People also travel to Haiti for business reasons. Haiti produces a lot of Coffee beans and they sell it to other countries, so people travel to Haiti for business. There are also a lot of political problems in Haiti that effect the way people live. After the 2010 Earthquake, a lot of people came to Haiti to help the country. Most people that went to Haiti were construction workers and they helped fix Haiti from all the damage that occurred in Haiti. I have learned from researching this that Haiti has some amazing attractions.



Source of Image: [|http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Citadelle_Laferrière_Aerial_View.jpg]


 * __Economy in Haiti__**

Haiti has a troubled economy. It has labor problems, corruption, high unemployment, lack of exports, and few natural resources. Two thirds of Haitians work in farming. Most farmers only own about two acres of land. That’s hardly enough land to grow food for their families. People who live in the mountains grow fruits and coffee beans that they sell in markets. Around 80% of Haitians are poor. In fact, wages for workers have not risen in 25 years. Haiti has very few industries, and they have very small exports outside of Haiti. In Haiti they farm coffee, cacao, and sugar. Haiti also has craft workers that sell there work to tourists and visitors. They have virtually no exports to help their economy. The Haitian economy is very small and they need to rely on international help and they are still one of the poorest countries in the world. On the human development index (HDI), which was created by the United Nations to rank nations “development by combining indicators of life expectancy, educational attainment and income into a composite human development index,” Haiti was ranked 158 out of 187. This is very poor. In conclusion, Haiti is poor, with no improvement predicted for the future. In addition the political problems and corruption do not paint a good future for Haiti’s economy.



Source of Image: //http://online.culturegrams.com/gallery/albumindex.php?useraid=22&index=1&refername=Photo%20Gallery&referid=//

__**Religion, Holidays, and Festivals**__

In Haiti, 80% of people are Roman Catholics, 16% are Protestants, 10% are Baptists, 4% are Pentecostals, and 1% are Adventists. Although Catholicism is the official religion, and there is an active Catholic church in Haiti, most people believe that Voodoo is actually the national religion. Haiti also has a small minority of other religions like Judaism, Muslim and Bahai.

Voodoo is a religion practiced mostly in Caribbean countries like Haiti. It comes from West Africa and it is an idol religion. People who practice voodoo believe in communicating with the dead and in curses and magic. It is a very strange religion and is commonly practiced in poor and uneducated places. There is a lengthy schedule of voodoo holidays as well in Haiti.

The major holidays are New Year's Day (Jan. 1), which is the same as Independence Day; National Heroes Day (Jan. 2.); Labor and Agriculture Day (May 1). Two major non secular are Christmas and Easter. On New years Day, Haitians visit their friends and family, and they wish them happy new years. On National Hero’s day, also known as Ancestry Day, people commemorate ancestors and other loved ones who have died. On Labor and Agricultural Day people celebrate the labor and agriculture in Haiti. Christmas and Easter is celebrated the same way in Haiti and the United States of America. The most Festive time in Haiti is during Carnival. It is in the month of February and in Port au Prince people dance and sing in the streets during carnival. Carnival marks the beginning of one the holiest times of the year for Christians. It commences the celebration of the life of Christ.



Source of Image: http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/122/cache/haiti-voodoo_12213_600x450.jpg

Material for this presentation came from the following sources:
 * cia.gov
 * culturegrams.com
 * World Book Encyclopedia, 2009 Edition