It is also the most poverty stricken. The great majority of the people struggle to farm the mountainous countryside, hampered by both the terrain and the climate. French is the official language, but most Haitians speak a dialect known as Creole. About forty CICM priests and brothers are now laboring in four mountainous dioceses in this country. Moreover, there are some 25 Haitian members of CICM who have been sent out as missionaries themselves to Congo, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic.
Poverty is everywhere in Haiti, staring, ridiculing all efforts to alleviate it.
Yes, the people always appear jovial, pleasant and have a natural sense for cleanliness and art. I really find any work here a source of tremendous personal inspiration.