By any standards, Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world.

Much of the land is mountainous, and erosion over the centuries has made it unsuitable for cultivation. Because of the seasonal availability of work, based on the island's main industry of sugarcane, many Haitians find that they sometimes have enough to live on, and at other times they do not. In Haiti, about 80% of the population live under the poverty line.

About half of the population is illiterate, as schools are either unavailable or too expensive to attend. Life expectancy at birth is around 50 years, roughly 25 years less than life expectancy in Canada.

According to UN statistics only half the population has access to clean water. Even more astounding, only 16% of rural dwellers in Haiti have access to proper sanitation, as well as only half of all urban dwellers. Haiti also lies in the path of the hurricane belt, and is subject to major storms from June through October. Homes and other buildings are often destroyed in these terrible gales. 

Despite all this, Haitians remain a warm and welcoming people, ready to extend to their neighbours what help they can afford.

Unfortunately, in such poverty, families are barely subsisting, and as Haitian culture dictates, the elderly are last in line for food.