Although girls living in a group home come from different families, they treat one other as sisters taking turns every morning braiding each another’s hair Although girls living in a group home come from different families, they treat one other as sisters taking turns every morning braiding each another’s hair Although girls living in a group home come from different families, they treat one other as sisters taking turns every morning braiding each another’s hair A young student has a snack after school in one of Lafanmi Selavi’s classrooms. The open air classrooms, with wooden desks and dirt floors, are used as play areas when school is not in session. Although girls living in a group home come from different families, they treat one other as sisters taking turns every morning braiding each another’s hair Young boys living in a group home strike their “Jean-Claude Van Damme” pose. A young student has a snack after school in one of Lafanmi Selavi’s classrooms. The open air classrooms, with wooden desks and dirt floors, are used as play areas when school is not in session. Although girls living in a group home come from different families, they treat one other as sisters taking turns every morning braiding each another’s hair Young boys living in a group home strike their “Jean-Claude Van Damme” pose. A young student has a snack after school in one of Lafanmi Selavi’s classrooms. The open air classrooms, with wooden desks and dirt floors, are used as play areas when school is not in session. Although girls living in a group home come from different families, they treat one other as sisters taking turns every morning braiding each another’s hair Young boys living in a group home strike their “Jean-Claude Van Damme” pose.

How Zanmi Lakay Began…

I first went to Haiti in 1997 and lived at Lafanmi Selavi, a home created for street children by Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1986 when he was still a parish priest. Close to 500 children found their way to Lafanmi Selavi for a variety of reasons. Some were orphans or abandoned, others had been abused, many families could not afford to take care of their kids, and many were restaveks or child slaves. I took their pictures and got to know them during the years I worked on my documentary project and held Photography Workshops.

When Lafanmi Selavi closed, many children no longer had the opportunity to go to school, a place to sleep, food and clothing, sports, music, art, or a family that their former home provided. Street life is harsh, miserable, and dangerous for children in Haiti. They have no one and they need help. They want to learn and go to school, they want a place to live, they want to be safe, and they want to contribute to society. Zanmi Lakay was created because of the growing needs of street children in Haiti, and my husband and I want to continue helping them on a more consistent basis. The seed of Zanmi Lakay was the Photography Workshops. My inspiration was the book, Shooting Back, about a successful project founded by Jim Hubbard while he was working with homeless children in Washington D.C.

Haiti has been plagued by political violence for most of its history. In the context of extreme economic and political instability, the vulnerability of children rises significantly.

Haiti is almost exactly the same size as Massachusetts, with a population of over eight million people; Massachusetts has 6.4 million. But per capita income in Haiti is under $400, compared to nearly $42,000 in Massachusetts. Haiti’s early history is slavery, succeeded almost continuously by even more brutal tyranny. As a result, 80% of Haitians live in abject poverty, at least 50% are illiterate, and two thirds have no formal employment. Over forty percent of the population is under the age of 15. According to UNICEF, more than 173,000 Haitian children are domestic workers (restaveks), 3,000 have been trafficked in the Dominican Republic, and 200,000 have lost one or both parents to AIDS. Many schools charge tuition, plus the costs of books, uniforms, food, and transportation. There are small group homes in Port-au-Prince, as well as food programs, and various NGOs that are helping street children. But the number of street children is estimated at 9,000-250,000, and obviously assistance is pitifully inadequate. In addition to our outreach program and Photography Workshops, Zanmi Lakay is supporting a group of homeless and at-risk youth with general living and educational assistance. We would like to do more.

If the children of Haiti have no future, neither does their country. Our purpose is to give some of those children a chance. We hope others who share their hemisphere will help us.
Jennifer Pantaléon

Board of Directors

Executive Director
Jennifer Cheek Pantaléon is a documentary photographer who has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area over 25 years. Her projects with at-risk youth began in the late 1980's in SF's Tenderloin neighborhood taking photographs for children's advocacy agencies working to create after school programs, playgrounds, and a school for the areas 4,000 children. This work culminated in a permanent exhibit for the Tenderloin Community School in 2002. From 1997-2001, Jennifer taught photography to homeless teenagers at Youth Industry's in San Francisco. Since 2004, she has collaborated with teachers in the Photography in Education programs in San Francisco schools. Her documentary projects include young Alaskan gold miners, landmine victims in Cambodia, victims of AIDS in a San Francisco residential hotel, and homeless and runaway teenagers living on the streets of San Francisco. For the last ten years, Jennifer has been teaching photography workshops and photographing street children in Haiti.

Michelle Karshan lived in Haiti for more than a decade while serving as the Foreign Press Liaison for Presidents Aristide and Préval. In addition to her direct involvement in advancing the rights of Haitian children, Karshan also founded Alternative Chance/Chans Altenativ, a peer-counseling program for Criminal Deportees in Haiti, and currently sits on the Boards of both the Aristide Foundation for Democracy and Health through Walls, an international prison health care program.

Allison Davis is a partner in the San Francisco office of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, a full service, national law firm. Her practice focuses on antitrust counseling, commercial litigation, and antitrust enforcement matters for a broad range of both U.S. and international companies. She regularly represents children on a pro bono basis through Legal Services For Children in their guardianship program including supervising and training of young lawyers and has provided other pro bono services through Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and related organizations.

Kelly Cullen is a Franciscan Friar with a Masters degree in Theology. He lived in the Friary at St. Boniface Church in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood for more than 21 years and has always worked to make his community a better place to live. Kelly was Executive Director of Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC) from 1993 to 2005, which provides safe, affordable housing to the very poor, has an after school program for children, and an employment and training program for tenants. He has worked for the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department as a founder and Director of the Tenderloin Recreation Center, and he was the founder and Executive Director of Tenderloin Youth Advocates coordinating the effort to obtain the Tenderloin Children's Playground and Recreation Center. He is now living and working at Mission San Luis Rey in Oceanside, CA helping to implement their $40 million Legacy Plan.

Board Advisor
Guy Pantaléon was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and moved to the U.S. and has been living in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2000. While growing up in Haiti, soccer was his life and he played for the well-known Haitian football team, Etoile Haitienne, later on coaching and managing his own successful team, Vasco de Delmas. He met and got to know many people while working at the famous Hotel Oloffson in Port-au-Prince, including his future wife. Since 1998, Guy has become indispensable as a reporter, translator, teacher, guide, and counselor while working with the street children in Haiti.

Gunce Lominy was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He is from a large family living his entire life surrounded by people. While earning a Sociology degree from the University of Ethnology and Sociology in Haiti, he worked for the Haitian government and the Presidential Security Unit. Lominy is also a skilled mechanic and electrician, and a poly language speaker. To understand the balance of both Capitalism and Socialism he traveled to Cuba, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic meeting people from all different classes. His intentions have always been to be closer with everyone in any society. The Gunce family moved to the U.S. in 2003, but Lominy’s heart and soul are still in Haiti. Lominy considers himself a Worldwide Citizen and believes that with knowledge and relationships based on sincerity we can break down barriers between people to make our world a better place.

THANK YOU!
Zanmi Lakay would like to especially thank the following individuals, groups, schools, and supporters for helping us when we were starting out, supplying venues for Ti Machés and slide presentations, coordinating donation drives, providing advice, donating cameras, and spreading the word:

Nancy Cheek
Ken Kobre and Betsy Brill
Youme Landowne
George and Susie Cheek
Paolo Vescia and Amelia Hansen
Jacques Bartoli
Sandy Hunter
East Bay Sanctuary Covenant
Lyn Duff
Lucia Sanchez and Christian Vescia
Bonnie Russell
Dave Guralnick
Matt Millman
Evens Sanon
Laura Flynn
Brian Concannon
Scot Tucker
St. Mark’s School, San Rafael, CA
San Carlos Charter Learning Center
Team Blaze of Pacifica, CA