The history of Haiti is a troubled one. Since becoming the world’s first black republic in 1804, it has had few periods of social, economic, and political stability. Today, Haiti is the poorest and most corrupt country in the Western hemisphere, and the majority of its nine million people suffer from hunger and are illiterate. Big donors like the U.S. and the U.N. have invested an increasing amount of resources and personnel to stabilize the country since 2004. But have they helped?

Ruxandra Guidi is a radio and print freelance journalist and Roberto [Bear] Guerra is an independent photographer. They collaborate under the name Fonografia Collective, and are currently based in Austin, TX. In recent years, their multimedia work has taken them to Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Panama, Venezuela, Mexico and Haiti.

Funding for this story was made possible by the International Reporting Project (IRP) Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University.