West Career and Technical Academy

literacy rate of about 53 percent (55 percent for males and 51 percent for females) falls well below the 90 percent average literacy rate for Latin American and Caribbean countries

Despite the hardships and political trauma suffered by this country, Haiti remains a wellspring of creativity and imagination. Many of the painters exhibited here hang in prestigious galleries and museums. All of them are well-known and collectible artists.

It may also have shaken up the way the developing world gets food.

"A combination of food aid, but also cheap imports have ... resulted in a lack of investment in Haitian farming, and that has to be reversed,

Haiti's government is asking for $722 million for agriculture, part of an overall request of $11.5 billion.

Fruits and vegetables such as pineapples, sweet potatoes, and corn were cultivated by early Haitian tribes.

Throughout its history, several countries controlled Haiti, introducing food from their native lands. Haitian cuisine is mainly a mixture of those countries.

The country was once almost covered in virgin forests but these have now been reduced and now only cover about 4% of Haiti.