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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt visit Haiti
(AP)
Updated: 2006-01-15 10:51 Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
brought a rare dose of Hollywood glamour to this beleaguered Caribbean nation
during a visit Friday.
The couple, who recently announced they are expecting a baby this summer,
flew to Haiti from the neighboring Dominican Republic, where Jolie is filming
the movie "The Good Shepherd," directed by Robert De Niro.
As Haitian
schoolchildren look on, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt tour the Immaculate
Conception School, in Port au Prince, Haiti, Friday, Jan. 13, 2006. Many
of the kids at the school receive scholarships to study with support from
Yele Haiti, a charity founded by Haitian-born hip-hop musician Wyclef
Jean, who walks behind Jolie, and who hosted Pitt and Jolie's visit to
Haiti. [AP] |
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traveled in a convoy through the capital of Port-au-Prince, protected by police
and U.N. peacekeepers as crowds cheered them along the way.
"You hear so much just about the danger and the fear and then you come here
and you meet just an amazing people," said Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the
United Nations. "Given just a little chance, and given a little help, this is
going to be a great country."
Jolie, 30, and Pitt, 42, visited a school where some students receive
scholarships from Yele Haiti, a charity founded by Haitian-born hip-hop musician
Wyclef Jean. The couple watched children dance and recite poetry and met with
workers from a street-cleaning program backed by the organization and other
groups.
They then headed to a juvenile jail where the charity plans to begin a
tutoring program for the inmates before attending a one-year anniversary party
for Yele Haiti at the local television stationed owned by Jean. Children who
receive scholarships from the organization filled the studio, cheering the
actors when they took the stage.
"We love this country and we plan to be back over and over again," Jolie
said.
Jean praised the actors, who were scheduled to leave Saturday, for visiting
during a time of insecurity.
"To have these people grace our country is a beautiful thing," he said.
The visit comes at a tumultuous time for Haiti, with the country struggling
to organize its first elections since former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
was forced from power in a violent rebellion nearly two years ago.
Richard Sassine, a board member of Yele Haiti and president of the Haitian
Union Bank, said he hopes the visit will highlight the foundation's activities
and improve Haiti's image.
"When you have international stars like this," he said, "people want to find
out what it's all about. And from there we might get more support."
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