Friday November 5, 2010, Port Au Price, West Department, Haiti

Hurricane Tomas hits Haiti

Hurricane Tomas flooded camps of earthquake refugees as it battered Haiti's rural western tip but spared the vast homeless encampments in the shattered capital Port au Prince. Driving 85 mph winds and a lashing storm surge battered Leogane, a seaside town that was 90 percent destroyed in the January 12 earthquake. Four persons died while attempting to cross rivers by car or on foot.

Odette Thalerin in the tent city where she lives which was damaged in the wind and rain from hurricane Tomas.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Friday November 5, 2010, Leogane, West Department, Haiti

Hurricane Tomas hits Haiti

Hurricane Tomas flooded camps of earthquake refugees as it battered Haiti's rural western tip but spared the vast homeless encampments in the shattered capital Port au Prince. Driving 85 mph winds and a lashing storm surge battered Leogane, a seaside town that was 90 percent destroyed in the January 12 earthquake. Four persons died while attempting to cross rivers by car or on foot.

Motorcyclists navigate a road flooded by rain from hurricane Tomas.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Tuesday October 26, 2010, Artibonite Department, Haiti

Haitians at risk for cholera epidemic

194 people are dead and 2,364 are confirmed to have cholera in the Artibonite and Central departments in Haiti. There are unconfirmed reports of cases in and around Port Au Prince. The Artibonite river is thought to be the source of contamination. The strain of cholera in Haiti is the most deadly. Some victims have died within 3 or 4 hours of exhibiting symptoms.

A funeral procession for the burial of Samuel George, age 18. George was one of the first deaths from cholera in the area where he lived. George started exhibiting symptoms at 4PM last Tuesday and he died around 12PM the same day. George was a high school student in Saint Marc who, during school break, had been working in the rice fields in his hometown of Fleuve in the Artibonite valley . While working he drank water from the Atibonit river which is contaminated with cholera. He was staying with his brother and sister when he started exhibiting symptoms and he died before they knew what sickness he had and before they could take him to the hospital.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Tuesday October 26, 2010, L'Estere, Artibonite Department, Haiti

Haitians at risk for cholera epidemic

194 people are dead and 2,364 are confirmed to have cholera in the Artibonite and Central departments in Haiti. There are unconfirmed reports of cases in and around Port Au Prince. The Artibonite river is thought to be the source of contamination. The strain of cholera in Haiti is the most deadly. Some victims have died within 3 or 4 hours of exhibiting symptoms.

Farrah Pierre, age 9 months, is comforted by her mother Mercilienne Pierre while being treated for cholera.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Sunday October 24, 2010, Port-Au-Prince, West Department, Haiti

Haitian IDP camps vulnerable to cholera

194 people are dead and 2,364 are confirmed to have cholera in the Artibonite and Central departments in Haiti. There are unconfirmed reports of cases in and around Port Au Prince. The Artibonite river is thought to be the source of contamination. The strain of cholera in Haiti is the most deadly. Some victims have died within 3 or 4 hours of exhibiting symptoms.

Kimberline Hara, age 5, (R), and Antoinise Volcy, age 10, (L), bathe in a drainage canal. It is feared that cholera will spread quickly through the IDP camps in Port-Au-Prince. The NGOs are preparing for the worst case scenario.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Thursday August 5, 2010, Port-Au-Prince, West Department, Haiti

Wyclef Jean registers in Haiti presidential race

Singer Wyclef Jean announced his bid to be president of Haiti to a roaring crowd of supporters hoping to lead an impoverished country reeling from a devastating earthquake. The hip hop artist-turned-politician stepped onto a speaker truck to address the crowd of hundreds. Jean was born in Haiti but raised in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Wyclef Jean surrounded by supporters arrives at the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) to register as a presidential candidate in Haiti.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Friday July 16, 2010, Central Department, Haiti

Voodoo ceremony in Haiti

Haitian pilgrims gather at the waterfall at Saut d'Eau on the anniversary of the 1983 sighting of the Virgin Mary, alternately identified as the Voodoo Loa, or spirit, of Erzulie Freda, the Goddess of Love. The waterfall at Saut D'Eau is the site of the largest Voodoo and Catholic pilgrimage in Haiti. A second sighting of the Virgin was reported during the American occupation. Each year, thousands of Haitian pilgrims make their way to Saut D'Eau to bathe in the sacred water and revel in the presence of the loa, particularly Erzulie and Damballah the Serpent, father of all life and keeper of spiritual wisdom, who is said to live in the falls. The water is believed to be curative and many women come to Saut d'Eau seeking fertility.

Haitian pilgrims at Voodoo ceremony at Saut d'Eau waterfall

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Wednesday July 14, 2010, Port-Au-Prince, West Department, Haiti

Lawyer helps French families adopt in Haiti

Jocelyne Perret, adopting mother, at her daughter's orphanage on the outskirts of Port-Au-Pince. Perret is holding her daughter Judith who is turning one on Saturday. Perret is hoping that David Koubbi and Emmanuelle Guerry's work will help Edith get her passport quickly. Perret has been in the process of adopting Edith since August 2009.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Tuesday July 13, 2010, Port-Au-Prince, West Department, Haiti

Lawyer helps French families adopt in Haiti

David Koubbi, in front of the National Palace, shows kids pictures he took the day before in the camp where they live. Koubbi, a French lawyer, is visiting Haiti to advocate to the Haitian government for passports for 56 children. The children were in the adoption process before the earthquake and though the adoptions have all been finalized, the children need passports before they can join their adopted families in France.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Thursday January 14, 2010, Tabarre, Haiti

Quake devastated Haiti

The search continues for bodies as the red cross estimates that as many as 50,000 people could be dead following the massive 7.0 earthquake in Haiti.

A dump truck drops bodies to be put in a mass grave in Tabarre

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Tuesday March 24, 2009, Central Department, Haiti

Rural Haiti feels effects of quake

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, left hundreds of thousands dead and an estimated one million homeless. The destruction of the quake has left the epicenter, Leogane and the near by capital Port au Prince, in shambles. Haitians, along with international and NGO aid have been on the long road to rebuilding and recovery. Though, seven months after the quake, progress remains slow. Rural areas outside of the capitol have also been affected, as an estimated 500,000 people from the city have relocated to rural areas. Helping those who left Port-au-Prince after the earthquake establish themselves as part of rural communities means ensuring that they find the jobs, educational opportunities, and the social services they need to restart their lives. This proves difficult because in the countryside it has always been difficult to access government services, which now have been slowed or halted due to the quake.

A family in front of their home.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Tuesday November 25, 2008, Central Department, Haiti

Cholera spreads in Haiti

In October 2010, 94 people are dead and 2,364 are confirmed to have cholera in the Artibonite and Central departments in Haiti. There are unconfirmed reports of cases in and around Port Au Prince. The Artibonite river is thought to be the source of contamination. The strain of cholera in Haiti is the most deadly. Some victims have died within 3 or 4 hours of exhibiting symptoms.

A boy carries passengers across the Artibonite river.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Friday January 16, 2009, South West Department, Haiti

Rural Haiti feels effects of quake

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, left hundreds of thousands dead and an estimated one million homeless. The destruction of the quake has left the epicenter, Leogane and the near by capital Port au Prince, in shambles. Haitians, along with international and NGO aid have been on the long road to rebuilding and recovery. Though, seven months after the quake, progress remains slow. Rural areas outside of the capitol have also been affected, as an estimated 500,000 people from the city have relocated to rural areas. Helping those who left Port-au-Prince after the earthquake establish themselves as part of rural communities means ensuring that they find the jobs, educational opportunities, and the social services they need to restart their lives. This proves difficult because in the countryside it has always been difficult to access government services, which now have been slowed or halted due to the quake.

Women silhouetted against the night sky on their way home after a food distribution.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Friday September 19, 2008, Central Department, Haiti

Rural Haiti feels effects of quake

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, left hundreds of thousands dead and an estimated one million homeless. The destruction of the quake has left the epicenter, Leogane and the near by capital Port au Prince, in shambles. Haitians, along with international and NGO aid have been on the long road to rebuilding and recovery. Though, seven months after the quake, progress remains slow. Rural areas outside of the capitol have also been affected, as an estimated 500,000 people from the city have relocated to rural areas. Helping those who left Port-au-Prince after the earthquake establish themselves as part of rural communities means ensuring that they find the jobs, educational opportunities, and the social services they need to restart their lives. This proves difficult because in the countryside it has always been difficult to access government services, which now have been slowed or halted due to the quake.

A Fonkoze microcredit client works in her new rice field that is one of her microenterprises.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Sunday October 24, 2010, Port-Au-Prince, West Department, Haiti

Haitian IDP camps vulnerable to cholera

194 people are dead and 2,364 are confirmed to have cholera in the Artibonite and Central departments in Haiti. There are unconfirmed reports of cases in and around Port Au Prince. The Artibonite river is thought to be the source of contamination. The strain of cholera in Haiti is the most deadly. Some victims have died within 3 or 4 hours of exhibiting symptoms.

Ketsia Thomas, 21, with her baby Kuttlun, aged ten months, is afraid of cholera reaching their IDP camp. Thomas and her son stand in the doorway of their tent made from scraps of wood metal and tarps. They share this tent with five others.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Saturday October 23, 2010, Verettes, Artibonite, Haiti

Cholera spreads in Haiti

Pierre Belizaire is being treated for cholera. He believes he contracted cholera from drinking water from the Artibonite river. Belizaire has been the in the hospital for one day and feels like his health is improving.194 people are dead and 2,364 are confirmed to have cholera in the Artibonite and Central departments in Haiti. There are unconfirmed reports of cases in and around Port Au Prince. The Artibonite river is thought to be the source of contamination. The strain of cholera in Haiti is the most deadly. Some victims have died within 3 or 4 hours of exhibiting symptoms.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Saturday October 23, 2010, Verettes, Artibonite, Haiti

Cholera spreads in Haiti

Guerdine Metelus, age 19, sits with her 76-year old father Jean Metelus who is being treated for cholera.194 people are dead and 2,364 are confirmed to have cholera in the Artibonite and Central departments in Haiti. There are unconfirmed reports of cases in and around Port Au Prince. The Artibonite river is thought to be the source of contamination. The strain of cholera in Haiti is the most deadly. Some victims have died within 3 or 4 hours of exhibiting symptoms.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Saturday February 24, 2007, Batouri, East Province, Cameroon

Resurgence of polio in Cameroon

Rboulaye Jean Tubo, 12, has been suffering from polio for two years. Health centers in the East Province are increasing immunizations to prevent further spread of this disease. The World Health Organization has put $4.6 billion towards the eradication of polio by 2008. However, new findings show that the recent spread of the disease to Cameroon and Benin may seriously compromise this goal.

Rboulaye Jean Tubo stands with crutches.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Sunday May 7, 2006, Ilam district, Nepal

Maoist rebels in Nepal continue the fight to end the monarchy of King Gyanendra

Nepal's civil war erupted in February of 1996, when the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) declared its intentions to establish a People's Republic of Nepal. Since then, tens-of-thousands have been killed and an estimated 100-150,000 have been internally displaced. Most recently, the Maoist rebels joined forces with several political parties during a nationwide general strike aimed at putting an end to the absolute rule imposed by King Gyanendra in early 2005.

Female Maoist soldiers with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) perform a drill in front of primary school children outside a rural school. These fighters are in "active defense". They are prepared for attacks from the Royal Nepal Army (RNA) during the current cease-fire.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Thursday April 27, 2006, Katmandu, Nepal

Political parties rally in Katmandu

Members of the seven political parties that rallied together to force a return to parliamentary democracy in Nepal gathered at a rally in Ratna Park to celebrate and commemorate the lives of 13 people killed during a general strike and anti-monarchy protests. A crowd of tens-of-thousands of people attended the event in central Katmandu.

A masked man stands before a wall adorned with posters depicting demonstrators killed during protests.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Friday April 21, 2006, Katmandu, Nepal

Amid unrelenting protests, King Gyanendra pledges to hand back executive powers

Nepal's King Gyanendra has pledged to yield the absolute power he seized in 2005 and asked the 'agitating political party alliance' to recommend a candidate for Prime Minister. Violoent protests against Gyanendra have enveloped Katmandu in recent weeks, leading to the deaths by over a dozend protesters.

Protesters burn a motorcycle and household items collected from police officers' apartments in Kalanki. Protesters run as the motorcycle's fuel tank explodes.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Monday April 17, 2006, Katmandu, Kathmandu, Nepal

Protests continue to envelop Nepal

Widespread protests against King Gayanendra continue to envelop Nepal. Protests calling for a return to democracy have been clashing with police for two weeks in confrontations that are becoming more and more violent. Security forces have fired on protesters several times in a bid to halt demonstrations. King Gayanendra has reportedly met with two former Prime Ministers at the royal palace to discuss the crisis.

A crowd of protesters in Kalanki.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Thursday April 20, 2006, Katmandu, Nepal

Three dead amid continuing protests in Nepal

Police opened fire on anti-monarchy protesters in Katmandu's Kalanki neighborhood as demonstrators continue to defy a mandatory curfew. Protesters lobbed rocks at police who responded with tear gas, batons and rubber bullets. The Himalayan kingdom has been besieged by protests against King Gyanendra who assumed full control of the government in 2005 in a bid to quell a Maoist insurgency.

A protester throws a smoking tear gas canister.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Saturday April 15, 2006, Kathmandu, Nepal

Street protests in Kathmandu

Police attempt to block several thousand protesters from continuing their demonstration on the Ring Road. Nepal's capital is at a near-standstill with food and fuel in short supply and prices rising as protests continued for the 11th straight day against King Gyanendra's absolute rule.

A line of police carry batons while wearing padding.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Saturday April 15, 2006, Kathmandu, Nepal

Street protests in Kathmandu

Protesters make their way through the city. Nepal's capital is at a near-standstill with food and fuel in short supply and prices rising as protests continued for the 11th straight day against King Gyanendra's absolute rule.

Protesters march with a flag while shouting slogans.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Saturday April 22, 2006, Katmandu, Katmandu, Nepal

Police beat back protesters in Nepal

A violent battle between police and protesters in Kalinki on the outskirts of Katmandu. This confrontation started when the police baton charged protesters in Kalanki while they were trying to enter the city from the Ring Road. After the baton charge the protesters retaliated with a barrage of rocks and bricks on the police. The police tried to hold back the protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets but they ended up being pushed far back into the city. The fighting ended when a heavy rain and hail storm forced both sides to seek shelter.

Protesters chant anti-monarchy slogans in Kalanki.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Friday December 15, 2006, Central Province, Cameroon

Cameroonians embrace modern technology

Small roadside stands and an advertisement for Malta Guinness that features a young couple with a digital camera.

Small roadside stands and an advertisement for Malta Guinness that features a young couple with a digital camera.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Tuesday March 14, 2006, Kolkata / Calcutta, India

Daily life in India

A boy washes paint off his face during Holi, the festival of colors. Holi marks the first day of spring and commemorates the legend of Prahlada in Hindu mythology.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Tuesday November 22, 2005, Joypurhat district, Bangladesh

Daily life in Bangladesh

Known as East Pakistan until gaining its independence in a brutal 1971 civil war, Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated nations and ranks as the globe's third-largest Muslim-majority nation. The years following Bangladesh's independence have been marked by political turmoil, with thirteen different heads of state and four separate military coups.

A Turi woman poses for a photo. Approximately 1,000 Turi's live in this densely populated slum. The main occupation of the Turi is baggage handling at the local train station. They are extremely poor and do not own any land. The land they live on is owned by the railway.

Credit: Ben Depp / Polaris

Ben Depp

Ben Depp has been shooting feature and news stories since 2005. Ben has worked on diverse assignments ranging from health clinics in Cameroon and Maoist rebels in Nepal to county fairs in North Carolina. Ben has been living in Haiti since 2008 where he has worked as both a staff photographer for an NGO and a freelance photojournalist. Among the organizations and publications that have published Ben's photographs are Time Magazine, Newsweek, Elle Magazine, GQ, Catholic Relief Services, Lutheran World Service, The Humane Society, The Master Card Foundation, The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, The Grameen Foundation, Citi Group Foundation, the International Organization for Migration, Plan International and Mercy Corps. Personal website: www.bendepp.com

Personal web site of Ben Depp