Yesterday we discovered that Angelina had flown straight from the Super Bowl in Miami to the Dominican Republic to meet with Haitian earthquake survivors and refugees. At first, I thought Angelina was just doing a day-long trip to the Dominican Republic, but she stayed on and traveled to Haiti, arriving in Port-au-Prince to view the earthquake damage first-hand, and to meet with more refugees and survivors living in-country. We still don’t have access to so many of the photos coming out of her trip, but PopEater has a great slideshow. UNHCR online also updated their site with comments Jolie made in-country, and there are more details about where she traveled and what issues she was focused on, including the Haitian SOS Children’s Village.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, February 9 (UNHCR) – UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie arrived on Tuesday in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, where she visited earthquake survivors and met aid workers from local and international organizations.
Jolie, who said she was in Haiti to “listen and to learn,” visited medical centres, the UN mission and met with vulnerable children. On her arrival in the Haitian capital, Jolie was briefed by the United Nations Acting Special Representative of the Secretary-General Edmond Mulet on the scale of the humanitarian operation to date and the challenges that remain.
She also visited a cash-for-work programme run by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in the Carrefour district of Port-au-Prince, which is enabling Haitians to earn an income as they help their country to recover. “To give people the ability to work towards their own future is so important at this time. It helps to restore their hope and respects their dignity,” said Jolie.
The programme is assisting some 40,000 people with an aim of reaching more than 400,000. She commended the participants who told her they were happy to clean up their country and then sang her a song about Haitian pride.
In the Santo area of Port-au-Prince, Jolie visited SOS Children’s Villages, a worldwide programme to raise children inside their own countries. Since the earthquake, the organization has begun providing additional care for children who have been newly orphaned or who have lost contact with their parents as a result of the catastrophe. SOS is working to reunite children with their family members and will continue to care for those without any caregivers.
Jolie applauded their work, while stressing that “new adoptions should definitely not be encouraged as an immediate response to the emergency. Haiti had many trafficking problems before the earthquake and now must keep a very close watch on the children. I would encourage as much support as possible to groups like SOS and UNICEF providing care for children in country.”
The acclaimed actress also visited a tented hospital set up and run by UNHCR partner, Médecins Sans Frontières, in the commune of Delmas, also in Port-au-Prince. “I was struck by the strength and spirit of the Haitian people. Children as young as nine months old were coping with amputations with extraordinary resilience. I even met a little 10-year-old boy who had recently had his leg amputated, who was giggling to himself about a silly book as he sat on the floor,” Jolie revealed.
“These doctors are extraordinary,” she said. “For all the patients that had to have amputations there are also a high number of limbs and lives that the doctors have managed to save.”
“It will take years to rebuild Haiti,” Jolie said, after seeing the devastation from the January 12 earthquake. “Every day, the UN, governments, NGOs and local organizations are providing more people with protection, food, water, shelter and health care, yet the needs are still enormous and the displacement could last a decade.
“Providing adequate shelter to the displaced is of paramount importance, especially as the upcoming rainy season threatens to add to the devastation. Everyone is bracing themselves for a second wave of tragedy.”
Before arriving in Haiti, Jolie spent a day in the Dominican Republic, where she visited Haitian earthquake victims in the local public hospital and in nearby shelters. “I was heartened to see the care being provided by Dominican doctors and nurses and to witness the generosity of local society, which is caring for discharged patients and their families in their recovery,” she said.
While touring the SOS Children’s Village, the Haitian people began chanting “Angie! Angie!” apparently. In addition to that, the President of Haiti Children (Mercy and Sharing), Suzie Krabacher told Radar: “I think Angelina is an angel for visiting the area and bringing more attention to all the work that still needs to be done in Haiti and I wish her the greatest success.”
I get that there is a significant number of people who question Angelina’s motives as a goodwill ambassador for the UNHCR. But she’s been at this for nine years, and at this point, if all she needed was a quick press hit, she would have found an easier way to get it rather than donating millions of dollars and spending the days, weeks and months putting her time and energy where her mouth and wallet are. To my mind, her motives are pure, and I think she does more good than harm for the UNHCR and for the SOS Children‘s Village program.
To donate to the SOS Children’s Village program, go here. To donate to the UNHCR, go here.
UPDATE: There’s a short video of Angelina in Haiti too:
Images courtesy of UNHCR online, PopEater & Getty.
good for her… she has been a supporter of the SOS children villages for a couple of years
I believe she really cares! I wish more celebs would do more work like this!
From what I’ve seen from pictures of her on these missions, she seems to enjoy this part of her “work” life much more so than the red carpet part of it. The smiles seem much more genuine.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t give up acting completely to focus on this at some point. And I mean, before her career would HAVE to end – I think she’d consider walking away from acting while still an A-list star.
I respect her for finding a cause she really cares about and donating her time and effort to it. She walks the walk.
I don’t see the point of this story. I think it was assumed by everybody that she was going to Haiti and there’s nothing different from this story than the Dominican Republic story. It probably just should have been updated. When it comes to Brad and Angelina a lot of threads are started over small things. (Not saying Haiti is a small issue.)
she does a great job.
It’s all an act people. You need to wake up to this. You are praising someone while the real heroes on the ground toil tirelessly, day in day out with no thanks. She is using this for a photo op nothing more.
Angelina has been doing this work for almost a decade. The woman is sincere,loving and caring. I think what she does is admirable.
Vittoria, Jolie praises the people who you claim get no thanks, so pull your negative head in.
Good for her.
I’m not necessarily a fan of hers, but this was a good thing that she did. It’s not that Haiti has fallen off the radar completely, but she gets a ton of press when she goes on these mission things, so it’s a good reminder as well.
But this: “Children as young as nine months old were coping with amputations with extraordinary resilience.”
How can you tell a 9 month old is coping with extraordinary resilience?
I’m not a fan of hers, and I do think that part of her charity work is for her image, BUT – I also do think she does care and is sincere about it. As Kaiser said, she’s stuck with it long enough to convince that it’s not only a PR ploy. I still do get a bit annoyed/amused by some of the PR spin, but in the end, anything that benefits the charities in any capacity outweighs that.
I am not particularly fond of the new hollier-than-thou Angelina BUT honestly, from reading some comments on this and similar threads it seems like some people expect her to rebuild Haiti with her own bare hands.She’s only an individual, a very famous one, and she uses her fame to raise awareness among people. Awareness= more money, more interest in the just cause. That is a good thing. And even if she gains some publicity, it in no way diminishes her work. You can’t say she’s not trying.And being with those people, she seems more comfortable and sweet, without the smug expression she always has on her face as she walks the red carpet.
Honestly, this celebrity walks the walk.
Kudos to Jolie.
shes always using that black boots everytime shes on UN mission.
I think she enoys the work for the same reasons everyone who does volunteer work enjoys it- it makes them feel good about themselves. Her motives are not entirely altruistic. Look at Greg Mortensen- he didn’t have to join the UNHCR and bring cameras everytime he helped those in need. He just does it. Angie wants you to KNOW she does it.
Look, I’m glad she brings awareness, but I don’t see her doing much else.
For those who say she doesn’t do anything, what do you expect her to do? I don’t know why people expect more from Angelina when she’s only doing what pretty much all celebrities do when they go to poor/disaster stricken areas.
I’d expect her to, you know, help. Not sit around talking to people or waving to fans (as she does in the video).
I understand that she can’t go moving rubble and such but she could, you know, hand out food or something.
I’m sure a pretty lady posing for photos with you is JUST what you need in a situation like this.
I applaud her- this is not easy charity work, this is a huge commitment, and she takes it very, very seriously.
I agree that the smiles she has at the refugee camps are so much more genuine that anything we see in Hollywood- I imagine that she will evolve ala Audrey Hepburn or Mia Farrow to devote herself full time to her humanitarian work.
Sage you made your personal views on Angelina very clear yesterday, and I really hope we don’t have another string of hateful posts from you again today.
You may not think she’s doing enough, but she’s doing more than you are sitting there at your computer critizing her. I’m with the majority of posters who feel her motives are altruistic and pure. To give money is one thing, but she consistently puts her actions behind her charitable donations.
I think it is admirable the Angie uses her celebrity for good.. the cameras are around her constantly and she knows it.. so she goes places to promote awareness. She could just go to Starbucks, but she doesn’t. She truly cares about what’s happening and is doing what she can to help.. She has an extremely busy schedule, but still makes time for her causes. She donates her money AND her time. This world needs a lot more people like her.
Sage Google is you friend… and have photos of her helping in some of the places that the UN send her as ambassador but even this is NOT her work because the UN send her there with cameras to later people that are interesting in her because of her fame to see what she is doing and where she is and even people that don’t like her can see too.
She and others actors and actress that work to the UN show us what people that are there every day as a voluntary do to help those people, show us what the money that many of us donate when we hear about the tragedy happening is being used and show us that is still a lot work to do and a lot of people to help, and maybe people watching this and seeing what is still happening in those places fell encouraged to go there and help not because of Jolie but because that these people see what is happening there and they have hearts and want to do something more from their life’s then just siting in front of the computer criticizing people that try to help.
She is famous, she is going to get attention. It happens. Who cares what her motives are? She doesn’t answer to you. Can’t we all just be grateful that even if she is an attention whore, at least she is doing SOMETHING good?
I’m not that invested in what Anjelina does. But I saw her interviewed on the BBC by Gavin Esler on a show called ‘Hardtalk’.
She was politically informed, insightful and compassionate. Surely that’s a good thing for UNHCR….
Man, people everywhere just love her! Me too! 🙂
I’m wasting my typing fingers but I just want to point out (again) that these photos were commissioned by the UN to promote their work. Although Marco diLauro is a photo-journalist, he’s not a paparazzo and I doubt that he is in Angelina’s pay.
Angelina gets photographed on these trips than other UN ambassadors because it’s guaranteed that the major press will run with the images pretty much worldwide and instantly, whereas other Ambassadors will only get more localised coverage, possibly restriced to their countries of origin or language zones.
Ok, there’s a quid pro quo for AJ in this as well, but I doubt that she would be trotted out this often if the UNHCR didn’t feel that there was greater value for them to have her associated.
Anyone who has a problem with that would be much better off sending a letter to the UNHCR asking that AJ be removed from this post or included less often than whinging here.
Angelina’s humanitarian efforts are more publicized because, well, she’s a tad more famous than you and I are. My theory is this, fellow do-gooders will not criticize her for her charitable work because we know that as volunteers, every bit helps regardless of what form that help comes in. We do what we can, some with time, some with money. Why should Jolie be bashed for what the media chooses to label her that week? She doesn’t call herself a saint, she never has and never will. Stop punishing her for things people choose to impose on her
@SageAdvice – then I suppose there’s no point in athletes and music/movie stars going to visit kids in the hospital since all they do is shake hands and talk to them… And my Gawd – what was Princess Diana thinking? Why didn’t she hand out food and get down and dirty doing the hard work?
And why send celebrities overseas to do USO tours either… There’s no point in them.
Though I have a feeling most people who get a visit from a celebrity/athlete that they admire would disagree.
And who’s to say she didn’t hand out food or ‘do something’ other than shakes hands and talk to people? Have they been filming her 24hrs?
At least she’s out there, off her butt, doing something!
Angie could donate $100 million to the homeless in America and a kidney to a dying child and Sageadvice and Ursula would still criticize her.
That’s because Ursula is a SEA WITCH!
@Sage. Yeah, why would Angelina want to visit the poor and sick, when she could be partying in a rich resort in Cabo to “help out Mexico.” THAT WOULD BE SO MUCH BETTER. It really boggles my mind that you can say Angelina is not doing enough, and at the same time, say Aniston is doing good partying in Cabo (for charity!). Amazing . . . Oh wait, I’m not supposed to bring up Aniston. I know that’s been outlawed by the comment police. Of course, there’s no free speech on blogs and all . . .
I wont get into the whole discussion here, but my only comment is: Why does she not, at the very least, comb her hair? Or take a brush to it in the car before getting out and facing the cameras? Or pull it up in a chignon? It will still look dignified and beautiful. i know shes busy and all, but still, if your going to have long hair, take care of it. It goes with the territory. Or chop it off into a bob or layers.
Thank you Hat for that insightful comment!! Brilliant!! I mean, the woman flew from L.A. to Miami to The Dominican Republic and on to Haiti, all in three days and all you notice is that her HAIR needs brushing!! WOW!! Mind.Boggled. I’m stunned. You do know its about 90 degrees and windy in Haiti right now, right? And she is outside, right?
Or, maybe Angelina hasn’t had time to visit the spa that has been set up by the UN for stars visiting disaster areas. She probably has an appointment for later. The cameraman can take a photo afterwards just for you.
Anyone who thinks that she does this for PR must never have seen a child suffering. The fact that she, a mother, puts herself anywhere near such pain and suffering is beyond me. That she manages to be inspired by the courage these children show, rather than breaking down shows that she is a strong woman with a great heart.
Can ANYONE actually believe that this is easy?
@ Sage Advice
Why do you comment on someone you have zero respect for? Why give them your time and energy? That makes no sense to me.
LOL @Hat. Who are you kidding? Her hair is a mess? GMAFB. If she went into that refugee camp with every hair perfectly in place, you’d say it was proof she was only doing it for a photo op.
@Alex: According to the news reports, when Angie visited the troops in Iraq last year, the troops were delighted and talked about it for days afterwards. They appreciate gestures like that.
Yeah I know, she’s saving the world and cant be bothered with simple personal grooming habits. Next you’ll be telling me she cant be bothered to shower or change her tampon too. I’m just saying though, I get pretty busy too, here in my home life and I always remember to either pull up my hair or comb it into a simple horsetail. I dont know how long those flights are, but I do know the travel to Haiti from Miami is two hours. Really, she didn’t have forty seconds to spare?!?
I brush my hair once before I shower in the morning. Once a day, each day. Some people just don’t care about that.
Essie, don’t even bother. Hat made her point. Angie’s a slob. Not dressing up to the nines is supposed to render all the work she is doing in Haiti irrelevant, I suppose. Maybe Hat thinks she should have gone into a refugee camp in 90-degree heat wearing a Chanel suit and Manolos. It’s absolutely mind-blowing how some people are so shallow that they are solely focused on externals to the exclusion of everything else.
BTW according to the news reports Angie visited some Canadian troops posted in Haiti this afternoon and I don’t think they cared very much that her hair was loose and wasn’t combed in a neat chignon. They were just very glad to see her.
The header photo is really touching. I won’t get into an argument about Angie’s motivations, because none of us know for sure, but as someone mentioned above, as a mother, it seems impossible that she wouldn’t empathize deeply with the plight of suffering children (or anyone for that matter). I found that once I had kids, my empathy for others went through the roof. And I’d like to think I was an extremely sensitive person before parenthood. (Please don’t take that as an “anyone without kids isn’t sensitive” sentiment, because that’s not at all what I’m saying.)
@Hat You like the best in your thoughts it’s soooo cooool it’s like how could she go to places that are suffering with disasters and not be all elegant beautiful with the hair perfectly combed i can’t believe in… YOU.
The density of your thoughts only compares with the black holes… nothing good come out of them.
I think she is sincere, because I don’t think anyone who sees the things she sees (and goes back) could be unaffected.
A couple years back I rented a documentary, “Darwin’s Nightmare” and one of the “extras” on the disk was another, shorter documentary titled “Kasangani Diary” about refugees in the Congo. Hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians had fled into the forest, fearing for their lives. (Shortly after the film was made most of them were killed, a genocide on a hard-to-imagine scale). But even the condition they were in hiding, before the mass deaths was HEARTBREAKING, including images of starving children with open, bone-deep wounds. One baby was clearly going to die within hours. The images from this film are burned into my mind for all time. Anyone with any kind of heart or intelligence who witnesses such things has to be affected, and anyone who does anything to help over many years has my deep respect.
Lets not forget the the MILITARY is in Haiti helping this Big Humanitarian Mission. JMO
Go to youtube. I posted my response to you guys in person. Hatsumomogirly.
They accepted only perfect children.
She could never adopt a child amputated.
She is a liar.
UM How bout No Hatsumomo.
Because frankly nobody cares about you or your video, were on this thread because we are interested in reading about Angelina and her work with the UN and her work in Haiti.
Stating a superficial and inflammatory comment for self promotion of your YouTube channel is pretty pathetic. Who cares what Angelina’s hair looks like? How can that be your focus when she is sitting with these small children who have suffered and been displaced. I think she looks lovely, and she radiates kind energy. You could learn a lesson in thoughtfulness.
“It’s absolutely mind-blowing how some people are so shallow that they are solely focused on externals to the exclusion of everything else.”
Cheyenne, you’ll never understand why, but this quote is ridiculously ironic coming from the likes of you.
While touring her estate, the Jolie-Pitt children began chanting “are you my Mamma? are you my Mamma?” apparently. In addition to that, the Nanny CEO of the Jolie-Pitt children (foreign and domestic), Suzeez NotDaMamma told Radar: “I think Angelina is an angel for visiting this area and bringing more attention to all the work we’ve done raising her collection … err … children and I wish her the greatest success photo op’ing with all the other children overseas.”
just because you know she adopts children it doesnt mean she is obliged to adopt another kid she meet in every Mission. adoption is a serious process and commitment of taking a child into your very home and it is not all about picking a kid on a street. these kids were not amputated to get higher valuation in adoption. and for you to shut up, understand the article you read above. Angelina stressed that new adoptions are not encourage due to problems of child trafficking and all in Haiti. She encourage you to help instead in any form than just sit your heavy ass and comment whos who she needs to adopt.
Kim ‘Angie could donate $100 million to the homeless in America and a kidney to a dying child and Sageadvice and Ursula would still criticize her’
If she did that and shut up about it, then I would applaud her. Forgive me for not thinking she is a saint when she does all these photo ops and actually looks like she is enjoying people’s misery because it has given her an opportunity for PR. Her faux tragic look does not impress me.
@Fat Elvis: The likes of me doesn’t rag on anybody because of how they look or how their hair isn’t combed or whatever. Check yourself. OTOH don’t bother. You won’t like what you see.
Cheyenne: But you’re incredibly nasty and mean-spirited when it comes to people who don’t share your taste in movie stars. And THAT is shallow and pathetic.
Oh well, thanks for proving my point.
If only more people used their power, celebrity, and money in this way…so few of the many many of Hollywood (and the rest of the nation’s) elite do any charity work or make significant donations when compared to their income. I donate 10% every month…imagine if all the celebs and CEOs donated 10% of their income each year?
@Fat Elvis, I find it kind of weird that you seem to be so obsessed by what I post on here that you remember everything I say from one thread to the next. I don’t remember anything you say, probably because your posts add up to a whole lot of nothing. May I suggest you get a new hobby? Collect stamps or bottle caps or something?
someone revised his comment! funny!
Yes, Cheyenne, I’m obsessed with you. I spend every spare minute scouring the boards looking for your comments, just so I can dissect them at length …
LOL, don’t flatter yourself. I just wanted to point out your hypocrisy, which as I already predicted, you’d never have the self-awareness to comprehend. So go ahead and leave another “last word” response to nurse your ego back to health. But it won’t change the fact that you have an unhealthy obsession with a family you don’t know — and that’s a problem you’ll likely never address. Too bad.