Jalousie Slum Makeover, Beauty Versus Poverty in Color

A psychedelic makeover of Jalousie slum in Haiti is under progress. This uninviting concrete block of homes lay on mountainside of the capital of Haiti. The makeover of this largest shantytown of Haiti covers two aspects - homage and art. The facades are being painted by workers in cream, lime, peach and purple. The inspiration for these colors comes from Prefete Duffaut's work "Cities-in-the-skies". Duffaut was a great Haitian painter who died in 2012.

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The whole effort is given a name - 'Beauty versus Poverty: Jalousie in Colors'. The project will cost $1.4 million and this slum makeover is an attempt of government to relocate the people living in displacement camps that were a result of 2010 earthquake. The government plans to pick up some high-profile camps in the nation's capital and relocate them in places like Jalousie while paying rent for a whole year in form of subsidies for those residents. The government also plans in tidying up these areas by providing city services and aims towards building up a place that will be decent for living and people will be proud to be a part of the place.

Jalousie is currently the home of 45,000 poor Haitians and many residents are welcoming this change while critics think that this is only a cosmetic change that will barely improve the lives of people. Jalousie has no electric grid, no sewage system and no direct water supply. Government says that it is open to criticism as it will increase the visibility of the project. The government targets to paint 1000 homes over a period of 6 months. While government aims to make life better for those living in the Jalousie slum, the rainbow of colors is also a homage Haitians are paying to the greatest painter of the Nation whose work is recognized worldwide.

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