Soledad Recounts Her Reporting On Haiti's Orphans

In an excerpt from The Next Big Story by Soledad O'Brien posted online at CNN.com, she retells the story of her journey to Haiti.

Her reporting was the basis of a one-hour documentary on Haiti's orphans called "Rescued."

The moment I arrive at the Lighthouse I find the answer to the question that has been nagging me since we arrived -- how does any one person make a difference in the face of such an enormous tragedy?

Susette and Bill Manassero came to Haiti at the urging of their eldest daughter, Ariana. She was 9 and had saved coins to sponsor needy children in Haiti. She wanted to go for a visit. The Manasseros were indulging her when they came to Haiti and were shocked to find the high rates of poverty, sex trafficking and child abandonment -- some of the worst in the world. The children they met were being abused.

They were on what they thought was just a casual visit. They made a drastic decision, one that is inconceivable to so many of us. They sold everything and moved their three young children to Haiti...

continues at http://www.cnn.com


The Next Big Story: My Journey Through the Land of Possibilities

Soledad O'Brien and Her Daughter in Haiti

Soledad O'Brien coninues to tell the stories of Haiti. Last night she guest-hosted Larry King Live with a show on Haiti 6 months later.

CNN has posted an excerpt from her upcoming book. The excerpt focuses on a trip to Haiti she made a few weeks ago with her daughter Sofia.


Here is the opening of the excerpt from Soledad O'Brien's upcoming book, The Next Big Story.

(CNN)  I returned to Haiti in mid June, over a month after having produced a documentary called Rescued on two children whose precarious lives depend on an orphanage run by American Christian missionaries. I don't have another story to report. I just want to go back. I am haunted by these kids. Cendy Juene is just 6 and she has no one person in the world caring for her, just the kindness of the staff at the Light House orphanage. Mark Kenson Olibris, the caretaker at the orphanage, is a young man who has grew up there and now promises he will help rebuild Haiti. They are so resilient, so inspiring, they leave me wanting to know how life is unfolding in their shaky circumstances. I decide to take my oldest daughter Sofia who is nine. She looks totally thrilled we are going together. So am I. I see this as an opportunity to share with her a major lesson I have learned from my time in Haiti. That one person can change the world, if only by changing a piece of it.

She takes a breath when we land, not from the jolt of the plane, but out of pure excitement. I am so happy to be taking this trip with her. The people in the plane clap and so does she too. I love the sight of her...

Continue reading at edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/07/12/soledad.obrien.haiti

 

Soledad on Larry King Live Tonight

Tonight, Soledad will be filling in on Larry King Live @ 9pm ET.

She'll be talking about Haiti with Wyclef Jean as well as actress Maria Bello and Susette & Bill Manassero, orphanage directors featured in her documentary Rescued.

Soledad O'Brien Q&A on CNN's Haiti Documentary, Rescued

CNN's latest documentary, Rescued, premiered this weekend with the initial airing on May 8th. The program is a moving look at the suffering in Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake.

O'Brien answered some questions exclusively for the Huffington Post including some personal connections like these two:

Q: How does being a mother of four yourself influence your desire to do a story like this?

A: I hope that any good journalist would say--this is a story that people need to know about. But as a mother--I guess any parent full grasps the horrible choice in handing off your child because you just can care for him because you have no job, and a result, no food. It's heartbreaking. We capture some of those moments in this documentary: a mother who begs to stay in the orphanage. But they can't take her--it's already too crowded. The orphanage is also running out of food. So, she hands over her infant--"please take him". It's so powerful and so desperately sad

Q: How do you explain the difficulties you report on to your children?

A: My children are young, ages 9, 8 and 5 year old twins. We talk a lot about the stories I'm covering and the work I'm doing. They've seen the documentary and were riveted--all four kids! Then watched it again! It's a story anyone of any age can understand. I think they feel good about the stories I tell--they get to ask lots of questions (the main one is "did babies die") and we discuss in great depth the why. Why slavery? Why poverty? Why hurricanes? Why earthquakes? I can't always answer the questions but we always discuss the issues. I think that they're developing a special understanding about the world through the stories I tell.

CNN Haiti Documentary "Rescued" Premieres Today

Rescued

Premieres: Sat. May 8,and Sun., May 9, 8 p.m., 11 p.m., 2 a.m. (one hour; all times Eastern)

CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien investigates the plight of those left most vulnerable in the wake of Haiti’s devastating earthquake – Haiti’s children in a new documentary, Rescued.

Told through the eyes of 7-year-old Cendy Jeune and former child slave Marckenson Oliphi, O’Brien reports on how Haiti’s orphans struggle to overcome immense obstacles – crushing poverty and the shame of child slavery.

Along the way, O’Brien interviews people connected to Haiti’s almost 400,000+ orphans – missionaries, aid workers, and relatives, all who themselves must overcome bureaucracies and a frail recovery from the powerful earthquake.

SoledadOBrien.info

CNN's "Rescued" Sneak Peek in Miami

Soledad O'Brien hosted a sneak peak of CNN's newest documentary, Rescued, at the University of Miami's Cosford Cinema this week.

The one-hour documentary describes the plight of hundreds of thousands of Haitian orphans before and after the January 12 quake.

The story is told through the eyes of two orphans, six-year old Cendy Jeune, described as a "gem with a tough exterior", and former restavek (child slave) Marc Kenson Oliphi. Two American missionaries, Susette and Bill Manassero saved the two young Haitians by bringing them into their orphanage, The Lighthouse.

O'Brien's team picked up the project from visual journalist Jonathan Olinger, who began shooting the orphanage in 2007. Beginning less than one week after the quake, O'Brien traveled to the island three times to complete the story.

The invitation-only event was presented by  The Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center and the UM School of Communication.

Rescued will air this Saturday, May 8, at 8 p.m.




SoledadOBrien.info

'Rescued' CNN Promo Clip

SoledadOBrien.info

"Rescued" Documentary on CNN

Rescued

Premiere: Sat. May 8,and Sun., May 9, 8 p.m., 11 p.m., 2 a.m. (one hour; all times Eastern)

CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien investigates the plight of those left most vulnerable in the wake of Haiti’s devastating earthquake – Haiti’s children in a new documentary, Rescued.

Told through the eyes of 7-year-old Cendy Jeune and former child slave Marckenson Oliphi, O’Brien reports on how Haiti’s orphans struggle to overcome immense obstacles – crushing poverty and the shame of child slavery.

Along the way, O’Brien interviews people connected to Haiti’s almost 400,000+ orphans – missionaries, aid workers, and relatives, all who themselves must overcome bureaucracies and a frail recovery from the powerful earthquake.

SoledadOBrien.info

CNN Documentary on Haitian Orphans

Soledad O'Brien's CNN documentary, Rescued, about orphans in Haiti will air May 8th.

SoledadOBrien.info