In Haiti, Single Moms Struggle With Camp Life

"In the organized camp of Corail, set on a barren gravel plain to the north of Port-au-Prince, two sheets of cloth and a tarp are all that separate Ridlan Duvalier and her 4-month-old baby from the elements.
Duvalier's camp — where 6,500 people live in long lines of white tents — is considered one of the better ones.

Duvalier is alone in the tent with her baby. Her boyfriend died in the earthquake. Her parents refused to take her in because she was pregnant, and she ended up with a friend at the golf course camp. They moved together to this camp. But just before she gave birth, her friend asked her to leave. So the camp managers gave Duvalier her own place. The tent is barren. A few clothes are tossed in the corner. There are two buckets of water and a washbasin. Duvalier and her baby sleep on some blankets that she has laid on top of a piece of plywood.

There's no food given out at the camp. With a newborn, Duvalier says, there's no way she can go into Port-au-Prince to seek work. So she relies on the kindness of her neighbors to eat. "This is very common," the pastor says about Duvalier's situation. He says many single mothers end up having several boyfriends. He doesn't call it prostitution, but he says the boyfriends help the mothers survive financially."