Haiti faces Brazil in a match filled with pride, history and hope
Dear friends,
Today, Haiti takes the field against Brazil in the Men’s World Cup.
For many Haitians, this is already a day to remember.
In a country carrying so much right now, moments of shared joy matter. Soccer has a way of doing that. It gathers people around radios, phones, televisions, neighborhood screens, and conversations. It gives people a reason to cheer together.
And today, Haiti is cheering.
The match itself is rich with meaning. Haiti, the world’s first free Black republic, will play Brazil, a country with one of the largest populations of African descent outside of Africa. It happens on Juneteenth, the day that marks the end of slavery in the United States. And it happens in Philadelphia, a city with a long and important history of free Black community life in America.
That is a lot of history meeting on one field.
Of course, it is soccer. There will be passes, missed chances, pressure, noise, frustration, and maybe a little magic. But for Haiti, it is also something else. It is a chance to be seen for more than crisis. More than headlines. More than hardship.
Today, the world will see Haitian players wearing the flag and carrying the pride of a nation that has never been easy to defeat in spirit.
At HRP, we know that feeling well. We see it in CODEP every day. We see it in the workers going to the forests, in the gardens being planted, in young leaders learning to organize new zones, and in people continuing the work even when the road is hard.
No matter what the scoreboard says, today is a celebration.
A celebration of Haiti.
A celebration of Black history across the Americas.
A celebration of pride, dignity, unity, and the stubborn joy of a people who keep going.
So today we cheer with Haiti.
Grenadye alaso.
Vive Haiti.
With pride and gratitude,
Haiti Reforestation Partnership