Artists for Peace and Justice

Paul Haggis is an Oscar-winning film director and screenwriter. In this ONE ON ONE interview, Paul states his belief that fame must be used to bring attention to worthy causes. Paul first went to Haiti in 2008 (long before the devastating earthquake of 2010) to try and find a man he had heard about who had been working in Haiti's slums for over 20 years. After finding the man and observing his work, Paul saw he was able "to do so much with so little." The experience compelled him to start Artists for Peace and Justice, a charity organization that supports communities in Haiti through programs in education. "We decided that we weren't going to solve Haiti's problems, the Haitians were," he says. Paul decided that the best way to empower the Haitian people was through EDUCATION. After learning that Haiti had never had a high school for kids of the slums, Artists for Peace and Justice founded, just a few months after the quake in a temporary structure, the first middle and high school. The school now has grades 7 to 10, and will soon have grades 11 to 13. "Good intentions mean nothing at all," he says of his charity work. "It's actions. It's only actions."
Please take the time to watch the story of William below and listen to the song he wrote with his brother at the end of the video clip ("Together We Will Go Far")
-- View One on One series Trailer
-- Browse APJ's video clips




Together We Will Go Far - Vhernier from APJ Now on Vimeo.