Welcome to the island of Hispaniola! Which side would you like to visit—the Dominican Republic, or Haiti?

Most tourists choose the Dominican Republic. There, sandy beaches stretch for miles. Resorts stand tall near the bright blue sea. Natives of the Dominican Republic are usually not rich. But most can make enough money to live on. About 90 percent of them can read. Good roads help them get from place to place.

It hardly seems like Haiti could be on the same island! Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. In Haiti, it can take an hour just to drive a mile. Only about half of Haitians can read. Many children in Haiti die of hunger. Why are things so different there?

Geography. Hispaniola’s mountains block rain from Haiti. The northeast trade winds blow the rain toward the Dominican Republic instead. Haiti has rugged land. Add all those things together, and you get poor conditions for farming. That means little food for a growing population.

Poverty. Would you be able to live on just one dollar every day? Half of the people in Haiti live on less than that! Because they have little money, they have to eat whatever they can grow—which isn’t much! It doesn’t help that in Haiti, public services like school cost money.

Deforestation. Once, great forests stood in Haiti. The trees helped protect the soil. They helped prevent flooding, Now only two percent of those forests are left! That exposes Haiti to natural disasters and harms farming.

Selfish Leaders. Throughout history, other nations have treated Haitians badly. They took land and used Haitians as slaves. Later, Haiti’s own rulers sold their people to the Dominican Republic to cut sugar cane cheaply. Now Haiti has more people than the Dominican Republic does. But the nation has not recovered from its difficult history.