ENTRY DESCRIPTION
City Soleil is a small commune in Haiti, amidst war between gangs. People who live in this densely populated area tremble with horror, hearing the sound of gunfire day after day.Three years into photographing this town, the sound of gunshots rang out and this city became occupied by gangs. While COVID-19 was sweeping through the rest of the world, it was not a virus that was the major threat to these people. The carnage of 100 dead people of this city was the direct result of gun shots, not a pandemic. Sadly, half of the population consists of young people under the age of twenty-five as well as children. To be honest, I could not do much in this situation. After giving it a lot of thought, however, I was able to establish a music academy with an American musician couple. We received as donation variety of musical instruments from all over the world, contacted and cast local music teachers, and created opportunities for the children to learn music. Though it was a small beginning, we were in hope that these learning opportunities will engrave in the lives of children hope and happiness.

AUTHOR
Urim Hong is a editorial photographer who searches for light in the isolated world. After majoring in the humanities as well as pedagogy, he taught children for a decade and, in that process, found himself called to photography. He majored in photography at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. He captures various stories of the world on camera, including Haiti's City soleil project. He was selected as Editorial Photographer of the year at the 2018 IPA, 2019 MIFA and PDNedu Awards, 2020 / 2022 IPA Editorial/Press winner.

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