Here’s a new shot of my friend Petra Nemcova and I posing for the Canadian shoe brand Browns. As you may know (if you have seen my film Letters to Haiti), Haiti holds a huge place in my heart and that’s something both she and I had in common. Petra is an ambassador at large for Haiti and does incredible work through the Happy Hearts Fund.
If you’d like to watch the film about Haiti my husband, James, and I created go HERE.
Watching ‘Letters To Haiti’ - By Joshua Wong
If you go to my newly-verified Google+ account today you’ll find an exclusive collection of pictures from my ‘Letters To Haiti’ event last week. An incredible crowd attended the event and we received huge support from the fashion community. Look out for some of your (and my) favorite models like Behati Prinsloo, Karlie Kloss, Hilary Rhoda, Julia Dunstall, Isabeli Fontana and Julia Stagner in the crowd - not to mention amazing designers like Jeremy Scott, Zac Posen and Rebecca Minkoff!
GO HERE FOR ALL THE PICTURES - GOOGLE+
Oh and if you haven’t seen the full film yet, check it out on my YouTube channel!
Last night James and I enjoyed the amazing New York premiere of our short film at Milk Studios with an audience of about 500 friends and colleagues. Now, I am happy to be able to present to you all:
LETTERS TO HAITI
a James Conran Film
Featuring Coco Rocha, Behati Prinsloo, Micki Schneider, James Conran & Cedrick Roche.
Directed by James Conran
Filmed by Gibert Le, Ben Fordham & James Conran
Edited by James Conran, Gilbert Le & Zach Jumper
Music by The Conservatory, Justin Millar, KrafTim and Rookie Of The Year.
www.lakaypam.org
TONIGHT - Milk Studios
Please RSVP through info@lakayPAM.org to make sure your name is on the list!
Coco Rocha on “Letters To Haiti”
December 5th, 2011 / Horacio Silva
Coco Rocha slinks down the catwalk like it’s nobody’s business, but she also knows how to walk it like she talks it. A social entrepreneur in training heels, the Canadian-born Coco is involved with several charities, including LakayPAM, a non-for-profit organization that provides more than 500 orphans in Haiti with shelter, food, medical care and education. (Haitian-born Cedrick Roche and his wife Carolina Bittencourt founded the charity.) Earlier this year, Coco and another model friend Behati Prinsloo visited Haiti to see the devastation first-hand and to deliver the children with letters from the international pen-pal initiative she started for them. A screening of a documentary short of the trip, and an accompanying exhibition for charity, is being held on Wednesday night at Milk Studios. Horacio Silva caught up with the conscionable cutie.
HS: How did the film, which I know is a real labor of love and was directed by your husband James Conran, come to be?
When the earthquake in Haiti hit, James and I were in an airport and we began to talk about what needed to be done and specifically what we could do. We teamed up with a friend of ours Carolina, whose husband Cedrick is Haitian, and hosted a great event for their charity LakayPAM. We sold a whole bunch of stuff with proceeds going to the kids. Six months later did the same thing, but instead of continuing this way, we thought, ‘We need to kinda see what these kids are all about, who they really are, put a name to the face.’
So we decided to go to Haiti and bring a video crew showing what people are doing, what their money is going towards. Kids love tactile things, and although they know that there are funds coming in, they don’t really understand it all. We figured that what a kid needs above anything is love and so we had this idea to have kids around the world write these letters to these kids, so they would have something tangible and in return they would write back to them.
HS: What was the reaction like?
Amazing. I got emails of people saying, ‘Thank you very much, it made me feel like I could contribute from my neighborhood.’ So it not only helped the young kids there in Haiti, but also helped kids around the world feel better about being able to help.
HS: So what about the actual trip, what was that like? I’m assuming that neither of you had ever been there before.
No, never. We left in the middle of winter in New York and we arrived to sweltering heat. You arrive to an airport that is mostly collapsed. It is still a temporary hangar and all very haphazard. From the minute you arrive you realize that you’re approaching a very chaotic situation. It’s definitely a culture shock.
HS: How safe is it?
Well, we rented cars and drove ourselves through the streets, but we had a bodyguard with us at all times because there are a lot of kidnappings still, especially of visitors and aid workers. Cedrick came with us and gave us curfews and would specify areas that weren’t safe to go into.
HS: What’s the biggest take away from the experience?
You assume these kids would just have a gloomy life and be always in such despair and depressed, but it’s not the case. They were just so excited that we were giving them attention. Show them a little bit of attention and they are your best friend for the rest of the time you’re there…they become your shadow.
HS: It comes across in footage that I saw.
They’re super sweet. But a lot of the adults were kind of over the whole thing. They see us showing up with video cameras, and you know, how many times have they seen video cameras, and nothing’s changed, nothing’s helping. So I could tell that the adults in the area were just like, ‘Get that out of my face.’ But the kids just love cameras.
HS: What else happens in the movie?
Basically, we go there and discover that not much has been the year that has past. Only 6 percent of the rubble has been moved and the place is still in a mess. But these small orphanages are functioning smoothly and have a caring environment. We go to a tent city and see how people are still living there, with seemingly no hope of ever getting out. We see that the country still needs a lot of help. Even though from the perspective of people in America, where people figure that a lot of money has been sent to Haiti, they think Haiti should be fine. It’s hard to know where the money has gone in general but it hasn’t appeared to benefit the average person there at all.
I’m sure there are any number of people who have fattened their pockets through that money, but the average person has not seen the benefit of that money.
HS: So where to now with this project?
LakayPAM supports a few orphanages in Port au Prince. They also fund a soccer program for a few hundred boys. For some of these boys, the only square meal that they get in a day is at soccer practice. But they want to continue to expand. Right now they have about four or five hundred children that they aid through the program, but obviously there is a whole country full of children that could use their help.
Their newest program is giving well-bred bulls to the farmers so they can produce better cattle. The farmers have nothing really. So sort of random things that you feel would necessarily have an impact, help change.
HS: What’s the plan for tomorrow night at MILK Studios?
We’re going to be showing the video here and at the same time they will have all the pictures that Behati, who is a really good photographer, took on the trip. Then we hope to have some famous photographers auction off some of their work so that we can make the most amount of money for the kids.
HS: Do you plan to go back?
Yes, we’d love to. Maybe early next year, we’ll see how things are progressing down there.
HS: And, if kids want to send letters now is it too late?
Definitely not too late. They can be sent care of Wilhelmina. And once we get a certain chunk of them, Cedrick will then take them down and start the process all over again.
Photos By: Behati Prinsloo
CANADA: Win tickets to the premiere of “Letters to Haiti”
Together with FLARE Magazine I’m proud to announce the exclusive event where I will premiere my new documentary, “Letters to Haiti,” on Thursday, October 13th. The film follows Behati Prinsloo and I as we visited Haiti, one year after a terrible earthquake ravaged the landscape. (To see the trailer go HERE.)
You and a guest could win tickets to the invite-only red carpet event and screening at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto. You could also be selected to take home a limited edition print photo by Behati Prinsloo herself! To enter, go to FLARE.com right now! Entries open today and close October 9th, so hurry!!
*Contest is open to residents of Ontario only who are over 19 years of age. Winner will be selected randomly and will take place at FLARE’s offices on October 10, 2011.
P.s. If you don’t make it to the event in person, we’ll be live streaming “Letters to Haiti”’ across Canada exclusively on FLARE.com the evening of the event. The film begins at 8:00PM on October 13th. To read more about LakayPAM go HERE.
FREE COCO - By Darrell Hartman for style.com
Photo: Coco Rocha’s Instagram
Coco Rocha is spending some quality time in New York this summer—but not necessarily by choice. “I’m actually stuck here in the States for two months. We’re in the midst of my green card application,” the Vancouver native told us last night at a rooftop party at David Yurman’s offices. It’s not quite the same as house arrest, but if you’re used to jetting around as much as this particular international fashion model, it can probably start to feel like it. Rocha and her husband, James Conran, smartly squeezed in trips to Tulum and Argentina before the travel restriction took effect. “If I want to work, I have to leave sometimes,” Rocha said. Now, she joked, “I feel like I’m not allowed to leave my couch. Everyone has to come see me.”
She’s hoping to have her wings again by September, when she plans to take a Haiti documentary she filmed with Behati Prinsloo up to Toronto. If her status hasn’t changed by then, Rocha said, “I’m supposed to plead with the government to allow me out.” Word of advice, fair Coco: Try to make your case in person.
LETTERS TO HAITI - A James Conran Film, coming soon.
I gave my Facebook fans an exclusive preview of this trailer last week, but
now I’m happy to show it to everyone!I The full length short film is coming out in a little over 6 weeks from now. Stay tuned for details on when and where we will be showing!
AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT “LETTERS TO HAITI” - In February Behati Prinsloo and I took a group of friends down to Port-au-Prince Haiti to assess the progress made in the year since the devastating earthquake had ravaged the country. What we found was a group of very hopefull children surrounded by a very desperate situation.
In September my husband James and I will be releasing a short film we have created about our experience in Haiti but you can watch the trailer right now on YouTube.
P.S Notice the children in their adorable “Team Cohati” t-shirts courtesy Modelina.com
LOU LOU - Three weeks ago I announced my partnership with Jacob on a completely Photoshop free campaign for the Canadian brand. Lou Lou magazine met up with me at the Old Port in Montreal to watch the shoot take place and to ask me a few questions about the campaign, Haiti and my nerdy use of social media. Have a look…
A few weeks ago I posted a teaser of the journal I wrote documenting my trip to Haiti. If you haven’t been able to get your hands on a copy of the issue of FLARE magazine where my journal and Behati Prinsloo’s photos were printed, here is the text in full. Please do read it:
LETTER FROM HAITI
By Coco Rocha
I first saw the reports of the massive earthquake in Haiti a little over a year ago. I was sitting in an airport and I’ll never forget the shocking scenes of destruction, death and chaos. I knew I had to do something. Since then, I’ve been helping raise money in New York for a non-profit organization called LakayPAM (“my home”). It helps provide more than 500 orphans in Haiti with shelter, food, medical care and education.
Despite our success with fundraising events in New York, I still felt very distant and disconnected from the people and the children I was trying to help. What I really wanted was to actually see the children of Haiti. My husband, James, and I started planning our trip last year. The first person we enlisted to join us was my good friend and fellow model Behati Prinsloo. I asked Behati because she has such a big heart. A few years ago, I had a great time helping her at her dad’s soup kitchen in Namibia, Africa. She gladly signed on as our trip’s photographer. The next person we called was Gilbert Le, the filmmaker who created our beautiful wedding film last summer. He and his cinematographer, Ben, were on board to meet us in New York when we headed down to Haiti in mid-January.
As I started gathering the toys I wanted to give to the children, I thought about what they really needed. It occurred to me that many of the orphans had lost so many people in their lives that what they probably needed most was the love of another human being. I decided to create a pen pal program to deliver these children messages of hope and love from other kids. I put the word out on my blog (oh-so-coco.tumblr.com) and letters immediately started flooding in from every corner of the globe. In the final week before our trip I spent most evenings hunched over my computer, reading, editing and translating every letter into French - the language most children are taught to read in Haiti.
January 22
A final batch of letters arrives from a French school in Canada - they make my translation job that much easier. They are from very young school children and are absolutely adorable. Most start by saying their name and grade, and then explaining how many brothers and sisters they have, or how desperately they want a dog. They talk about their favorite sport, color or how they love to dance, read and write. All of the children explain how they’re thinking of the Haitian children, thousands of miles away, and that although times are rough, they will eventually get better. They all end with “Please write me back.” I hope they do!
January 23
My agent, Micki, and Behati are downstairs waiting at 6:30am, and we all head to the airport. I am surprised by how close Haiti is - it’s just a three-hour flight from New York. As we descend, I see what looks like a tropical paradise: beaches, blue sea, lush greenery and, in the distance, a massive city in the bay. As we get closer, I begin to make out the details of Port-au-Prince. What I thought were houses are actually makeshift tents, thousands of them, one stacked on top of the next.
Moments before we land it becomes clear to me that what looked so perfect from afar is actually in total chaos. Stepping off the plane, I’m immediately hit by a wall of heat. At the airport, we see our first example of the earthquake’s power. Most of the terminal is cracked and zoned unsafe so the customs and immigration have been moved to a makeshift hangar a bus ride away. I say “makeshift” but a year later this is probably as permanent as they can expect. We leave the airport for our first trip through Port-au-Prince. People are everywhere, and piles of rubble are heaped in the middle of what were once major roadways. There are no rules to the road as James learns to navigate the madness of the streets. To my right we pass a massive tent city in what was once a beautiful city park. All I can see are tents and the smell is of rotting garbage and unsanitary conditions. I see a woman bathing her baby in the gutter. The sheer number of people living this way is staggering. Across the street from the tent city is the former Haitian Palace. It looks like it was once the size and grandeur of the White House but now appears to be a giant heap of stones - as fitting a symbol as I can imagine for this country’s state.
January 24
After breakfast, we head to Oeuvre Notres Dames Des Victoires, an orphanage with a school in the heart of Port Au Prince. Before the earthquake, the complex consisted of two buildings: a school in the back and an orphanage in the front. The earthquake destroyed one of the two buildings so now all 400 children are crammed into half the space. Some classes are being held in what would have ordinarily been hallways. The cafeteria is now home to about five different classes and we hear the teachers reading the words off the chalk board and the children repeating them in a haunting chant.
Apparently, many babies have begun showing up at orphanages in the last few months - the result of rape in the madness following the earthquake. Half of them are sleeping, a few are quietly playing, but one just keeps crying. I’m told that he arrived today and doesn’t understand what is going on. No one is holding him - he has a painful rash all over his body. I try to comfort him, brushing my fingers against his little fingers. It’s devastating to see him suffering like this, so alone.
Outside, hundreds of children are leaving their classes. Behati and I spend an hour playing, dancing and taking lots of pictures in the hot midday sun. There is nothing as contagious as the happiness of a child. After a very depressing tour of the city, this visit is exactly what we need.
After leaving the school in Port-Au-Prince, we head up the mountain to a tiny orphanage, Orphelinat Souer Solange, of 22 children that LakayPAM supports. We give them all gifts: model airplanes, yo-yos, bouncy balls, art supplies and stickers. Once they realize that they can keep the toys, they are ecstatic. A circle of about eight girls forms around me as they immediately get to work on their drawings.
Before we leave, the children get together to sing a song they have made up. At first they are a little shy but by the end they are belting out the tune. I get goosebumps and can’t stop smiling.
January 25
We wake up before dawn and head back to the orphanage up in the hills. Our little friends are already either eating breakfast or standing in line to have sunscreen applied. I learn that all children must wear a uniform in order to attend school. I think of the children living in the tent city I saw yesterday. How could they afford a uniform? I spin one little girl around in the backyard. Putting her down, another little girl waits with her hands out. Next, every child wants to be spun around again and again and again. Behati joins me and we spin until we can’t see straight.
After our good-byes we travel back to the big school in Port-au-Prince. Today, we’re giving the children the letters. We bring a map of the world and explain to the five- and six-year old kids that these letters are from children all around the world. I don’t think they understand my pen pal concept but they love having us around. As we hand out the letters - mainly drawings with few words - they excitedly show them to each other. The teacher promises that the children will draw pictures in return. The next room is packed with more than fifty children who listen carefully as I explain the concept of the letters. Once they start reading - and can see that strangers care about them - I can see the excitement in their eyes. My hours of translating are worth every thrilled little face.
January 26
Today we walk around the city. Every street is full of people selling and trading random things like fruit, cups or shoes… sometimes all three on one table. We walk around the outskirts of a tent city - it’s too dangerous to go much further. A lady takes us into her tent so that we can see how she lives. I see a bed made of a flat tin sheet elevated off the ground (and out of the rain water) with a few old blankets. Clothes hang from the ceiling and a small hot plate is tucked in a corner.
Our final stop of the trip is a soccer camp that LakayPAM funds. It’s a long drive and when we arrive, about a hundred young boys are practising. For many of these boys, the food they get at camp is the only real meal they will get that day. Behati and I start kicking around a ball with some little boys off to one side and before I know it, I’m drawn into the game. Before leaving, we hand out 15 soccer balls that Micki has brought. They are so thrilled to have extra balls to practise with.
January 27
As we leave Haiti, I’m struck by what I did not see. Other than a few old women trying to sweep piles of rubble and dust, I didn’t see any significant clean-up efforts. I can remember just one occasion where I witnessed any construction and that was at the school in Port-au-Prince. If you asked the average Canadian, I suspect they would think that the worst of Haiti’s troubles are over - but it seems like nothing much is happening. A year has already passed since the earthquake struck; I just hope that we don’t allow an entire generation of children to grow up in this chaos.
Haiti has to stay in our minds and hearts. If this trip proved one thing to me, it’s that the children still need us, and I will not give up.
By Coco Rocha
*Flare has donated Coco and Behati’s writing and photography fees to LakayPAM. For more information and to donate, visit Lakaypam.org
TEEN VOGUE - May 2011 issue
Thank you to Teen Vogue who joins this month’s Flare magazine in covering the trip to Haiti Behati and I recently made. Stay tuned to this blog for my diary of the entire experience (For Canada, it’s available in the pages of Flare right now) and for a very special short film my husband and I are producing.
Letter From Haiti
- My diary in this month’s Flare.
It’s now been 3 months since my trip to Haiti and I’m sure a few of you have been wondering what it was like. I’m very pleased to let you know that Flare magazine has offered to print my entire diary of the trip in a special article, out this month. In the article you’ll also find the photography of my good friend Behati Prinsloo, which I can tell you is absolutely beautiful.
I’d like to thank Flare for giving me the opportunity to share my message with its readers, and I’d also like to thank them publicly for the very gracious donation they made to the actual orphanages we visited.
Please go out and get your copy today, I promise it’s a good read! If you don’t have access to Flare magazine, I will be posting the diary on here in a month’s time. I’m also excited to let you know that James is hard at work on putting together our first documentary - a film all about our special project in Haiti!
COCO & BEHATI IN MARCH VOGUE
American Vogue,
Patrick Demarchelier
If you’ve already got your March copy of American Vogue, you might have seen a couple of appearances by Behati and I. The first is an article about the recent trip to Haiti we took together - I promise you more information is coming out soon regarding that, including a special short film James and I have been producing!! Behati and I are also featured on a two page spread for Loft photographed by Mr. Patrick Demarchelier.
