The pond is a different color every time she visits, the coloration due to pollutants and algae blooms.

“This is where they dump the trash, the children play and the pigs browse for food,” says Leisa Faulkner, describing the pond in Shada. This urban slum in Haiti, she says, is perhaps the poorest community in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

Faulkner is doing what she can to help, via an organization called Children’s Hope.

During her aid missions to Haiti, she takes photographs like the one you see here. “I hope you see in these children’s eyes some of the fierce determination that lifts me whenever I visit,” Faulkner said by e-mail.

Some of her photographs are on display at UC Davis during fall quarter, as part of the Campus Community Book Project. This year’s book, Mountains Beyond Mountains, tells the story of Paul Farmer, a Boston physician who also is helping the people of Haiti.

Next week, Faulkner is due on campus to give a talk, “Haiti’s Hope.” It is scheduled for 6 p.m. Nov. 20 in the Memorial Union’s Art Lounge (formerly The Gallery, on the MU’s second floor). Then, at 7 p.m. in the same place, a reception is planned for Faulkner in conjunction with her talk and exhibits. The talk and reception are free and open to the public.

ON THE NET

Children’s Hope: 2childrenshope.org

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS

All events are open to the public, and all are free except the author’s address at 8 p.m. Dec. 1. This year’s book is Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, the Man Who Would Cure the World.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Nov. 15-16—Weekend of Service: Focus on Health and Hunger. Human Corps, Internship and Career Center. More information: (530) 752-3813 or humancorps.ucdavis.edu.

Nov. 18—The Impact of HIV-AIDS in the Sacramento Region. Emily Tuscida, Debra Drayton, Jonathan Berg and Michael Jentes of Sacramento’s Center of AIDS Research, Education and Services (CARES). 4:10-5:30 p.m., MU II, Memorial Union.

Nov. 19—Infectious Diseases: Think Locally and Globally. School of Medicine and Student Health Services. International Education Week Student Fair. 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Freeborn Hall.

Nov. 21—Global Food Situation: Viewpoints of Selected UC Davis Faculty Members. Kay Dewey, Nutrition; Tu Jarvis and Stephen Vosti, Agricultural and Resource Economics; and Pam Ronald, Plant Pathology. Noon-1:30 p.m., Cabernet Room, Silo.

Nov. 21—Building Community Partnerships for Health: Improving People’s Health by Improving Poultry Health in Rural Communities. Liz Miller, UC Davis Health System, and David Bunn, Wildlife Health Center. Noon-1 p.m., 2222 Education Building (Sacramento Campus).

ONGOING EXHIBITS

Photography—Haiti’s Hope, by Leisa Faulkner, with three themes in three venues:

• Lavalas and the Preferential Option for the Poor—C.N. Gorman Museum, Hart Hall Atrium, through Dec. 16.

• Poverty With Dignity—Lobby and Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, through Dec. 2

• Shada’s Story—Art Lounge, MU (second floor), through Dec. 16.

Texts, images, books and newspaper headlines—Haiti in the 20th Century, Shields Library (first floor), through Dec. 1.

AIDS Memorial Quilt—Presented by the Office of Campus Community Relations and the Yolo County Health Department. Second- and third-floor lobbies, Mondavi Center, through Dec. 2.

FILMS

Nov. 17-21—Poto Mitan (work in progress). Multiple showings throughout the day. Art Lounge, MU (second floor).

Nov. 23—The Price of Sugar. Refreshments 7 p.m., screening 7:30-9, discussion 9-9:30. International House, 10 College Park, Davis.

AUTHOR’S VISIT

Dec. 1—Forum@MC: “No Boundaries—Globalizing Health Care from Haiti to California and Beyond.” Moderated by Michael Wilkes, School of Medicine. 4-5 p.m., Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center.

Dec. 1—Author’s address: “The Problem With Goodness—The Story of Paul Farmer.” 8 p.m., Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center. Tickets required: (530) 754-2787 or (866) 754-2787, or www.mondaviarts.org.

See the complete schedule: occr.ucdavis.edu/ccbp2008/events.html

The campus bookstore is selling the paperback at a discounted price of $9.95.