The coffin of Anaira Jules sits on display at Salem Baptist Church in Grand-Bera, Haiti, April 17, 2021. Jules who lived her whole life in a small hamlet in rural Haiti,?had never set foot on a plane. But for her last journey, she was sent off in a gleaming white, plane-shaped coffin complete with a wing-tail and illuminated portholes. "Ever since I was little, my mother would tell me it was important for her that her funeral go well," said Jules' youngest daughter, Fredeline. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Sisters Fredeline Alfred and Carine Alfred are shown the lights for the airplane-shaped coffin chosen for their recently deceased mother, Anaira Jules, at a morgue in Saint-Marc, Haiti, April 17, 2021. Jules who lived her whole life in a small hamlet in rural Haiti,?had never set foot on a plane. But for her last journey, she was sent off in a gleaming white, plane-shaped coffin complete with a wing-tail and illuminated portholes. "Ever since I was little, my mother would tell me it was important for her that her funeral go well," said Jules' youngest daughter, Fredeline. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Friends and family of Bily Romulus, who died in a motorcycle accident at the age of 18 carry the coffin to the cemetery in Thomassin, Haiti, April 25, 2021. Despite the country's poverty, funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake and fanfare bands. Haiti's death rites are viewed as important to guarantee a safe passage to the afterworld ? with cremations and organ donations rare because the deceased are deemed still to need their bodies - but also a way to mark one's social standing. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Friends and family of Bily Romulus, who died in a motorcycle accident at the age of 18, carry the coffin from the church of Sur la montagne de Gramothe to the cemetery in Thomassin, Haiti, April 25, 2021. Despite the country's poverty, funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake and fanfare bands. Haiti's death rites are viewed as important to guarantee a safe passage to the afterworld ? with cremations and organ donations rare because the deceased are deemed still to need their bodies - but also a way to mark one's social standing. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A pastor reads a last prayer for the deceased, Bily Romulus, in Thomassin, Haiti, April 25, 2021. Despite the country's poverty, funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake and fanfare bands. Haiti's death rites are viewed as important to guarantee a safe passage to the afterworld – with cremations and organ donations rare because the deceased are deemed still to need their bodies - but also a way to mark one's social standing. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Madame Sinistre, Berno and Voltaire, relatives of the deceased, Anaira Jules, dance with her coffin behind a marching band, in Grand-Bera, Haiti, April 17, 2021. Jules' youngest daughter, Fredeline Alfred (not pictured) said the funeral alone cost her family the equivalent of $2,122, while the wake cost another $3,000 – a fortune in a country where two-thirds of the population make less than $2 per day. Alfred said she struggled to pay rent and feed her family after paying so much. But it was all worth it for her mother. "The last time she spoke to me," she said, "she held me in her arms, and told me she would never stop loving me." REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A group of friends, neighbours and family, sing songs and pray with Dieufene Alerte, a "savannah father", halfway between a catholic priest and a voodoo houngan, in the remote countryside of Grand-Bera, Haiti, April 17, 2021. Traditions from the Afro-Caribbean religion Voodoo are often mixed with Christian ones. Voodoo undertakers called croque-mort?('dead-biter' in French) prescribe what families need to place in the coffins in order to assure a safe journey and ensure the dead are not turned into zombies. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Brother God and Brother Dielson perform at the Salem Baptist Church during the ceremony for Anaira Jules, in Grand-Bera, Haiti, April 17, 2021. The night before the funeral, around 200 people played dominos and cards, drank tea and bootleg rum and ate local dishes under a tarpaulin outside the family house as a DJ played evangelical music. "Ever since I was little, my mother would tell me it was important for her that her funeral go well," said Jules' youngest daughter, Fredeline Alfred (not pictured). REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Funeral guests say goodbye to the deceased, Anaira Jules, through the window of her coffin in Grand-Bera, Haiti, April 17, 2021. Jules who lived her whole life in a small hamlet in rural Haiti,?had never set foot on a plane. But for her last journey, she was sent off in a gleaming white, plane-shaped coffin complete with a wing-tail and illuminated portholes. "Ever since I was little, my mother would tell me it was important for her that her funeral go well," said Jules' youngest daughter, Fredeline. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

The grandchildren of the deceased, Anaira Jules, carry flowers to a tomb where the coffin will be placed in Grand-Bera, Haiti, April 17, 2021. Jules' youngest daughter, Fredeline (not pictured) said her family did not hold a funeral until three weeks after her mother's death, as they needed time to repaint her house to receive guests and build a new tomb. They rented a bus to transport guests from out of town, set up a tarpaulin in the courtyard, and put out tables and chairs for the wake, which is typically a festive affair in Haiti. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Women prepare food for the funeral of Anaira Jules taking place the following day, as a car headlight illuminates the courtyard in Grand-Bera, Haiti, April 16, 2021. Funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake where mourners may choose to dance, sing or tell jokes until dawn. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

The sister-in-law of the deceased falls to the ground after becoming overcome with emotion during the funeral of Chantal Montas, who died at the age of 42, at the Defender of the Christian Faith church in Belladere, Haiti, April 10, 2021. Despite the country's poverty, funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake, fanfare bands and dramatic displays of emotion. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A relative of the deceased mourns in front of the coffin of Chantal Montas, who died at the age of 42, at the Defender of the Christian Faith church in Belladere, Haiti, April 10, 2021. Haitians dress the corpses of their loved ones for funerals with an ease that perhaps reflects their familiarity with death. Disease, malnutrition and natural disasters are rife in the Caribbean country, while healthcare is poor, leading to the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the Western Hemisphere. The average life expectancy is just 64 years old. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Pastor Samson, prophet of the Defender of the Christian Faith church, reads a last prayer in Belladere Cemetery, Haiti, April 10, 2021. Despite the country's poverty, funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake and fanfare bands. Haiti's death rites are viewed as important to guarantee a safe passage to the afterworld ? with cremations and organ donations rare because the deceased are deemed still to need their bodies - but also a way to mark one's social standing. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A man fires bullets into the air as a sign of respect for the social standing of the deceased, Joseph Anselme Benoit, in Casale, Haiti, March 27, 2021. Despite the country's poverty, funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake and fanfare bands. Haiti's death rites are viewed as important to guarantee a safe passage to the afterworld ? with cremations and organ donations rare because the deceased are deemed still to need their bodies - but also a way to mark one's social standing. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Yolvida Desruisseaux irons the outfit she will wear to funeral of her godfather's father in Casale, Haiti, March 27, 2021. Desruisseaux said the tradition of turning a funeral into a multi-day social event was a balm to the soul of mourning families. "The family is sad but it's good to have this kind of ambience so we can smile a bit," she said. "The guests sometimes help us with tasks in the house and chat with us to help us get through the worst." REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Young friends of the family film the funeral of Joseph Anselme Benoit in Casale, Haiti, March 27, 2021. Despite the country's poverty, funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake and fanfare bands. Haiti's death rites are viewed as important to guarantee a safe passage to the afterworld ? with cremations and organ donations rare because the deceased are deemed still to need their bodies - but also a way to mark one's social standing. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A hearse carries the body of the deceased, Joseph Anselme Benoit, who died at the age of 89, to the church for the funeral in Casale, Haiti, March 27, 2021. Despite the country's poverty, funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake and fanfare bands. Haiti's death rites are viewed as important to guarantee a safe passage to the afterworld ? with cremations and organ donations rare because the deceased are deemed still to need their bodies - but also a way to mark one's social standing. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A woman stops to polish her shoes on the way to church in Casale, Haiti, March 27, 2021. Despite the country's poverty, funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake and fanfare bands. Haiti's death rites are viewed as important to guarantee a safe passage to the afterworld – with cremations and organ donations rare because the deceased are deemed still to need their bodies - but also a way to mark one's social standing. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Men play dominoes at the wake of Joseph Anselme Benoit, using corn kernels to count points, in Casale, Haiti, March 26, 2021. Funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake where mourners may choose to dance, sing or tell jokes until dawn. Chairs and tables are rented so that people can play dominoes, whether they know the deceased or not. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Friends and family of the deceased, Joseph Anselme Benoit, sit together in a room to recite voodoo songs and prayers, and drink clairin, in Casale, Haiti, March 26, 2021. Traditions from the Afro-Caribbean religion Voodoo are often mixed with Christian ones. Voodoo undertakers called croque-mort?('dead-biter' in French) prescribe what families need to place in the coffins in order to assure a safe journey and ensure the dead are not turned into zombies. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Men play dominoes at the wake of Joseph Anselme Benoit, using corn kernels to count points, in Casale, Haiti, March 26, 2021. Funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake where mourners may choose to dance, sing or tell jokes until dawn. Chairs and tables are rented so that people can play dominoes, whether they know the deceased or not. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Friends and family of the deceased, Joseph Anselme Benoit, sit together in a room to recite voodoo prayers in Casale, Haiti, March 26, 2021. Traditions from the Afro-Caribbean religion Voodoo are often mixed with Christian ones. Voodoo undertakers called croque-mort ('dead-biter' in French) prescribe what families need to place in the coffins in order to assure a safe journey and ensure the dead are not turned into zombies. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A family friend places coconut cassava on the deceased, Violette Jean, in Limbe, Haiti, March 20, 2021. Traditions from the Afro-Caribbean religion Voodoo are often mixed with Christian ones. Voodoo undertakers, called croque-mort ('dead-biter' in French), prescribe what families need to place in the coffins in order to assure a safe journey and ensure the dead are not turned into zombies. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Rode Naika Joseph, 13, and her brother Rodelin Joseph, 18, mourn with cousins and nephews of the deceased, Violette Jean, at the gates of the cemetery in Plaisance, Haiti, March 20, 2021. Despite the country's poverty, funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake and fanfare bands. Haiti's death rites are viewed as important to guarantee a safe passage to the afterworld ? with cremations and organ donations rare because the deceased are deemed still to need their bodies - but also a way to mark one's social standing. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

A band lead a procession, during the funeral of Violette Jean, on a 30-minute walk from the church to the cemetery gates in Plaisance, Haiti, March 20, 2021. Despite the country's poverty, funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake and fanfare bands. Haiti's death rites are viewed as important to guarantee a safe passage to the afterworld ? with cremations and organ donations rare because the deceased are deemed still to need their bodies - but also a way to mark one's social standing. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Family friends transport the casket of Violette Jean to the Limbe mortuary on a taptap (a form of public transportation), in Limbe, Haiti, March 20, 2021. Haitians dress the corpses of their loved ones for funerals with an ease that perhaps reflects their familiarity with death. Disease, malnutrition and natural disasters are rife in the Caribbean country, while healthcare is poor, leading to the highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the Western Hemisphere. The average life expectancy is just 64 years old. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

The deceased, Violette Jean, lies in a coffin, with stones placed in her hands and under her foot, in Limbe, Haiti, March 20, 2021. Traditions from the Afro-Caribbean religion Voodoo are often mixed with Christian ones. Voodoo undertakers, called croque-mort?('dead-biter' in French), prescribe what families need to place in the coffins in order to assure a safe journey and ensure the dead are not turned into zombies. Stones are placed in hands and under feet to help combat any evil spirits that may wish harm. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

The nephews of the deceased, Violette Jean, carry the casket to the family tomb at the cemetery in Plaisance, Haiti, March 20, 2021. Despite the country's poverty, funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake and fanfare bands. Haiti's death rites are viewed as important to guarantee a safe passage to the afterworld ? with cremations and organ donations rare because the deceased are deemed still to need their bodies - but also a way to mark one's social standing. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

A young trumpeter from a brass band plays a few notes outside the home of the deceased, Violette Jean, in Plaisance, Haiti, March 19, 2021. Despite the country's poverty, funerals are often extravagant social events in Haiti, complete with a festive wake and fanfare bands. Haiti's death rites are viewed as important to guarantee a safe passage to the afterworld – with cremations and organ donations rare because the deceased are deemed still to need their bodies - but also a way to mark one's social standing. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl SEARCH "HAITI FUNERALS" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES