ABOUT

About HaitiChildren

Who We Are

HaitiChildren began in 1994 when Susie Krabacher made her first trip to Haiti and began helping the people of Cite Soleil. Today, HaitiChildren has grown to care for over 1,500 people daily in our programs.

HaitiChildren is a non profit organization for Haiti Children that provides care and education to abandoned, orphaned, and disabled children in Haiti. In our 25-year history, we have cared for Haiti’s most vulnerable children and established a reputation for excellence in our comprehensive and community-based programming. Including free water distribution to the communities.

HaitiChildren has developed systems and procedures that create a healthy environment and work to bring about systemic and lasting solutions for this overlooked population. We provide food, shelter, education, and most importantly, a loving environment that builds character and integrity.

Together With You, We Achieved

2000 Trees

Planted

1,500+ Beneficiaries

of Daily Programs

224 Jobs

Created

20,000+ Gal of Water

Provided per Week

Our Philosophy

HaitiChildren believes that the best way to address Haiti’s overarching social and political problems is from within. The change will only be sustainable if economic and social behaviors are altered to ensure better outcomes for the next generation of Haitians. The organization is striving to equip Haitian children with the tools to solve their national issues and bring social and economic stability and democracy to their country.

HaitiChildren does not believe in removing children from their native country and their community. We do not participate in or facilitate adoptions. Rather, our care philosophy is to provide essential services to children at risk in Haiti and give them a life of hope, healing, and possibility. HaitiChildren has grown organically to meet the needs of the population it serves. For example, when children in our care facilities needed schooling, HaitiChildren began to teach classes at a building on the facility’s original site in Port-au-Prince.

It was evident that the surrounding community also needed quality schooling, while at the same time, HaitiChildren needed the approval and support of the community in order to remain a secure and safe place for staff and children. To address that imperative, HaitiChildren expanded its services and opened the John Branchizio School which today teaches 450 children in primary and secondary classes.

Our Operations

HaitiChildren works primarily in the areas around Port-au-Prince and the Arcahaie areas in the west. Since the earthquake, the focus of our operations has been our HaitiChildren Village. The village located in Arcahaie is a 60,000-square-foot permanent infrastructure.

It is comprised of three residential care buildings, two school buildings, a community center church, a children’s rehabilitation center, two clinics, a soccer field, a farm, three greenhouses, an employee residence, a recreation hall, and two water therapy pools. The entire village is completely contained within security walls. Two water wells with the capacity to filter 10,000 gallons of water daily service the community. HaitiChildren also operates two other schools, one in Port-au-Prince and the other in Williamson.

Today, HaitiChildren employs 224 nationals in jobs such as teachers, doctors, nurses, therapists, house mothers (continuous childcare), building engineers, accountants, cooks, and cleaning staff. The impact on the lives of the children in our program and the Haitians we employ is substantial and deep-in-many cases, the difference between life and death, and in others, the difference between a life of poverty and a life of promise.

Our Methodology

HaitiChildren has developed systems, procedures, and evaluation measures for all areas of our operations. Each service area includes an orientation and training segment for new employees. In our care facilities, for example, each child is evaluated with the goal of assessing his or her needs and then developing a care plan that will allow the child to become as independent and self-sufficient as possible within his or her own limitations.

OUR APPROACH INCLUDES:

taking a history of each child- to the extent possible
performing triage to determine the child’s physical and psychological ailments
determining strategies appropriate to each child for improving their health and well-being
needs-assessment and grouping of children by needs
assigning specific caregivers
developing alternative paths for life skills training and education based on a child’s physical and mental capabilities
inculcating moral and religious values as part of a child’s psychological and social growth
teaching every child to integrate handicapped children into his/her worldview and daily routine

Our Over-arching Objective

As a one of the nonprofit organizations helping Haiti, HaitiChildren’s niche is the care of abandoned, disabled and orphaned children from birth to 18 years of age. Our Haitian NonProfit Organization operations have garnered worldwide attention and praise for the care we provide special needs children. Our over-arching objective is to expand care to more children around the country and to ensure the sustainability of services for abandoned and disabled children. To reach that goal, we must disseminate our programs and help other non-governmental organizations along with Haitian government entities to improve their existing programs and begin new ones.