NEVER BEFORE EXPERIENCED LEVEL OF CRISIS IN HAITI

Greetings HaitiChildren Family!

By now many of you are familiar with the political unrest and gang activity that has been plaguing the nation of Haiti. From massive inflation to fuel shortages, kidnappings, shootings, protests, gang violence, and road closures, Haiti has experienced the worst year in its history. These ongoings have been seen on an especially large scale over the course of the last three months. These serious and important situations have required a great deal of attention as the good people of Haiti strategize to overcome their current plight, and outside world leaders confer on their strategy to help. As these complicated issues continue on, the nation has now begun to experience the drawn-out effects of the horror they’ve been subjected to.

While safety and well-being have been the struggle and concern for most citizens for some time, they now face unprecedented challenges to outright survive! The gangs running rampant in Haiti have created a blockade that is starving the country. With gangs targeting the main ports, no ships have been able to dock for more than a month. This is a DISASTER for a nation that imports around 60% of all food and more than 80% of its rice, a huge part of most Haitian diets.Adding to the problem is that much of the food already IN the country has been subject to looting or is unable to be delivered/disbursed as gang violence and massive protests paralyze the nation. Many if not all of the organizations like ours are struggling to find ways around the current set of challenges to ensure that our children and staff have the basic necessities. It is truly a time of great peril as we work around the clock, navigating dangerous scenarios to deliver the essentials.

The World Food Programme has announced that hunger has now reached a “catastrophic level” for the FIRST TIME EVER in Haiti. While 4.7 million people already do not have enough to eat and 1.8 million are at the emergency stage of hunger, there are now 19,000 people in the capital’s Cité Soleil neighborhood at this catastrophic level. What this means is that the people now face the confirmed threat of death by starvation unless they can be reached with emergency food. The reliance on such a significant amount of imported food as mentioned earlier is certainly something that needs to be addressed. But the immediate crisis of survival is where the focus must be for now. On top of all these challenges, a Cholera outbreak has now plagued the nation and poses yet another threat to survival within a nation that has poor sanitary conditions in general.Read More

The US has just dispatched the Coast Guard to aid efforts to free up the ports from the reign of gangs. Additionally, with a combined effort from the Canadians, a long-delayed consignment of equipment such as armored vehicles was delivered at the start of this week to assist the Haitian Police Forces in their mission to restore order and safety. We pray for the success of these missions while understanding our role to play in ensuring the survival of vulnerable people.

With our neighbors being less than 600 miles from our coast, we must heed the call to action as Haiti suffers through these unprecedented times. While many around the world know the US to be a nation of great wealth and prosperity, it should also be noted that we are a nation of kind-hearted humanitarians. A people who will not stand idly by while our neighbors suffer thru such turmoil.HaitiChildren knows this to be true, and the success of our mission has relied upon that fact for the last 28 years in Haiti. The current situation will prove to be not one that breaks us, but one that further strengthens our reach and impact, and grows the commitments from the incredible constituents in the HaitiChildren family. Please be encouraged to reach out to us directly for additional information and to help us create sustainable change in the lives of so many who deserve our help!Click Here To HelpAnother great way to help our mission would be to share this newsletter with friends that have not yet joined the HaitiChildren Family. You can also donate to HaitiChildren by buying your products on Amazon. Take a look at this link for more instructions…https://haitichildren.org/amazon-smile/