In Haiti, 80% of children in orphanages have at least one living parent.
We support vulnerable families to prevent them from separating and children ending up in orphanages.
Supporting families is a central part of our ministry which started in Cité Soleil and today we have families in different cities of Haiti.
In Cité Soleil, many women raise their children alone. Families help each other by sharing. They manage to survive thanks to mutual aid but sometimes a simple illness, the loss of a small job, the death of a loved one can quickly change the balance and force them to “give” their children to friends, family away or to an orphanage.
This is why we support these families at risk, very poor and vulnerable families. We help them to keep hope by fixing their eyes on Jesus and we try together to find lasting solutions. No, the solutions do not come from us, we are moving forward together. It takes time to understand the context of the family, to understand the ins and outs and to find long-term solutions.
We often start by supporting the children for schooling, medical expenses if necessary and we also offer occasional food aid.
After, we discuss to set up a small business which allows them a daily income of money. And more and more, we are trying to relocate these families outside of Cité Soleil, outside of everyday gang violence.
We want to equip them and allow them to take care of their child while remaining as independent as possible, so that our help is an accompaniment and not a dependance.