HAITI

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Help One Now is supporting orphan prevention & family empowerment projects in Port-au-Prince, Kenscoff, Drouin, Ferrier, and Pestel.

These projects focus on education, health care, micro-enterprise, family preservation, family reunification, and spiritual development to keep vulnerable children WITH their families.

THE HELP ONE NOW APPROACH

ONE CHILD

When we sponsor a child, we work as hard as possible to ensure that our sponsored kids today will never need a sponsorship program for their children. This is what we believe breaking the cycle of extreme poverty practically looks like.

ONE FAMILY

Help One Now empowers families, through economic intiatives and training opportunities . Our Family Empowerment Program shifts the narrative; it helps keep struggling families together, and breaks cycles of poverty.

ONE COMMUNITY

We serve in some of the poorest communities in the world. When we partner with local leaders in these communities we have a far better chance of creating sustainable efforts that will ultimately end extreme poverty.

THE REALITY

As the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 77% of its 10 million people living below the poverty line, Haiti struggles to take care of its most vulnerable population. In 2008, there was an estimated 440,000 true orphans (those without both parents) in the country of Haiti. After the devastating earthquake of 2010, estimates exceeded 500,000. Today, it is difficult to determine the true number of orphans in Haiti. Many other factors contribute to at risk children in Haiti. Parents may not be able to take care of their children because of social, cultural, economic, and/or related health issues. These at risk children are vulnerable to sex trafficking and child labor both in Haiti and across the border in the Dominican Republic. In fact, the 2013 Trafficking In Persons Report states that there are an estimated 150,000 – 500,000 Haitian children living in domestic servitude, subject to forced labor, beatings, sexual assault and other abuses.

There is a significant range of at risk children in Haiti. The children of Ferrier Village generally fall into two categories: those children vulnerable to serving as domestic servants in households, an arrangement commonly known as restavèk (literally, “living with”); and children trafficked for sex and labor across the border into the Dominican Republic. Since Ferrier is a border city, it is a prime location to rescue children in these vulnerable situations.

ABOUT HAITI

Population: 10.7 million (35.9% under the age of 15) (World Bank, 2015)

Area: 10,715 sq mi

Year of Independence: 1804

PEOPLE IN HAITI

Education:

Haiti’s adult literacy rate is 48.7%. Youth literacy rates are at 72.5%
Roughly 30% of children attending primary school will not make it to third grade; 60% will quit school before the sixth grade (Haiti Partners, 2016).

Health:

63 year life expectancy
Infant mortality: 55 per 1000 births,
Estimated 130,000 people living with HIV.
Only 55.2 percent of the population has access to an improved water source (The Water Project, 2016);

POVERTY IN HAITI

Pop. Living In Poverty: More than 6 million out of 10.4 million (59%) Haitians live under the national poverty line of US$ 2.42 per day and over 2.5 million (24%) live under the national extreme poverty line of US$1.23 per day.

Orphan Pop.: 430,000 (have lost one or both parents due to all causes). Approximately 110,000 children (ages 0-17) orphaned due to AIDS. (UNAIDS, 2016)

HIGH RISKS IN HAITI

Trafficking

Estimated 150,000 – 500,000 children living in domestic servitude, or Restavek (subject to forced labor, beatings, sexual assault and other abuses)g.
2018 Trafficking in Persons Report

THE COMMUNITIES WHERE WE WORK

ACLAPROTECH ACADEMY (PORT-AU-PRINCE)

ACLAPROTECH – The Academy for CLAssical, PROfessional, and TECHnical Studies – was founded and is managed by Pastor Jean St. Cyr, and his son Junior. The school began on a small scale many years before the earthquake, but the need for affordable education became even greater as many fled to the tent city for refuge. Pastor St. Cyr started a church in the middle of the tent city, and held services every night of the week for 7 months, and two nights a week for the past 5 years! He also continued the school in its original building, but the structure was badly damaged from the earthquake and was a potential danger in the long-term.

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DROUIN

An orphan prevention initiative of Help One Now focused on education, proper nutrition and family empowerment, in order to alleviate the pressure of poverty, keep families together, and build stability and opportunity for the future.

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FERRIER

Ferrier Village is an anti-trafficking initiative of Help One Now – is a refuge for orphaned children who have been rescued from traffickers, or are at a high risk of being trafficked.

It is a place where these children will be cared for and restored to physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

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SPIRIT OF TRUTH SCHOOLS (KENSCOFF)

We partner with Jean Alix Paul and Spirit of Truth Ministries to bring quality education, nutrition, spirtitual development, and fair-wage jobs to vulnerable communities.

Through our school programs, over 1,300 children get to attend school every day with a full belly and come home to families empowered through community development inititatives. Our partnership is about so much more than just education, it is about orphan prevention and family preservation.

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PETIONVILLE

Yahve Shamma Village is a community development initiative of Help One Now – serves as home for 42 orphaned children in Pétionville, Haiti.

Yahve Shamma Village is also a community hub, investing in future generations through education and development.

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HAITI UPDATES

Training for Success

It is because of you that the work at Yahve Shamma can continue to thrive and grow. Your commitment to the children of Yahve Shamma and Pestel not only provides 24/7 care, but it also creates a space for Pastor Gaétan and his team to dream and grow their impact! One...

Empowerment Breeds Empowerment

In Drouin, the greatest aim and purpose of the school and our sponsorship program is to empower and keep families together. This community of rice farmers was one of the hardest hit by the Cholera epidemic, and by the effect of subsidized U.S. rice...

A Bright Young Star

The children at Yahve Shamma have grown so much over the years! We have watched some grow from toddlers into secondary school students, and some almost on their way into adulthood. It has been such a gift to see the beautiful family that has grown and...

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