Provide a safe home for Haitian Orphans

Thank you so much for helping to provide a safe home for Haitian orphans.

As we explained in a previous project report we’ve made the sad but necessary decision to close down our charity, International Disaster Volunteers (IDV) in early 2023.

As part of this process we’re planning to close down this project here on GlobalGiving by Sunday 15 January. This is the final project report we’ll be sending before we do.

This is an emotional report to write as this project has been active for over 10 years, and thanks to your amazing generosity we’ve been able to make an incredible impact in the lives of some of Port-au-Prince’s vulnerable children.

When we first started working with the HTDC orphanage it was home to almost 50 children, who were all living in one small room and some tents. Your donations enabled us to rent them a safe home at a much bigger house nearby, as well as covering all of the orphanage’s running costs. 

The stability this provided gave the orphanage Director Carlo badly needed breathing space. As a result, the number of children at HTDC has steadily decreased over the years to around 12, thanks to Carlo’s efforts to reunite children with remaining relatives, or in facilitating adoptions with safe, loving families.

Your ongoing donations have been vital, especially as political chaos and violence outside HTDC’s gates has continued to worsen over the years.

So, I’m pleased to say that since announcing our closure we’ve raised almost $6,000 here on GlobalGiving to support the orphanage after we close down. While this is short of the $12,000 we’d hoped to raise to also pay another year’s rent, it will still provide a vital cushion of 6 months ongoing support to the orphanage and children.

It’s hard to say how massively grateful we are for all your amazing support. While we’re obviously sad to be closing down IDV, we’re heartened that Carlo has vital time to ramp up support from other channels. From the bottom of our hearts - thank you so much!

We also asked Carlo if he had a message for you and here’s what he had to say:

“On behalf of all the children and our staff we thank you - for over a decade you have been supporting the orphanage and without your donations we would not make it. All your donations have changed the kids’ lives and jobs have been created for our local staff.

Thank you very much and may the Lord bless all of you for all the years you have been helping our projects. We would like to thank IDV for all they have done for the Children through your generous Donations. Thank you everyone may God bless you and your family”

If you’d like to stay in touch with Carlo after we close, and potentially even continue to support them, then please reach out to him on carlolarozar@gmail.com

And if you would like to make one final donation via GlobalGiving, please do so now.

You can find out more about our plans to close down IDV on our website, and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org. I’d be delighted to hear from you as always.

A huge thank you to everyone who’s recently donated to provide 1 more year of security for the children at the HTDC orphanage in Port-au-Prince.

As we explained in a recent project report our charity is closing down in early 2023 and we're aiming to raise $12,000 to help the orphanage manage the transition. To highlight the children your donations will help support we shared the stories of Fritz, Kenson - and Chedline. 

Since launching this appeal on Nov 29 donors like you have given an amazing $4,000, and in this report we wanted to spotlight another child who relies on the orphanage for a safe home and to meet their other basic needs.

Chedlin (pictured) is 13 years old and is the twin brother of Chedline. They were brought to the orphanage in 2019, along with another sibling. Chedlin’s mum is still alive but when their dad died she couldn’t afford to care for the children and she made the heartbreaking decision to give them up. 

One of the children was adopted last year, but Chedlin and his sister Chedline still rely on the orphanage to provide them the security they need. The last few years have been hard on Chedlin, but he’s full of energy and curious. He loves to talk and play with the other children, especially soccer which is his favourite game. He also does really well in school and does his chores along with the older boys. 

We know money is tight right now, but if you can we’ll hope you’ll consider making a further gift to this project. 100% of your donation (after any GlobalGiving fees) will go directly to the orphanage. So, your gift really will help ensure that Chedlin has the safe home and care he needs for 1 more year.

You can find out more about our plans to close down IDV on our website, and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org. I’d be delighted to hear from you as always.

Thank you so much for helping to provide 1 more year of security for the children at the HTDC orphanage in Port-au-Prince!

In a recent project report we explained how we’re aiming to raise $12,000 this Holiday season to provide security after our charity closes. We then shared the stories of Fritz and Kenson - two of the children your donations will help support in 2023.

Since launching this appeal on Nov 29 donors like you have given an amazing $2,288, and in this report we wanted to highlight another child who relies on the orphanage for a safe home and to meet their other basic needs.

Chedline (pictured) is 13 years old. Chedline was brought to the orphanage in 2019, along with her two siblings. Chedline’s mum is still alive but when their dad died she couldn’t afford to care for the children anymore and made the heartbreaking decision to give them up. 

One of the children was adopted last year, but Chedline and her brother Chedlin still rely on the orphanage to provide them the security they need. Although the last few years have been hard on Chedline, she stays positive and loves to help out by looking after the younger children in the orphanage’s care. Chedline is now looking forward to Christmas and would love some new clothes and a bit of jewelry to wear.

We know you’ve already given so much, but if you can we’ll hope you’ll consider making a further donation to this project. 100% of your donation (after any GlobalGiving fees) will go directly to the orphanage. So, your gift really will help ensure that Chedline has the safe home and care she needs for 1 more year.

You can find out more about our plans to close down IDV on our website, and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org. I’d be delighted to hear from you as always.

In a recent project report we explained how we’re raising funds this Holiday season to provide 1 more year of security for the children at the HTDC orphanage after our charity closes. We then shared the story of Fritz to highlight one of the children your donations will help support.

In this report we wanted to highlight one of the other children who relies on the orphanage for a safe home and to meet their other basic needs.

Kenson (pictured) is now 12 years old. Kenson was born in Port-au-Prince but there are very few records about his past. His mum brought him to HTDC because she had no place to live. Kenson was very sad when he arrived. At first he was often found crying or sleeping while adjusting to his new environment. 

Today, he still misses his mum, but you will more often hear his giggles and see his beautiful smile. He loves it when visitors come, and is sorry when they leave, but he’s smart and does very well in school.

For those who poured love into him those early days it’s amazing to see where Kenson is today! 

It’s also been amazing for us to see Kenson to grow over the years and we’re including some past photos in this report so you can see how he’s changed.

If you can, we’ll hope you’ll consider making a further gift to this project. In doing so, you’ll help ensure that Kenson has the safe home and care he needs for 1 more year.

You can find out more about our plans to close down IDV on our website, and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org. I’d be delighted to hear from you as always.

In our last project report we explained how we’re raising funds this Holiday season to provide 1 more year of security for the children at the HTDC orphanage after our charity closes. 

In this report we wanted to highlight one of the children who your generosity has helped support over the years.

Fritz (pictured) is now 11 years old. Little is known about Fritz's past as he was simply left at the HTDC orphanage one day. At the time he wasn’t even 1 year old and no-one has ever returned to visit him. 

Despite this sad start to his life, Fritz is an outgoing child who likes to join in any activities. His magical smile and personality is also quick to capture the attention of any visitors.

It’s been amazing to see Fritz grow over the years and we’re including some past photos in this report so you can see how he’s changed.

If you can, we’ll hope you’ll consider making a further gift to this project. In doing so, you’ll help ensure that Fritz has the safe home and care he needs for 1 more year.

You can find out more about our plans to close down IDV on our website, and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org. I’d be delighted to hear from you as always.