Provide a safe home for Haitian Orphans

In many ways the current situation in Haiti is about as bleak as we’ve ever seen it.

On Aug 14 a 7.2 earthquake, more powerful than the devastating 2010 quake, struck the south-west of the country. At least two cities have suffered major damage and almost 1,300 are already confirmed killed as buildings collapsed on top of them.

The situation would have been chaotic enough already, but the country was also still reeling from the assasination of President Moise in July. A leadership tussle followed with two competing prime ministers vying for power. While Ariel Henry was eventually sworn in, the political situation was still volatile and Haiti was sadly ill-equipped to deal with a major catastrophe.

Our thoughts go out to the people of Jeremie and Les Cayes, which have already reported major devastation, and to everyone else affected. 

We obviously checked in with the HTDC Orphanage as soon as we heard about the earthquake. Thankfully, while the earthquake was felt in Port-au-Prince the orphanage and all the children are safe. However, their situation is still very precarious and they’re in urgent need of your support right now.

The President’s assasination followed years of political unrest, which had contributed to rising prices for essential goods, including food and fuel. The impact of Covid-19 on the global economy also means that donations to the orphanage have dropped dramatically. 

Thanks to your generosity we’re currently still able to help HTDC meet its monthly running costs, but we’re spending almost twice as much as we’re raising right now and this isn’t sustainable. At this rate we’re in danger of running out of funds to help.

So, if you can please consider making a donation today to support children like Ruth. Ruth and her sister have both lived at the HTDC Orphanage since 2017. Their mum sadly died giving birth to their younger sibling, who also didn't make it. Despite this tragedy Ruth stays positive, is very close with her sister and is doing well in school.

Four year old Matialdo also needs your support. Matialdo's mum is still alive but she left Matialdo at the orphanage after his dad was killed in a hurricane. Matialdo's a quiet boy, but he loves his food and playing with other children his age. HTDC hopes to reunite the family in future, but for now they're looking after him and they need your help to continue.

The HTDC Orphanage does its very best for Ruth, Matialdo and all the children in its care, but the situation in Haiti is as tough as it’s ever been. 

If you have any questions about the orphanage and how we use your donations, or if you think you could help with donations and clothes and more in Florida, then please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org. I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Thanks so much for your support of the HTDC Orphanage. With much of the world’s attention focused on Covid-19, the worsening political situation in Haiti may not be getting much airtime, and your amazing generosity is one of the only things keeping the storm outside the orphanage’s gates right now.

Political unrest has been simmering away for well over a year, but it’s taken a dramatic turn for the worse recently due to plans to hold a referendum in June on strengthening the President’s powers. With presidential elections already overdue since 2019 many in Haiti fear a return to the days of dictatorship.

Thousands of people have flooded the streets to angrily protest and demand the President’s resignation. The President’s own supporters have responded in kind, making travel across the capital dangerous due to running conflicts between opposing factions. Kidnappings and crime have also become commonplace, and schools and businesses have been forced to close.

As mentioned in a project report last summer this situation has placed extreme pressure on the HTDC Orphanage because basic essentials, including food and fuel, are hard to find and this has driven up costs. At the same time the impacts of Covid-19 on the global economy has meant that funding from the orphanage’s other international supporters has fallen dramatically. 

In response to this we’ve increased our own monthly contributions towards the orphanage’s running costs, and this has only been possible because of your incredible support. Thanks to you the children are still receiving healthy meals, including chicken and rice on Good Friday and rice, beans, macaroni salad and fried fish on Easter Sunday.

The orphanage’s property is of course the foundation on which everything else is built, and the annual rent will be due again in June. Happily, thanks to your previous donations, we have enough in hand to cover this for the next year, meaning that for now at least the children will all continue to have a safe home. Thank you so much!

The situation in Haiti is still very fragile however, and at the moment there is no clear path to resolving the political tensions which have once again boiled over into violence. So, your continued support will be essential to ensuring the continued security of the children in the orphanage’s care.

If you have any questions about the orphanage and how we use your donations, or if you think you could help with donations and clothes and more in Florida, then please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org. I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Christmas is now just days away and, although the overall situation in Haiti remains tough, the staff at the HTDC Orphanage are doing their best to bring the Children some festive cheer.

We asked Carlo the Orphanage Director for an update, and here’s what he had to say.

“The kids are all fine and doing well in school. We have 4 teachers, now 2 regular teachers and one English and one music.The kids like the new environment. We want to make it even better and are planning to repaint everything soon to make the place look better.

School closed for Christmas vacation on the 18th of December and we wish to make a good Christmas time for the kids this year. They are excited because Christmas is at the corner. We will do our best to keep everyone safe, healthy and happy. 

We are planning to do a party at the orphanage for Christmas and have pumpkins soup for Haitian Independence Day, which is 1st of January and then a big dinner for January 2nd.

For Christmas we would like to have gifts for all the kids. 

Kenson would like some new clothing and a new sneakers and a bicycle for him as a Christmas gift.

Mirlande would also like some new clothing and shoes, and some jewelry for her Christmas gift. Her twin brother Kervens also wants nice sneakers and clothing too.

Mariange would like to have some dolls and toy cars. She is a very excited kid and is always smiling with people and very helpful. So, we want to get her something nice.

Vaglin is also a very helpful and caring little boy. He would like a helicopter toy and cars for his Christmas gift”.

We know 2020 has been a tough year for everyone, but if you’re able to help provide some Christmas joy to these wonderful children in Haiti then we’d be very grateful as always.

If you have any questions about the orphanage and how we use your donations, or if you think you could help with donations and clothes and more in Florida, then please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org. I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Thanks to your incredible generosity the children of the HTDC Orphanage have now settled into their new home. In our last project report we explained how, after almost ten years, it was time to move the orphanage to a new house.

We asked Carlo, the orphanage Director, how the kids like the new place and he had this to say:

“The kids like the new place because they have a lot of space to play together. Kenson really likes having the shade in the garden. They are all happy because we moved the playground from the old house too”.

Carlo’s also taken the opportunity to make some more changes too:

“I change the person that cooks for the kids too, and change the way we cook for a more balanced and better diet. They have vegetables 5 days a week now, and more meat too. It’s more expensive but it’s better and the kids are so happy because we do not give so much rice and beans. We do our best to give a little of everything and natural juice.”

Outside the gates though, things remain in tough Haiti overall. Carlo continued his updates:

“The political situation is getting worse, and the insecurity is worse with a lot of kidnapping happening. Schools are open but kids can not go to school everyday because of riots and people burning tires. So, we are opening a school today at the orphanage. We hire 3 teachers and one English teacher for the kids. My fiancé is helping to train the teachers - she did the first session last weekend and we will continue every weekend too . 

I still need to buy many books so that they can help the kids to improve their English and other lessons, but the money we get from overseas is less now. The USD is now around 70-75 Gourdes for a Dollar, when we used to get almost 100 Gourdes for a Dollar. But the prices stay the same”.

To help Carlo and the children deal with all these challenges, we’ve recently stepped up the amount of help we’re providing each month. This wouldn’t be possible without your continued donations. So, as always, thank you so much for all your amazing support.

Carlo’s also working hard to reduce his costs where he can and he’s currently appealing for donations of clothes and other items that can be shipped from Florida. He explained as follows:

“I have a friend in West Palm Beach in Florida. He has a spare room we can use to collect donations. When we receive enough items we can ship them to Haiti and the orphanage. That will take about two weeks. Our need is clothes, shoes, vitamins, dried food is also possible and that would help too. Other things are diapers for the babies, and toys, or anything that can help with kids”.

If you have any questions about the orphanage and how we use your donations, or if you think you could help with donations and clothes and more in Florida, then please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org. I’d be delighted to hear from you.

Thanks to your incredible generosity we have some big news to share from the HTDC orphanage in Haiti! 

In a project report last December we explained how long-running political unrest in Haiti had led to rising costs and reduced income for the orphanage. In turn, this had caused plans to build a new house for the orphanage to be postponed, and they'd been forced to extend the lease on their existing property for another six months as a result.

That six months soon passed and, with the situation still volatile, the orphanage Director Carlo reached out in May to discuss plans to downsize:

"Due to all the protest problems in Haiti since July 2018, I was not able to get funds to work on the construction for the new place. That’s why we had to pay for six months and now we need to pay again this month. We suppose to pay for another six months - from now to November. 

Due to the Coronavirus there are even more costs. For example, the water cost increases because we use more water this time to clean. We use a lot of water to clean the house and clothes everyday.

But we have an idea because we have a little less kids now because a few were already adopted. So, we think because of the situation we should keep the number like this. This way we can find another house for a cheaper price - between $6000 - $7000 for a year, and make sure we keep all the kids and workers safe and looked after”.

We agreed this plan made sense, and we told Carlo we could help with the costs if he could find a house. And it didn’t take him long.

We soon received another update that Carlo had found somewhere great. Carlo explained as follows:

“We have found a great place very close to our current house. It’s in a very safe area, just 5 minutes to the USA Embassy. There is running water and also electricity more of the time. We can also take our batteries from the current house for when the power is out”.

Carlo also sent some photos which you can see with this report. We agreed it was a great house and, thanks to your incredible donations, Carlo was quickly able to pay the rent and take possession. We asked how he was getting on:

“The new house is smaller but the kids like the place because there is more shade in the garden, and they are excited that the playground from the old house is being set up now. We also build better beds for the new house and not bring the very old ones with us. We want to buy better mattresses too. We painted the place, and we fixed the yard and built a place where the kids can eat outside and watch TV and do other activities.

Thank you to all the donors who help us move. Now the kids and staff are all secure for the next year, and we worry less in this new place”

We echo Carlo’s thanks. It’s the end of an era moving from the old house which the kids have called home for almost a decade. In fact it was your amazing generosity that allowed us to rent the old house not long after the 2010 earthquake. But the orphanage’s needs have changed over the years and with your support they’re now ready to start a new chapter.

Thanks so much again for your incredible support. If you ever have any questions about the orphanage and how we use your donations, please don’t hesitate to email Andy@IDVolunteers.org. I would be delighted to hear from you.