PROJECT-SUPPORT HAITI

Association Maison des Anges, Aettenschwil / Schweiz

Country / Place

Haiti, Port-au-Prince and Espoir

Haiti is an island nation located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles. It comprises the western part of the Caribbean Island, with the Dominican Republic in its eastern part. Haiti's approximately eleven million inhabitants are mostly of sub-Saharan African descent. The capital of the country is Port-au-Prince.

Haiti is one of the least developed countries in the western world. The barely developed domestic economy, the recurring natural disasters, and the unstable political situation with frequent unrest, have turned the country into a state from which many citizens emigrate every year. There is high unemployment, and many adult Haitians are illiterate. They try to generate an income with services or small-scale trade.

General

Maison des Anges was founded in 1998 as an orphanage for children with disabilities. In the year 2000, it was transformed into a general children's home and a day care centre. Children and young people who are orphans, half-orphans or social-orphans live in the home. They are brought there by the youth welfare office or by the police. Mothers also bring their children when they can no longer care for them. At Maison des Anges they get a home, medical care, they go to school, and they are supported in vocational training.

The children's home needed a guaranteed monthly income for food, clothes, diapers, medicine, medical costs, staff costs, school fees, building maintenance, etc. Although the youth welfare office brought the children to the home, the state paid nothing towards the living or maintenance costs.

Until April 2022

The children's home in Port-au-Prince provided 120 children with food, treated drinking water, and clothes every day. The operation of the home had to function around the clock, seven days a week, and 365 days a year, to ensure that the children receive the care that they need, and to remain safe and secure.

From Mai 2022

Children's Home Port-au-Prince
At the end of April 2022, a ruthless gang war began in the neighbourhood of the children's home. Gunshots reached into the children's bedrooms. To protect the children from violence and worse, the home was evacuated in May 2022. The home's premises in the city are secured from looting by a security company and several staff members. The office is mostly functioning, so mothers from the sponsorship programme can come by to collect their monthly financial support. This is more important than ever in view of the great famine.

Children's Home Espoir
The children and the staff are now housed in the countryside, in a small farm. They are safe there; the children are doing well and attend the local school. But the temporary site lacks many things. The infrastructure is very makeshift and needs to be improved urgently. Basic care for the children and employees must continue to be ensured.

In 2023, the construction of four children's homes is planned. Every house will have two dormitories for ten people each. There will be construction costs as well as expenses for furnishing (beds, mattresses, shelves, sheets, etc.). Every support helps, so that a new home can be built for the children and their carertakers as soon as possible.