There is unrest in Haiti and it is influencing Cayes Jacmel and the lives of the children and communities we support. Please read through to learn more about the current crisis and how you can help.
Imagine if one day, you woke up and the life and routines you depend on stopped. Your children’s schools close indefinitely, garbage pick-up abruptly ends leaving waste to build up, markets run out of food, gas stations have no fuel, and major roads in and out of your city are cut off. While unfathomable to us, this apocalyptic scenario is taking place today in Haiti. Haitians are currently suffering from escalating civil and political unrest that is causing severe humanitarian problems throughout the country.
The primary cause of the unrest is a political struggle between the current President and a surging opposition movement demanding his resignation due to rampant corruption, a lack of funding for social services, rising costs of essential household needs and deteriorating infrastructure. However, while these two sides continue to fight, the poorest and most vulnerable Haitians are suffering grave consequences.
Since early September 2019, Port au Prince, and especially areas in the south where D2C is based, are struggling due to roads and lines of aid being cut off. Food, water, gas, electricity and more have either stopped or are extremely expensive to procure. Some very poor neighbourhoods are going over a day without eating and it is estimated that between 15% and 50% of the population of Haiti are currently facing a food emergency as a result of this conflict. Children have not attended school in almost 3 months, resulting in a devastating step backwards in the development of this fragile nation. Additionally, school closures mean that primary school aged children and youth have been sitting idle for weeks and are susceptible to negative influence and violence.
Our In-Country D2C staff are attempting to maintain a level of normalcy in the Family Home – including occasional field trips, birthday celebrations and English tutoring classes. The children primarily stay within the gates of the house as the roads are unsafe and have only been able to attend a handful of school days since the academic year began. D2C’s community programs are heavily impacted at this time as well. Our partner school St. Anne’s remains closed and our After School Tutoring program is not currently able to operate. The same goes for our Livelihood program. Our staff is using ingenuity for procurement of essential needs such as water and food whose prices have skyrocketed and continue to do so every day. D2C’s leadership is working to ensure our Haitian staff has the means to provide for our children in an increasingly volatile environment. However, we need YOUR help.
Please consider helping D2C bring light and hope to this dark state of affairs by making a donation to our organization. 100% of all donations will go directly towards essential services such as clean water, food, shelter, school tuition and access to additional academic resources. It is our goal to raise at least $15,000 to continue our work and create meaningful impact on the ground in Haiti. You can help by making a donation. Additionally, please consider selecting D2C on Amazon Smile as your charity of choice. For each item you buy on Amazon, 0.5% of the purchase cost will be donated to D2C.
D2C is hopeful that the unrest and its ripple effects across all sectors of the country will come to an end soon. However, if the turmoil continues much longer, D2C will need to take steps to ensure our youth are still able to continue their academic lessons in a secure environment and with adequate materials and that all their basic needs can be met. With your continuing support, the future of Haiti can be a bright one. We can empower these children and youth with the education, skills and drive to make it so, even in its darkest moments.