Five ways we are helping Haiti
Mary’s Meals, along with our local partners, is offering hope and stability to the children affected by the crisis in Haiti
Haiti is facing the worst hunger crisis in its history. Gang violence has reached unprecedented levels, devastating the economy and people’s lives. At the heart of this crisis – and suffering the most – are Haiti’s children. We have been serving school meals in Haiti since 2006, but the need for Mary’s Meals is more urgent now than ever. Here are five ways we are standing with Haiti’s children and helping to restore their belief in a life beyond the chaos.
Providing vital nutrition
Haiti is facing the worst hunger crisis in its history. More than half of the population do not have enough food. Through our school feeding programme, Mary’s Meals is providing vital nutrition to tens of thousands of children, with daily meals of maize and beans or rice and beans that ease the burden on their families and give children the energy they need to learn.
Cassandre Regnier, Deputy Director at Summits Education, one of our partners in Haiti, says: “The daily meals we serve are essential for children's health and wellbeing. It’s a sign of hope, of consistency, of care, and sends a message that their children are valued. And we know that the meals are what's making children come to school every day.”
Safety and stability of the classroom
With food being used to lure hungry children into armed gangs, the promise of a daily meal at school is more important than ever.
Hungry and traumatised by the violence around them, our school meals are helping to keep children in Haiti in the safety and stability of the classroom where they can learn and be children again.
Cassandre continues: “[The meals] are providing a safe haven that prevents children from joining a gang or getting caught up in the violence.
“One truth keeps showing itself: a daily meal is what brings them back, day after day, to a place of education and protection. It gives parents one reason to say yes, and it gives children one reason to sit in a classroom, to focus, and to keep believing in something beyond survival.”
Hope where it is needed most
For children and families in Haiti, our school meals are more than just vital nutrition – they also offer safety, routine and hope.
11-year-old Elena lives with her aunt, Estimène, in Mirebalais, a city in the Central Plateau region of Haiti. When gangs – which now control 90% of the capital Port-au-Prince – started killing people and burning down houses in the city, Elena’s parents made the difficult to decision to send her and Estimène to live with family friends in Mirebalais.
For Elena, Mary’s Meals is offering a hope for the future that was previously absent. She says: “Food is important for the children. It's important to continue going to school because in the future I can be someone important in the society, like a doctor or a nurse.”
A sense of normality
The chaos in Haiti means that normality has been hard for families to find. Cassandre explains: “In the past year we’ve faced rising gang activity, blocked roads, increased inflation, and crumbling supply chains. On some days, fuel has been impossible to find. On others, schools we feed in have had to temporarily close, not because we wanted them to, but because it simply wasn't safe to keep them open.”
However, with the promise of a daily serving of Mary’s Meals attracting them into the classroom, children have the structure and routine of school to give them a sense of normality amid the chaos. Cassandre continues: “And yet, every single day that it was possible, children still showed up to school because they believe in the promise of a better future.”
Giving a voice to the voiceless
Mary's Meals is operating in one of the most challenging and risky situations we have ever faced to keep providing vital school meals to the children we serve in Haiti. With the chaos and violence showing no signs of abating, communication and access to news from the country is limited. That’s why we’re extremely grateful to our programme partners for sharing their stories to raise awareness of the crisis with our supporters in the UK, and around the world.
Cassandre says: “If you’re wondering whether your support matters. It does! Your support not only provides food, it’s about attendance, learning, safety, and the chance for a generation to grow into the leaders Haiti desperately needs.
“Thank you for standing with Haiti, and please keep standing with us so we can keep that promise, one meal and one school day at a time.”
We urgently need your support to keep our promise to the children we serve in Haiti and show them that there is hope beyond the violence. Donate now and help us keep them fed and safe in school, where they can learn and dream again.
