Life in an IDP camp

Anne is a pupil at Marie L'Auxilliatrice school in Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince. Originally situated in the La Saline neighbourhood, the school had to be relocated to Delmas in the west of the city following violence that erupted between rival gangs.

With 90% of Port-au-Prince now controlled by armed gangs and organised crime groups, more than 1.4 million people have been internally displaced across the country. When gangs started to occupy their neighbourhood, 14-year-old Anne and Altagrace became a part of this shocking statistic – fleeing to a camp for internally displaced people near the school to escape the violence.

How has the gang-related violence that continues to escalate in Haiti changed your lives?

Altagrace: Everything started to change when I had to flee. Gangs invaded the neighbourhood and started shooting. That's why everything changed in my life. That's why I left my neighbourhood and went to live in a camp with my children. But where I am now, I don't feel comfortable. I'm just trying to survive.

I had a brother who was killed in a gang-related shooting. After my brother's death, I was forced to leave the area in order to save our lives. When the gangs started to invade, there were residents who risked staying there. If someone didn’t leave the area, they would be[come] part of these groups. 

Anne: We were forced to flee due to the insecurity. [This] resulted in many issues because we had a place to learn at La Saline. And now, we've been forced to come here [to the IDP camp]. Things have become very difficult. 

When we were at home, my mother used to prepare food in the morning when we had to go to school, but in the camp, there are far too many people. Now she can no longer get up very early in the morning like we used to do at home.

How is Mary’s Meals’ school feeding programme helping you feed your children in the camp? 

Altagrace: Imagine someone who lives in a place where ten other people live in one room. We are like animals in a cage. In the morning, even if you have money, there is nothing you can do to prepare something for the children. You can only prepare bread and peanut butter for them in the morning, which means it's not nourishing. 

But with the help of Mary’s Meals at school, I no longer have concerns. Sometimes the child comes home and tells me that she was given ground corn and bean stew, she was given rice with beans and vegetables. The children always come and tell me about the different types of food they are offered. Then, as a mother, even if I can't eat, if my child finds something to eat, it makes me happy. 

Anne: Thanks to Mary’s Meals, we've received a lot of help. Imagine living in a camp. Your mum can't wake up early to prepare food for you to go to school. You have to wait until 10 o'clock to eat something.

Altagrace: The meal is very important for a child to learn. If they are hungry, they will not be able to learn. If they are hungry, they will only be worried about what they are going to eat. Mary’s Meals provides food stability. This makes me very happy. 

Finally, what would you like to say to people around the world who continue to support and donate to Mary’s Meals?

Anne: I would like to express my sincere gratitude on behalf of all the schools to which they provide hot meals. I would like to keep going like this because they are saving a lot of people.

Altagrace: May Mary’s Meals continue to operate so that children can enjoy a meal, and so that when they are learning, they can do so without worries, and so that the schools can continue to benefit from it.

Haiti’s children are running out of options. Hungry and surrounded by violence, many are being recruited into armed gangs – lured by the promise of food.  

School meals give them a lifeline, and a donation of just £19.15 will help us to continue providing crucial nutrition to children in a safe place of learning. Together, one meal at a time, we can restore their belief that a life beyond the chaos is possible.