Haiti

Haiti is located in North America, on the island of Hispaniola. It shares the island with the Dominican Republic and is 27,750 square kilometres in size, meaning it is the third largest country in the Caribbean by area. 

Haiti is the most populous country in the Caribbean, with around 11.4 million inhabitants. It is also one of the poorest nations on earth. It is the only low-income country in the Americas and ranks third on the 2021 Climate Risk Index for countries most affected by extreme weather events. Malnutrition is widespread, owing to chronic food insecurity, and a persistent onslaught of natural disasters has greatly impacted people's ability to sustain a livelihood. 

It is estimated that 8.1 million people are at risk of hunger and around 68% of the general population is undernourished. 22% of children under five have stunted growth. 

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti on the afternoon of 12 January 2010, causing the country to face one of the greatest humanitarian crises in history. The earthquake was devastating, killing around 250,000 people and injuring 300,000 more. It caused the displacement of roughly five million people, and some 4,000 schools were damaged or destroyed. 

More than a decade later and Haiti is still struggling to recover from the disaster. Political instability, food shortages, unemployment, tropical storms and hurricanes have kept most Haitians locked in a cycle of poverty for generations.

Mary's Meals in Haiti

Mary’s Meals has been serving school meals in Haiti since 2006. We work with three local partners – Caritas Hinche, Summits Education and Bureau de Nutrition et Développement.  

We serve our meals in the remote and under-developed Central Plateau Region, as well as in high-risk urban slum areas in Gonaïves and in the capital, Port-au-Prince.  

We are currently reaching more than 196,000 children in over 670 schools in Haiti. 

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.

More than half of the population do not have enough food, and families are in greater need than ever before.

At the heart of this crisis – and suffering the most – are Haiti’s children. With food being used to lure hungry children into armed gangs, the need for Mary’s Meals is more urgent now than ever.

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 today and help us keep them fed and safe in school, where they can learn and dream again.