Making a Healthplan for Life for Haitian Children

Dear Friends, 

A lot has happened since our last report. I'm copying below a report from May 1st which describes the emergency evacuation of our beloved campus. For now, everyone is safe but we have no idea when, or if, we will be able to return:

Report from May 1, 2023 - After the assassination of President Moise, an undemocratically elected government took over, propped up by outside interests, and Haiti has been in chaos every since. Gangs control large sectors of the country and most especially the shipping and roads. 

Until now we’ve been able to secure the campus with guards and we had various member of the staff make food runs. Thanks to the full time nurse, water filtration system, and the farm, the campus, children and staff were able to sustain themselves for a very long time. Our staff made contact with the local gang that controlled the area and that gang committed to leave Fondation Montesinos alone and allow staff to come and go for the purposes of food. Our medical clinic down the road, ALOM, also had committed to remaining in the area.

Last week a rival gang to the south started pushing into the area. Mission of Hope across the street evacuated their hospital and orphanage but we stayed put for the time being. We were making alternative plans though in case things got worse. The rival gang was pushed back to the south. The school had been closed for weeks but we still had 62 children on the campus and about 17 staff. Most of the children are orphans who live there but some are school children who couldn’t make it home safely come.

Finding a place in a safe area of Haiti for this many people isn’t easy.

But yesterday we got word that the rival gang was planning a second push into the area. A crisis team formed, and through the incredible bravery of our Haitian staff, they brokered a deal with the local gang and communicated with the police who agreed to secure a corridor for us to evacuate the children and staff. Which we did safely.

We left behind 4 security personnel. 

Today we got word that the gang climbed the walls, cut the barbed wire and took over the entire campus. They have set up on the high ground in front of the clinic because they have an unobstructed view of at least 2 kilometers of the road and miles of lands. They are locked in a gun battle with police.

In the meantime we have secured a lease on a 6 bedroom house in Delmas for the children and staff who are grateful that we were able to get them out in time. The picture is a screen capture from a video of the last truck to leave our campus and screen captures of videos of the children telling us they are safe.

The crisis team that formed to stage the emergency evacuation has been working with the Government to obtain approvals for the new location. The staff has worked tirelessly to enroll the children in new schools, find proper furniture for the new house (while the children slept on the floor), renegotiate food deliveries, and create a routine.

Meanwhile SHH has decided to focus on two major initiatives as follows:

Enroll the older children in a program called Kids Connection and develop once and for all the Thumbprint to Healthprint Electronic Medical Record that allows the children to access their health history from the cloud with a thumbprint. It also gives the children the tools to take responsibility for their own well being. If there was ever a time that this was needed, it's now. Since this report is already very long, we will provide much more detail in our GG next report, however, details of the Kids Connection program are posted on our social media sites already.

Send us prayers and good thoughts. Haiti must be given the right to self determination soon and the tools to achieve this.