Reunite 75 Exploited Children with their families

Dear donors and supporters:

In these past short months, Little Footprints worked with IBESR-Nippes to prepare for the closure of two orphanages currently housing 31 children and youth. The Little Footprints team was joined by the Regional Coordinator and two Child Protection Agents from IBESR-Nippes in the LFBS office. A representative of UNICEF also stopped by on the second day. Our teams diligently planned the documentation tools for the closure of these orphanages, the reunification of the children, and the subsequent follow-up efforts with the families.

In addition, a child who had been kidnapped by a voodoo practitioner escaped and informed authorities that she was abducted from her school. Together with the Child Protection Brigade of Haiti’s National Police (BPM), other police officers/officials, and a judge, LFBS assisted in arresting the woman who had abducted this child. In another incident, a teenage girl separated from her mother attempted suicide and Little Footprints' staff intervened and provided emotional support. The girl has since been reunited with her mother but still requires psychological follow-up.

Once again, Little Footprints hosted an annual "Street Child Meeting". Together with Haitian Social Services (IBESR) and other child protection partners, we mobilized children who are currently living on the streets of Southern Haiti. We facilitated psycho-social activities and games with them, had a meal together, giving them the chance to be heard and share their challenges as well as their dreams, had former street children give motivational speeches, educated the children on relevant topics, and encouraged them to reconnect with their families. For children who expressed an interest in returning home, our team is currently prioritizing efforts to reunite them with their families.

Despite an earthquake and flooding in Southern Haiti in June, Little Footprints' staff resumed services to support the children. We are extremely grateful for your donation and support for us to continue assisting more children like the ones above. We look forward to sharing more of our progress from your contribution in our next report.

We wish you and your family well until then.

Sincerely,

Morgan Wienberg
Executive Director