Support LFBS through the Haiti Humanitarian Crisis

A message from our Executive Director and Cofounder, Morgan Wienberg

Currently, you may be seeing a lot in the news about Haiti. Yes, Haitians are enduring more than anyone should have to and life is very challenging for the communities we work with at this time.

Yet that is not the whole story.

In Haiti, children and families continue to learn, to grow, and to dream. They continue to move forward despite hurricane warnings, extreme inflation, political instability and insecurity. In Southern Haiti, children continue to attend school. Parents continue to strive to provide for their families and their children’s futures every day.

While many families in and around Port au Prince have been displaced due to violence, there are families, communities, organizations and authorities coming together to help care for and reintegrate those families in a safer environment. There are positive initiatives still happening in Haiti every day.

We are proud and grateful that the LFBS team is able to continue working to protect, empower and inspire children and families in Haiti. We’re excited to share with you the incredible initiatives our team has been working on in recent months. Thank you for joining us in standing alongside Haitian communities throughout it all!

With gratitude,

Morgan

Emergency Response & Recovery 

Following our emergency food staples kit distribution to 56 families in April, the LFBS team has continued to deliver emergency kits to families on an as-need basis, as vulnerabilities continue to increaase. We have also scaled up services and referalls across all of our programs and projects, in response to increased displacement from Port-au-Prince, increased hunger, and a lack of access to mental care. 

Medical Support

LFBS has received many referrals from IBESR (Haitian Social Services) and other partners in numerous regions egarding children who are struggling to access urgently needed medical care. This is often due to a llack of financial means, but in most cases there are additional barriers such as lack of operational medical centers, scarcity of surgeons as so many have left the country, and transportation to operational hospitals while many roads are being controlled by gangs and air evacuation options have become very limited.

As of August 2024, LFBS provided access to medical care and support for 207 children.

Education

Because of severe inflation, the cost of school and of supplies has increased significantly, which also means that access to education is more difficult for families this year. This year saw additional challenges as the closure of schools in Port au Prince due to gang violence displaced thousands of children, forcing them to flee to other parts of Haiti, causing a significant strain on educational services of schools in more rural areas.

Our support includes providing students in our programs with backpacks, school books, uniforms (hand sewn), and making payments for tuition fees. Making tuition payments requires travel to all communities in which we intervene, as we make payments directly to each school. Supplies purchased not only support children’s access to education but also invest in the local economy. We purchase backpacks, school books, and material for uniforms from local vendors, whilst seamstresses in each community are hired to sew the uniforms. Going to school also offers students and their families a sense of stability amidst the stress and political instability in the country.

Community training in the prevention of violence and separation & promotion of community health and well-being

With the objective of reinforcing the capacity of the parents of children in LFBS programs (since parents are the primary entity responsible for children's education) the LFBS team plans continuous community dialogue sessions to discuss the themes of positive parenting and community engagement. These conversations allowed participating parents to embrace their responsibilities as parents and commit to becoming more engaged in their children's lives. Despite having weak economic means, through these conversations parents discovered many strategies and methods they can use to accompany and raise their children.

LFBS began these community trainings in the Spring of 2024, and concluded in late summer. During this time, the LFBS team facilitated 7 community trainings, in 7 different communities, regarding positive parenting, community engagement, juvenile delinquency, and parental responsibility.

In total, through these 7 sessions, we reached 224 participants (154 women and 70 men).

Thank You!

Thank you for being a part of our incredible community of supporters and donors. Because of you, we are making real, impactful, and lasting changes in the lives of children, families, and communities. You are a partner in this work and we couldn’t do it without you. Thank you for your interest, support, and caring, and for being a catalyst for change.

Thank you for your shared commitment to our mission to protect vulnerable children in Haiti by reuniting families and empowering them with resources and opportunities to build a self-sufficient future.

Links:

• http://www.littlefootprintsbigsteps.com