We are at a critical moment for those most at risk from the crisis in Haiti - children. As armed gangs reach further into the country, record levels of youngsters are at danger from shootings, violence, displacement, hunger, and disease.

Children as young as eight are being recruited into gangs. Many are forced to join. Others are lured by the promise of food and money and are then often paid in drugs It is thought that up to half of all gang members are minors and once a child joins, their future is lost.

“We know that gangs are always trying to target children because they are the most vulnerable. They are the most in need of assistance.

“You cannot get out once you get in [a gang] It's either you die or your family dies. Or you stay in.

“We’ve already lost those from 15 to 30 years old. That’s why we need to work more towards those children from three years old to 14. They are the ones that we should focus on, those little ones. They need us to guide them differently.”

The struggle to survive

Human rights violations against children have surged, including abductions, killings, rape and other sexual assaults. The number of displaced children has doubled, particularly in residential areas in Port-au-Prince, the capital, where armed gangs control over 90% of the city. Many families are now living in desperate conditions in internally displaced camps in the city.

Added to this, there is record hunger, with 51% of the population - 5.7 million people - facing acute hunger. Again, children are most at risk, with over 1 million estimated to be facing emergency-level food insecurity and child malnutrition has doubled in just two years. These figures are likely to rise further when the lean agricultural season - the time between planting and harvesting when food availability is at its lowest - begins in March.

That’s why Mary’s Meals support is vital, even though delivering the school meals programme in Haiti is increasingly complex. Gangs control most of the routes around the country, making transporting goods, particularly food and medicines, nearly impossible and dangerous. Thousands of schools and businesses have been forced to close due to ongoing violence. But amidst this turmoil, Mary’s Meals and BND are still serving school meals wherever possible, with the safely of children and staff our priority. 

The need for Mary’s Meals

As the crisis deepens, Emmline believes an educated young population is important to lead Haiti to a better and brighter future.

“If we want those children to be good people when they grow up, we need to counteract the impact those gangs have on them.

“This new generation needs our support. It needs Mary's Meals assistance for them to focus on what is the most important, which is their education, and a better future for the country and for themselves.”

Standing with the children of Haiti

She is urging for more support for Mary’s Meals because she knows it is the promise of a daily school meal that gets children to school – a place where they feel supported and accepted.

“When you are a child that has been displaced, with no access to clean water, with the everyday risk of being raped, would he or she wake up in the morning and go to school? They would not be motivated. The motivation comes from the fact that they know there is that school meal waiting for them. 

“The first thing that you're thinking of is your survival, if I need to survive what do I need? First is the food.

“You see them being happy while at school, they're playing, you see their smiles when they have that meal. It's a good sign, it’s a sign of hope.”

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 €22, will help us to continue providing life-saving 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. 

Emmline Toussaint works for BND, one of our partners in Haiti. BND helps to ensure successful delivery of our school feeding programme in and around Port-au-Prince and in Centre department, a remote area that is experiencing heightened levels of gang violence.