The situation in Haiti has long been difficult – dominated by gang violence and instability – but I cannot think of a time when things have been so desperate. 

Gangs control 90% of our capital, Port-au-Prince, we are facing the worst hunger crisis in our history, and more than 1.4 million people are internally displaced – around half of whom are children.

I remember my own childhood. You could go out in your yard and play with others your age. Now, if a day passes without hearing any shootings, it’s a great day. But shootings are every day, every single day. 

People are trying to flee the chaos to save their lives and their children's lives. Children are most vulnerable to the gangs, because of hunger, and once they’ve joined – lured by the promise of food – it’s too late. We have seen some as young as eight or nine recruited by gangs.

These children who should be in school are Haiti’s future. Education is their best defence, and they need our support to stay on the right path. They need Mary's Meals. A child who cannot eat cannot think. We must fight for them.

Motivation to go to school comes from knowing that there will be food there. If they stay at home, they don’t know if they will eat that day. Waking up in the morning, the first thing they are thinking of is survival, so food plays a major role in getting them to school. 

Despite the atrocities unfolding in my beloved Haiti, our staff are willing to go above and beyond to facilitate this school feeding programme. When we go to a school and find children smiling, cooks preparing food, and teachers happy, there is hope because you know you’re doing the right thing. 

If, despite it all, we can still be here helping children, there is hope. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

Yours,

Emmline Toussaint 
Main Coordinator of BND, Mary’s Meals School Feeding Programme in Haiti