Haiti's Children

70% of Haiti's population are children.* Most of these live with only one parent, and there are hundreds of thousands of kids living in orphanages. The average annual income is only $400, and with 90% of the nation's food being imported, cost of living is high. This economic predicament is the primary reason for child relinquishment in Haiti: most of the kids in orphanages are not actually true orphans. Their parents would prefer to raise their own children if only they had an income that could sustain family life. The Apparent Project is addressing this need through the development of an arts and crafts workshop for poor parents that will provide them with a wage by marketing handmade art, clothing, and crafts internationally.

Yet, even if poverty and family economics are addressed, Haiti would still have many true orphans. Lack of medical care, unsafe transportation, HIV, Tuberculosis, malnourishment, and violence claim many parents' lives each year. Many children are orphaned by abandonment as well. It is not uncommon to find small children in trash heaps, left alone to die. For this reason, the Apparent Project is not only addressing the economic roots of child abandonment, but also providing a means for true orphans to find families and homes. We expect to have an orphanage license by June of 2010 and are currently setting up a facility. This orphanage would provide adoptive parents the rare comfort of knowing that they are truly helping a child without dividing an existing family. Attachment issues and psychological problems stemming from institutionalization will also be reduced by our commitment to stay small (5-10 children), treating each child as a family member until they find belonging in an adoptive home.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation towards the development of this orphanage, please contribute here. If you would like to discuss adoption with us, please contact us here.

*statistics taken from Unicef and the World Health Organaization