What We Do
Children’s Home
Our children’s home is home to more than 90 children.
Our organization was founded in 1996. The first group of children who were taken in are now young adults, and we refer to them as our First Generation. Some were adopted, some are living outside the children’s home now, and some are in our Post-Secondary Program. We even have a couple who are working as staff in our children’s home!
In September of 2013 we welcomed our Second Generation — 54 new children. In November of 2016, we welcomed 29 more children who had all lost parent(s)/guardian(s) and/or their homes due to Hurricane Matthew, a category 4 storm that ravaged the south of Haiti.
These children have been integrated with our existing Second Generation children. Although they are doing well, we know that they, as well as our other children, have all experience great trauma in their lives. We are working to have our staff trained in how to care for children of trauma.
We have 45 staff who help to take care of the children, from cooking to cleaning to building maintenance.
Hope for the Children of Haiti provides for the physical, mental, and spiritual needs of our children. We provide food, clean water, clothing, and education, and we connect them with the local church where many children are part of the choir and youth group.
Marion Austin Christian School
Our school, which has very high standards of education, provides education to the children in our children’s home as well as approximately 350 additional impoverished children from the surrounding neighborhood of Bolosse in Port-au-Prince.
We have 50 faculty and staff. Our school begins at kindergarten and goes all the way to Grade 13, which is the last grade in Haiti. Children in our school study subjects such as Creole, French, English, Spanish, Math, Science, Art, Music, and more!
We offer teacher training and have begun offering tutoring to students who need it.
School Lunch Program
We noticed that many of our students were tired and having trouble concentrating. Upon investigation, we found out that many of them were not getting enough food at home. That prompted our School Lunch Program.
Each one of our approximately 450 students now receives a free, hot lunch, which is often the only meal they will eat that day.
Path to Independence
As stated on our mission statement, we want to give our kids the opportunity to “become well-rounded, self-sufficient adults.” Unlike other children’s homes in Haiti, and in other countries as well, we do not “kick our kids out the door” when they turn 18. We work hard to help them transition into adulthood.
This is where our PATH (Post-secondary And Trade Help) to Independence program comes in. 14 of our children are enrolled our PATH program, where they study in college or trade school in Haiti, Cuba, and the United States. One student, Jeanine, has graduated with a degree in business and is now a supervisor at our children’s home where she grew up! And few ambitious students are studying to become medical doctors in Cuba!
Medical Care Program
Our board chairperson, Dr. Carrie Tibbles, also serves as a medical director to the Hope for the Children of Haiti. She has implemented a comprehensive preventive healthcare program for all of the children in our care as well as extending the healthcare service to the students who attend the Marion Austin Christian School. HFC is also experimenting with a tele-medicine program with help from hospitals in the US.