Capital: Port-au-Prince
Area: 27,750 km²
Population: 8.3 million (July 2006)
Ethnic groups: African or African-European descent
Official language(s): French
Religion(s): Roman Catholic, Protestant, voodoo
Currency: 1 gourde = 100 centimes
SOS Children's Villages activities in the country
The start of the SOS Children's Villages' work in Haiti goes back to 1978. It was then that Rodriguez Ben Bichtotte, the director of an orphanage in Petite Place Cazeau, first contacted SOS Children's Villages International. Just one year later they made the joint decision to turn the orphanage into an SOS Children's Village. That same year, the national SOS Children's Village Association was founded. Haiti's first SOS Children's Village in Petite Place Cazeau, eight kilometres from Port-au-Prince, was ready in 1982. Construction of a second SOS Children's Village in the Port-au-Prince area was started one year later. This time the location was Santo.
In 1986 the dictatorial regnant president, Jean Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, was forced from power. Many foreign companies left the country and the economy collapsed. High unemployment meant that many families became very poor and this led to the children, especially, suffering from malnutrition and dietary deficiencies as well as living in poverty. Therefore, SOS Children's Villages International decided to build more SOS facilities in Haiti. And so in the late 1980s the SOS Children's Village Cap Haïtien came into being. SOS Hermann Gmeiner Schools were built as well so that the children and youths would receive a good education.
These schools are also open to children from the neighbourhood. The youths today are put under great pressure by the difficult conditions and the high demands made by the job market. The SOS Vocational Training Centre gives considerable support in this respect. The youths live in SOS Youth Facilities, where they are helped towards being able to live on their own. At the end of 2003, the buildings of the SOS Children's Village Petite Place Cazeau, including the ancillary facilities, were handed over to a church organisation.
In 2005, SOS Children’s Villages started to operate SOS Family Strengthening Programmes, which enable children who are at risk of losing the care of their family to grow within a caring family environment. To achieve this, SOS Children’s Villages works directly with families and communities to empower them to effectively protect and care for their children, in cooperation with local authorities and other service providers.
After the Hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike in August and September 2008, SOS Children's Villages offered its' knowledge and funds to provide the most affected Haitian families with food baskets during the first weeks after the natural disaster.
During the devastating earthquake in January 2010, the capital Port-au-Prince was almost completely destroyed and over 200,000 people died. As the Children’s Village Santo was only slightly damaged, more than 300 unaccompanied children could be temporarily accommodated there, until the start of the reunification process. During the first months 100 food distribution points were set up in order to provide up to 15,000 children with cooked food and hygiene articles.
At present there are two SOS Children's Villages in Haiti, two SOS Youth Facilities, two SOS Hermann Gmeiner Schools, two SOS Vocational Training Centres, and four SOS Social Centres.
Contact:Village d'Enfants SOS d'Haiti
Bureau National
Boite Postale 966
13, Rue José Marti
Turgeau
6110 Port-au-Prince
Haiti
tel. +509-2513-6496