Thanks to a great deal of tremendous support, Free The Children was quickly able to join international efforts in response towards the Haiti earthquake.

Nearly 10 years ago, Free The Children began building schools in Haiti and developing strong connections with local partners. Now, we are getting involved by implementing our Adopt a Village program there, making it the seventh country where we will be directly providing education, clean water, health and sanitation and alternative income programming.

Free The Children has committed to working in three communities in the Hinche region (in the Central Plateau province): Terre Casse, Pandiassou and Dos Palais. The earthquake destroyed most homes in Port-au-Prince, resulting in many internally displaced peoples (IDPs) seeking refuge, medical care and food in these rural regions. As a result, some school populations in these communities are expected to double.

In order to appropriately respond to this influx of IDPs, Free The Children is acting in three phases to meet the basic needs of those affected by the earthquake. With a focus on health and education, and by improving household and community livelihoods, Free The Children will continue to provide long-term support as follows:

Rebuilding Haiti

Earthquake Devastates Haiti

On January 12, an earthquake reaching a magnitude of 7.0 devastated the people of Haiti just 15 km from the capital city of Port-au-Prince. While the death toll may never be fully determined, more than 200,000 are feared to be dead. Another three million are affected as schools, homes and hospitals have collapsed.

Organizational Capacity

Free The Children has a 10-year history of working in Haiti. To date, we have built nine schools, a nutrition centre, sanitation facilities and helped support teacher salaries and technical training for students. Nearly 2,000 children in Haiti attend Free The Children schools.

Early Response Efforts

When the earthquake struck, Free The Children immediately responded with a strategy focused on protecting children. A small convoy from Free The Children, including Craig Kielburger, travelled to Haiti to assist with early response through delivery of basic supplies to Port-au-Prince, and to carry out rapid needs assessments in regions which are destined to become home to internally displaced persons (IDPs).