Updates

As many of you are aware of the turmoil Haiti is currently facing, we wanted to share with you some updates on the children and the staff. There are just no words to express the current situation in Haiti.

After many years of planning and 4+ years of construction, after so many trips and much labor of love, HWI had welcomed its children in January 2017 in Tabarre and a school in 2019. Surrounded by a team of locals, they could now be fed, clothed, educated and cared for.

However, starting in 2022 things began to deteriorate in the country, with signals that Tabarre’s neighborhood was becoming what we feared: a gang-infested area, operated by two rival gangs taking over the communities, neighborhood by neighborhood.

In 2023, it became clearer that great difficulties were ahead as people started fleeing some areas. We then faced the reality of losing staffers, and we were unable to hire new ones because of the fear of being kidnapped or facing death. In March 2024, His Work International's orphanage building was seized and looted by domestic terrorists and gangs operating in and around Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince.

March 15, 2024

The children were forced to abandon their lovely home under threats of death, torture, and kidnappings. The children were temporarily housed in a neighboring house for one week while the gangs repeatedly looted the orphanage stealing all electrical and electronic equipment including 12 solar panels, inverters, 2 dozen of batteries, electrical panels, even fishing electrical wiring off the walls. They took two cars off the property, completely looted a storage room filled with equipment, and ripped apart a Freightliner truck parked on the property. We can neither list all the items taken nor assess the damages to the buildings since the property remains under their control to this day.

March 23, 2024

The caregivers managed to relocate the children from that neighboring house to our parents’ about 6 miles away. Ubered in an open-trunk delivery truck with just a few clothes and a couple of mattresses, they were stopped by a gang that threatened to take two of the children unless a ransom is given.

January 2025

After less than one year living at our parents', the area became unlivable for everyone. The reduced staff and the children were under serious threats and pressure to vacate.

February 27, 2025

That morning, they hurriedly left the area by foot until they could find some public transportation. They then went to the home of one of the caregiver’s parents and resided there for a month.

March 27 - April 6, 2025

The children and the caregivers moved in with some other family members in another part of town until we can secure a yearly contract for a small residence for them.

The children were forced to abandon their lovely home under threats of death, torture, and kidnappings. The children were temporarily housed in a neighboring house for one week while the gangs repeatedly looted the orphanage stealing all electrical and electronic equipment including 12 solar panels, inverters, 2 dozen of batteries, electrical panels, even fishing electrical wiring off the walls. They took two cars off the property, completely looted a storage room filled with equipment, and ripped apart a Freightliner truck parked on the property. We can neither list all the items taken nor assess the damages to the buildings since the property remains under their control to this day.

After less than one year living at our parents', the area became unlivable for everyone. The reduced staff and the children were under serious threats and pressure to vacate.

That morning, they hurriedly left the area by foot until they could find some public transportation. They then went to the home of one of the caregiver’s parents and resided there for a month.

The children and the caregivers moved in with some other family members in another part of town until we can secure a yearly contract for a small residence for them.

After less than one year living at our parents', the area became unlivable for everyone. The reduced staff and the children were under serious threats and pressure to vacate.

That morning, they hurriedly left the area by foot until they could find some public transportation. They then went to the home of one of the caregiver’s parents and resided there for a month.

The children and the caregivers moved in with some other family members in another part of town until we can secure a yearly contract for a small residence for them.

As a result, the children have not been able to be schooled for more than a year. Still, we give God thanks for their lives, the dedication of the staff, and His provision and protection.

HWI thanks all of you who have faithfully supported this project over the years and continue to do so with your prayers and financial givings to help care for the children.

In all of this we remember: This world is far from being our home. Thank God Almighty, we are just passing through. If this is all that we have to live for, we are most to be pitied (par. 1 Cor. 15:19).