As with any crisis response work, the needs evolve and the work changes. While Haiti is still in a crisis and is still experiencing a food shortage, rains have fallen and the average person is able to find a way to make do. There is still much hunger, and most people still live on the verge of starvation, especially in rural areas.
Our focus has shifted to working solely within the prisons. This is a place largely forgotten, except by those who live there. Many young people are locked up in Haiti’s prisons and forgotten. A small crime can get you arrested and then it takes an average of seven to eight years before you will go before a judge and even be charged with a crime. Food is limited, if you don’t have family on the outside to take care of you, it’s very bad. 70% of the prisoners are experiencing severe malnutrition and lack of basic hygiene products. 100% are living with a society that tells them they can never be a productive member of society again.
Over the last year, we have been able to build relationships both with the prison authorities and the prisoners. We are routinely reaching over 2,300 inmates and have distributed over 1,000 bibles into the prisons of Haiti. This, along with the weekly church services in two of the largest prisons in the south is making a huge impact on the incarcerated people in Haiti.
