John, we hope you’ll take a moment to read this account from Anderson, a Save the Children staff member in Haiti. Anderson has responded to both the 2010 earthquake and the recent surge in armed violence. He has witnessed the kidnapping of four people close to him and was forced to relocate his family in Port-au-Prince last month as armed groups advanced on their neighborhood. 

Note: This account contains details of violence and suffering that may be difficult for some to read.

John,

My name is Anderson, and I work for Save the Children in Haiti.

Over six months ago, armed violence paralyzed Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, leading to a dire humanitarian crisis that has spiraled out of control. This year alone, about 600,000 people – most of them children – have been forced from their homes. Hunger has reached record levels, sexual violence is rampant and I’ve never felt more powerless in my own country. 
 
After 17 years as a humanitarian worker in Haiti – including during the 2010 earthquake – I thought I'd seen the worst. But nothing could've prepared me for the level of desperation that now grips my country. 
 
I grew up in a Haiti that was full of hope and promise. Back then, as a child, I believed I could become someone, that I could change our country for the better. We had access to education, the chance to learn, to dream. Families meant something.

But today, that Haiti is gone. 

Now, most families in the country are fractured. Children lack protection as parents are too consumed by the daily struggle for survival. Children are left searching desperately for love and, as a result, are drawn to or forced to join armed groups, seeking a sense of purpose and protection. 
 
Many of the armed group leaders terrorizing Haiti today were once the very children neglected in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. Little was done to improve their living conditions following the earthquake, and our failure to invest in their future – the future of Haiti – has had dire consequences. 

If these children had felt heard and been given access to quality education, adequate food and a government that protected them, they might've chosen a different path. 

I live on the west side of Port-au-Prince, caught between two armed groups. The past three months have been an absolute nightmare for my wife, two sons and me. We live in a constant state of fear and panic, watching as armed groups force our neighbors to flee to the southernmost parts of the country. 
 
At the end of July, my wife and I made the difficult decision to move our family to a safer part of west Port-au-Prince, leaving everything we had behind. But even in our new location, we are not truly safe. Recently, armed groups began advancing on our new neighborhood. We live in fear every day of a cycle of violence that never ends. 
 
It’s not easy. It’s impossible to be a humanitarian worker and not be deeply affected by what we see. But we continue to push forward, because we must. Because if we don’t, who will? 
 
The crises plaguing our country today will persist for decades without meaningful change – without the world recognizing Haiti’s potential and supporting our nation to rebuild rather than just survive another day. Only then can we offer both current and future generations of children a genuine chance to reclaim their future and break this cycle of violence and suffering. It's a call for help from all Haitians, especially from children, to the rest of the world and our leaders to invest in real change. The current situation cannot continue this way.

That’s why I work with Save the Children, to bring change. We hold on to hope, trying to be the change we wish to see in our country. If you'd like to learn more about the work we’re doing to support children in the midst of this crisis and how you can help, click here: https://www.savethechildren.org/us/where-we-work/haiti

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Thank you for not looking away from a country in crisis. Thank you for all you do to protect children’s futures.

Anderson
Save the Children Haiti 

Anderson in his Save the Children uniform in Haiti. Face hidden for protection.