Haiti five years later: “The situation of so many children is still dire”

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OTTAWA, Ont. (January 7, 2015) – Five years after the unthinkable 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti, significant progress has been made in reconstructing the country. Even so, Canadian NGO SOS Children’s Villages warns that the people in greatest need are the people who can provide the greatest hope for Haiti: its children.

Half the Haitian population is under the age of 18. Youth literacy is around 70 per cent and most education is still privatized.

“The crisis in Haiti is very much still a children’s crisis,” noted SOS Children’s Villages Canada President Boyd McBride. “The situation of so many children is still dire. Three out of ten children born in Haiti today will grow up illiterate.”

McBride also stated, “SOS is in Haiti to support families and children. We’re ensuring children have access to education and health care, and providing needed social programs to enable mothers to continue to care for their children.”

SOS Children's Villages, which has been active in Haiti since 1978, has been concentrating its long-term reconstruction efforts on education and supporting families.

• Right now, SOS Children’s Villages runs over 35 community centres throughout the urban centres Port-au-Prince, Cap Haitien and the rural area of Les Cayes. These community centres provide literacy training to over 3,000 pre-school children in addition to providing parents with skills training and food assistance.
• SOS has also built or rebuilt 6 new schools throughout Haiti and continues to work with the Haitian government on new educational projects. While several of these schools, remain to be privately run, SOS has subsidized hundreds of children from the local communities to attend these schools.
• Over the past five years, SOS Children’s Villages has reunited hundreds of children separated from their families through its family reunification work.
• SOS continues to care for many children who were unable to be reunited. They will be moving into a new SOS Children’s Village constructed for them in Les Cayes, which will officially open on Saturday, January 10.

“Haitians are grateful to the many generous Canadians who have contributed to this process.” notes Boyd McBride. “SOS has been in the region for 34 years. And we are playing a major part in the reconstruction by focusing on its best asset: its children.”

“If we want a new Haiti, we need to give its children all the advantages they can to face the oncoming challenges. Education and a family are a great place to start.”

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MEDIA CONTACTS

• Graeme Burk, Director of Communications, SOS Children’s Villages Canada
  Cell: 613-282-1476, [email protected]
• Samantha Halyk, Communications Assistant, SOS Children’s Villages Canada
  613-232-3309 ext. 535, [email protected]
• B-Roll, video and photos are also available.
• More information can be found at www.soschildrensvillages.ca/Media-Centre

SOS Children's Villages provides children in need with a caring, loving, and secure family environment where basic needs for food, health, shelter, and education are met. SOS Children's Villages creates opportunities for children to become responsible, contributing members of society by providing Villages and community support where stable, nurturing homes exist to meet family, social, emotional and physical needs of children.

Canadian's wishing to support SOS Children's Villages are encouraged to sponsor a child, sponsor a village or to make a direct donation. Your support ensures that SOS Children's Villages can continue to provide a safe and loving home to orphan and abandoned children worldwide.