Hope for Haiti – the impact of school feeding
Emmline Toussaint from our partner BND talks about the impact of gang violence on children in Haiti and how Mary’s Meals is a beacon of hope for local communities.
Following on from interviews with school cooks Chantrelle and Myrlande about how violence from rival gangs is impacting learners at Verena II Primary School in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, I spoke to Emmeline Toussaint, from our partner BND, about how our school feeding programme is providing hope for local communities.
Mary’s Meals: Could you tell us about the current situation in Haiti?
Emmline Toussaint: Haiti is really unpredictable. Everyday there are shootings – people are being threatened and killed every day. Gangs fight to try to take control of certain areas, and when they do, schools cannot open, nobody can go out.
Two weeks ago, we couldn’t open our warehouse where we store the food because of the number of shootings. And houses are being burned down. I have two employees who lost their houses a month ago. These are normal people, who went to school, got a degree and are trying to work and make a life for themselves – and they have lost everything.
It’s currently very difficult, almost impossible, for food to come into Haiti. Armed gangs control the roads and ports, and people who used to grow their own food are not able to come to Port-au-Prince to sell their produce. Many people don’t have the money to pay for food. They can’t go to the supermarket and buy imported food such as plantain and bananas, because the price is too high.
How is gang violence affecting children in Haiti and what impact is the school feeding programme having?
The children are living a nightmare. Yesterday, a child at a school in Pitchonville got hit by a bullet. This was not because the gangs were shooting at the school, but they were shooting in the area and the child got hit by a stray bullet.
But even though there are shootings, the children still come to school. It’s a risk they take every day. They come to school because they need the education and the food. The meal provided by Mary’s Meals is the only food they can count on for the day. Despite living through all this, the children are happy. They have a smile on their face because they know they have that food waiting for them at school.
Mary’s Meals is needed now more than ever – and we are doing our best to make sure that the children are eating every day. Without the school feeding programme, the children wouldn't have anything to eat.
What can be done to stop young people being recruited into gangs?
Food is the biggest incentive. A priest I talked to explained that he was attacked by a young gang member. He gave the boy 50 Haitian Gourds – less than $0.50 – so they could buy food. I feel that if that young boy was receiving Mary’s Meals every day at school, maybe he wouldn't be part of a gang.
It’s the poverty that’s killing young people. To stop them being in a gang, they need to be able to eat at least one meal a day. When you eat, you can think. And when you think, you can see what is right and wrong.
Finally, how do the people of Haiti remain hopeful while living through such a difficult situation?
We always like to laugh and to make a joke, even in the worst situations. The other day I saw a message in a group chat that said: “When it's raining, you hear the sound of the rain on the roof, right? Well, if you hear that here, it's not rain, it's shooting, so please do not go out to collect the rainwater.”
It's funny, but it's still showing our reality. I tell this to show how Haitians are trying to cope with the situation. And I think that’s what keeps us alive.
It costs just £19.15, €22, $25.20 USD or $31.70 CAD to provide a child with school meals for an entire school year. Learn how the promise of a daily meal at school enables the children we serve in Haiti to receive an education and avoid getting caught up in gang violence.
Steph Bungay is our Content Officer and works with our partners to share the stories about how our work supports millions of children around the world. She recently spoke with mothers in Haiti to highlight why school meals play a vital role in keeping children out of gangs. Read an article about how food is a major incentive preventing children joining gangs.