Anyone who has been following Haiti closely over the past two years has likely heard of the increase in gang violence across Port au Prince. This has included sporadic gunfights across the city, and during a botched police operation in March, the death of multiple police officers.

Over the past 10 days or so the inter-gang conflict in the Martissant area has reached a new level of violence and destruction. What started out as a rivalry between two gangs has turned into an prolonged and extremely violent battle, the burning and looting of hundreds of homes, and as many as 5,000 people displaced.

Here is Martissant in relation to where we work (Carrefour) and the capital city (Port au Prince):

At least 1,000 of the displaced people — over 300 families — have taken refuge in the Carrefour Sports Center, located less than a mile from our clinic.

Many of these families fled their homes with only the clothes on their backs, and over a third of them reported that they saw their homes destroyed or severely damaged before they left.

As hundreds of displaced people began to line the streets of Carrefour last weekend with no shelter and no food, our staff reached out and asked if we could help. At their request we shared the need on social media and had an incredibly generous response from many of you.

Our team has been so grateful to have the resources to be able to help! We struck a deal with a nearby street vendor to purchase her days meals for $300 and distribute them to the families in the Sports Center. Below is Ti Poupe or “Little Doll” preparing and loading the food.

The entire neighborhood pitched it to separate, load, and distribute all the meals. Below is Ti Poupe and the shoe-shine boss from across the street pitching in to load the truck.

After the first day of distributing meals to families at the Sports Center, our team noticed — as they are trained to do — that some of the displaced children were sick and undernourished. (You know Emano was in there doing his thing!) Tuesday morning they returned armed with medicine, nutrient-packed food supplements, and other supplies. Our pediatrician, who was supposed to be on vacation last week, came THROUGH the area of gang violence at risk to his own life to lead the screening and care of the children.

The team of our pediatrician, head nurse, inventory director, and pharmacist saw over 60 children from newborn to 7 years old! They distributed antibiotics, antiparastic medication, plumpy sup, toddler milk, and more. We are so privileged to work with such a compassionate team who DAILY go above and beyond the call of duty.

While distributing food and caring for children at the Sport Center, our team also noticed there were a fair number of pregnant women who had been displaced from their homes as well. This week they plan to consult with these pregnant women to see how best we can come along side of them for the best birthing outcomes for them and their babies. Stay tuned for more on that!

Thank you again to everyone who contributed, we are so blessed to have partners in ministry like all of you!