According to this report from Lumos, of the estimated 32,000 children who live in orphanages in Haiti, only 20 are percent orphans. Eighty years of research demonstrates the harm caused by raising children in institutions. As a result, most countries in the developed world moved away from this form of care decades ago.
The Haitian government has prioritised reducing reliance on orphanage care, to ensure children can be raised in families. They have also prioritised addressing trafficking in children, another significant concern in Haiti.
However, well-intended donors and volunteers from the United States, Canada and Europe support Haitian orphanages on a large scale. It is likely that tens of millions of dollars are sent to orphanages in Haiti every year, through numerous streams, including cash transactions, making it difficult to track the money.
The availability of such funding, and the desire of well-intended people to help ‘orphans’, is driving the establishment of orphanages purely for profit. Only 15% are officially registered. The rest operate outside the law and therefore do not publish accounts or budgets. There is no official system to record children entering or leaving orphanages.
Evidence is emerging from developing countries of orphanages which traffic children. Some orphanages in Haiti are established with the best of intentions and strive to provide adequate care. However, the case evidence in this report suggests that a trend has developed of Haitian orphanages which are trafficking children. The evidence demonstrates a consistent pattern of behaviour, including:
- Orphanage ‘directors’ pay ‘child-finders’ to recruit children for the orphanage. In some instances, families are paid to give their children away. In others they are deceived into believing their children will receive an education and have a better life. The orphanage uses the children to persuade donors to give them money. The sums received are far in excess of the money spent on looking after children.
- In many cases, children are neglected and abused in the orphanage. There is witness evidence of children disappearing or dying without record. Criminal investigations and prosecutions of such cases are rare.
Lumos, together with the government authorities are in the process of closing three orphanages where children had been trafficked. More than 75% of the children could be reunited with their families with a little support. Other children will be placed in foster care and young adults will be supported on to independent living.
The costs to support children to live with their families are considerably lower than keeping them in orphanages.
A holistic, joined up plan is needed to remove all children from harmful orphanages and place them in safe, loving family environments, ensuring they are included in school and have access to healthcare and an adequate standard of living.
