15 babies and children died in a fire at a group home in Haiti run by a U.S. church

Paulina Firozi - The Washington Post

"A fire tore through a children’s group home in Haiti Thursday night, killing at least 15 children at a facility run by a U.S.-based Christian organization, according to UNICEF," says this article from the Washington Post. According to the article, the insitution - operated by the Church of Bible Understanding in Pennsylvania - is not accredited by the Institute of Social Welfare and Research (IBESR) in Haiti and the religious group does not have the proper license to operate its facilities in Haiti.

Furthermore, "there are 754 children’s homes in Haiti that shelter more than 25,000 children, according to UNICEF. Of those, just 35 meet the standards to operate, Fornara said, citing an analysis by IBESR. She said while the facilities are often called orphanages, 80 percent of the children have parents who may live nearby. Families living in poverty or who cannot otherwise take care of the children instead place them in these group homes."

“If I can make a plea in this tragic event, it’s that no child should be in an orphanage — every child should be in a family environment,” said Maria Luisa Fornara, a representative from UNICEF Haiti. “If not [their] own family, there’s always a possibility [they] can live with a larger family or in foster care.”