Today, 57 million children are not enrolled in school due to poverty, lack of teachers and classrooms, and other obstacles. We work towards achieving universal primary education. One child at a time. 

Primary education is critical in the development of children and their communities. Not only does education develop important intellectual and social skills, education breaks down socioeconomic barriers and creates opportunities for children who would otherwise lack them. Today, 57 million children are not enrolled in school due to poverty, lack of teachers and classrooms, and other obstacles. We work towards achieving universal primary education. One child at a time.

The Haitian Ministry of Education calls for closing of all schools now as the invisible enemy is looming danger over Haiti. Hand International Inc’s education team will be assisting the ministry in assessing schools and identifying areas for temporary learning spaces. The organization will also train teachers in psychological support.

As of May 2020, there are over 5.4 million cases of COVID-19 worldwide, a number which rises daily.

When a national or global crisis strikes, communities with high rates of poverty are particularly vulnerable due to a lack of resources and infrastructure. Hand International Inc has created an emergency relief fund to be able to quickly and appropriately respond to crisis situations such as natural disasters, conflicts, epidemics or pandemics, food insecurity, and drought.

The devastating Corona virus will leave more than 1 million people in Cap Haitien, and surrounding areas in desperate
need — and will exact a heavy toll on Haiti’s children. They are weak and marginalized. Amid it all, they are more vulnerable to diseases, injury, abuse and exploitation.
Meanwhile, their future opportunities are also in jeopardy, as Haiti’s education system lies in ruins.

The scale of this disaster is unprecedented in Haiti, and the needs of children and families have far exceeded available supplies and logistical capacity. An estimated 200,000 families (1 million people) are homeless. The majority are living in overcrowded, informal settlements with poor sanitation; unable to access the basic necessities — food,
water, shelter and health services — without assistance. Others have fled to the countryside, increasing the burden on impoverished rural communities.

Over 40 million people are currently enslaved throughout the world.

Human trafficking is monstrous; it is a universal issue that frequently impacts the most vulnerable individuals—women and children among us. According to The United Nations  human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving a person by means of coercion, deception or abuse of vulnerability, for the purpose of exploitation. This ghastly practice made more modern slaves out of children. A whopping 1 in 4 children fall victims of this horrific—inhumane crime, joining the estimated 40.3 million people living in modern slavery today around the world.

This heinous exploitation violates people’s right and dignity. 79% of the victims are women and children according to the U.N. They have been used as sex slaves, child soldiers, and induced in forced labor.

In Haiti, over 200,000 children are victims of modern day slavery called: RESTAVEK, meaning stayed with. Restavèk children are abused, beaten, sexually assaulted and put to harsh labor domestically. According to the 2013 Global Slavery Index, Haiti was ranked number 2  in the world in prevalence of modern slavery by population behind Mauritania.