Global Action for Children

     

THE SITUATION

Global Action for Children has been closely monitoring the situation in Haiti and is very concerned about the welfare of the Haitian population and especially Haiti’s children. Because they are more fragile than adults, children are particularly vulnerable to the spread of disease, lack of clean water, and proper nutrition. Thankfully, many of our trusted partners are on the ground in Haiti doing all that is humanly possible to protect and care for Haiti’s smallest citizens.

Americans are very generous and have already donated millions to relief efforts in Haiti. Seeing the dire situation in Haiti night after night through the media has made the challenges faced by Haitian children very real to all of us. It is natural that many of us want to take these children into our homes and offer them a future in the United States. In fact, many American families who have been deeply moved by the suffering in Haiti have been seeking to initiate adoptions of newly orphaned children from Haiti. We commend the altruism associated with these efforts but wish to strongly caution against this practice, at least in the immediate future, and offer alternative ways to support the children.

THE CONCERN

Many children in Haiti who may appear to be orphaned might actually just be separated from their parents. During the time of the earthquake, many children were in school or working and were not with their family members. Therefore, before any discussion of adoption, every effort must be made to reunite unaccompanied children with their immediate or extended families. Removing children from familiar settings at this point in time may further traumatize these children. We are also deeply concerned that well-meaning efforts to airlift Haitian children out of their country might open the door to fraud, abuse, and trafficking-and we have reason to believe that some of this is already happening on the ground.

THE WAY FORWARD

The first order of business is to ensure that these children are safe and that they have access to proper nutrition, healthcare, and shelter. Once the situation in Haiti has stabilized and all efforts to find a child’s family have been made, only then can a child safely be considered for international adoption following the guidelines laid out in the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, which the United States has ratified.

The best interest of children who have been through traumatic situations is to receive immediate care within familiar surroundings. Americans wishing to help children during this crisis may best do so by contributing to their loving care through a reputable charity or humanitarian group that is working on the ground to ensure that Haiti’s children are safe, protected, and whenever possible reunited with their families. Examples of these groups are listed here: http://www.globalactionforchildren.org/news/entry/how_you_can_help_children_in_haiti.

In the meantime, our country is working alongside these reputable non-governmental organizations to coordinate, track and support children - and ultimately to re-empower families and communities to be able to care for these children themselves.