Women and Children

The predicament for women and children in Haiti is grim.  Rape, being used in a relationship of sex-driven dependency, and death in childbirthare are very common threats to Haiti's women. Women's spirits are commonly "sold" in Voudou ceremeonies by husbands who have found fault or displeasure with their spouse. They are expected to do most of the household work AND be the primary breadwinner of the family (if the man has stayed in the picture at all). Life is rough for every Haitian in poverty, but it is especially difficult for women.

Children are also extremely vulnerable. It is estimated that only half of all Haitian children survive to age 15. You can ask almost any Haitian if they have lost any brothers and sisters to an early death, and almost all will nod a sad affirmative.

Simple things can change this. Nutrition, breastfeeding, education, advocacy, community support, employment, and sometimes simple encouragement and hope can significantly reduce child mortality and other risks to women. Helping young men discover the value of sexual responsibility, fidelity, respect for women, and faithful parenting are also vital to changing the predicament in Haiti. Ultimately, stable families must be established if Haiti will break free from its deep poverty. We work towards this end in almost all we do at the Apparent Project. We are trying to keep families in tact and help them be a blessing to others who are in need around them.

We began the Apparent Project when we saw so many children being relinquished to orphanages simply because mothers just didn't have enough food to feed their children. In trying to keep families together through employment, we also want to make a "family friendly" work environment. Our feeding program provides a daily lunch to all workers AND their children. Women are free to work from home or in our artisan's center, depending on their needs. We also provide diapers and formula (if they can't breastfeed) to our workers and have cribs set up for nap times if a mother brings her baby to work with her. We try to find employment for the men in our artisan's lives as well, so that they are not displaced by their partner's income, and so that the woman is not the only breadwinner in the family. In everything we do, we try to keep the whole family in mind, knowing that if we don’t help holistically, we can unintentionally contribute further to the problems that Hatian families are facing.