Beneficiaries: 5 Compassion-assisted beneficiaries and their families
Completion date: September 2025
Country: Haiti
Executive summary
Compassion believes that every child deserves to grow up in a safe and nurturing environment. Home should be a place where children’s hopes and dreams can grow and thrive—a place where they can play, create, enjoy meals with their families and sleep peacefully at night.
Sadly, many of the children Compassion serves in Haiti are suffering the effects of deplorable living conditions and extreme poverty. The makeshift, mud dwellings that some families call home fall far short of the most basic health and safety standards, lacking proper ventilation and leaving children vulnerable to illness. Even a typical rainstorm or a few strong gusts of wind can threaten families living in these precarious conditions, putting their homes at risk of collapse and leaving them vulnerable to losing what little they have.
The impact of living in these dilapidated homes extends far beyond physical health and safety; children also experience emotional distress and social instability, which can hinder their ability to thrive academically and develop essential life skills. Growing up in this kind of environment can stifle a child’s natural personality and zest for life, diminishing his or her motivation to learn at school or to engage in extracurricular activities.
A safe and stable home environment not only enhances children’s physical health, but also supports their emotional well-being and helps keep them in school so they can reach their goals. Providing vulnerable children with safe housing ensures they can reach their full potential, and ultimately, escape poverty for good.
This intervention will build safe and secure homes for five Compassion-assisted children and their families in Haiti who are currently living in deplorable conditions. The homes will be built with the oversight of a civil engineer and using sturdy materials such as cement flooring, block walls and sheet-metal roofing. Homes will also have doors and windows to increase security and ventilation. With safe and secure homes, children will have a safe place to sleep and study and will see improved physical and mental health, setting them up for a brighter future.
Summary
Did you know?
A study published by UNICEF in 2023 reported that nearly 3 million children in Haiti need humanitarian assistance, underscoring the urgent need for intervention.
Background
Most of the children Compassion supports in Haiti live in remote communities where jobs are scarce and families live hand to mouth. With little opportunity to get ahead economically, caregivers must commit all their resources simply to surviving. Families mired in extreme poverty lack the resources to make even basic improvements to their homes, which are typically constructed of little more than mud and tree branches. Without safe spaces to sleep and play, children face considerable hindrances to their overall well-being and development. Coupled with harsh weather conditions, these precarious living situations can quickly become life-threatening.
Recognizing the profound impact of living conditions on children’s well-being and future and their fundamental rights to safe shelter, Compassion Haiti is committed to helping children and their families transition to more dignified housing. Through the years, Compassion has been able to identify and assist many highly vulnerable children, giving them a safe place to call home.
The need
Compassion’s church partners have identified five children who are in urgent need of improved living conditions. These families live in shelters made of mud and little else. Sadly, these deplorable conditions leave children and caregivers at high risk of illness and suffering negative emotional effects and social stigma. Caregivers are already doing everything they can just to provide food for their families and there are little resources left to spend on home improvements. At risk of collapse, these shelters are unfit for human habitation.
Your support will help Compassion Haiti construct new, safe houses for these five precious boys and girls that they and their families can be proud of. Each new home will be built in according to established construction standards and under the supervision of a civil engineer. Following a competitive bidding process, an engineering firm will be selected to carry out the construction, with a local foreman overseeing the project. Regular site visits will be conducted to maintain quality and progress throughout the construction phase. We expect that all five families will be able to move into their new homes before the end of September 2025.
Safe housing touches every aspect of children’s lives and can make a significant difference in their outlook on life and motivation to reach their goals. By providing these children with a safe and comfortable living space, our partners also expect to see a drastic improvement in their attendance in school and engagement at their local Compassion centres.
What your gift will do
Your support will provide five highly vulnerable children and their families in Haiti with new, safe homes, including:
- Land
- Stones for the foundation
- Excavation
-
Building materials
- Blinding concrete
- Footings concrete
- Concrete poles
- Sub-basement rubble
- Chaining
- Floor slabs
- Block masonry
- Plaster
- Sheet metal roofing
- Labour and supervision
- Unexpected expenses
- Administration fees
Logistics
- Local contribution: US$4,527.30
- Handling of funds: Compassion Haiti will distribute funds to the local church partners and centre leaders will ensure this intervention remains within budget.
- Monitoring and follow-up: Follow-up and monitoring will be conducted through regular on-site inspections by both the civil engineer and the local foreman to ensure compliance with construction standards. An engineering firm will provide progress reports at key milestones and make adjustments to the implementation plan as required.
