Street Children - Haiti Observer Blog

According to a video circulating on the web, there was an interview conducted with one of these children who explained how the gangs have been using the street children in Haiti as informers in the assassination of several police officers. Usually for no more than $4 US dollars, these street children are instructed to go and observe where these police officers are stationed and report to them.

WATCH VIDEO: Haitian Street children used by gang as informers to kill Haitian Police

This particular child in the video admitted that he contributed in the assassination of five(5) Police Officers in the region of Croix-des-Bouquets and Ganthier. On the day he was captured by the Police, the child was working for a specific gang, observing and reporting the whereabouts some police. These well armed gangs have their base in Carrefour Marin, in Port-au-Prince

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The children of Haiti are in need of nutrition support. Recently, a senior UNICEF official in Haiti has said that nearly one in two children under the age of five, suffer from malnutrition in the Francophone Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country, for reasons including poverty, unfavorable feeding practices and disease. If a child is not nourished with proper nutrients during the first 1,000 days of his life, his brain and body never properly develops. In a far reaching consequence, it would affect his intelligence, school performance, and income and in a greater consequence, the chances of his contribution toward the overall development of his country will be almost negligible. Under-nutrition puts children at greater risks of infection and delayed recovery. This translates into the unnecessary loss of about 3 million young lives a year all over the world.

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A staggering number of children were left not only homeless, but also parentless following the massive earthquake of 2010. Five years on, the SOS Children's Village in Les Cayes continues to provide a place for these motherless and fatherless children. To be correct, the foundation has provided now three such places in the southern region. The new village was built to house and support as many as 135 children and consists of private family homes equipped for 14 SOS families, plus a house for SOS's 13 "aunts," who give assistance to the mothers to care for the children.

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Of 8 nations in world where half of the children don't attend school, Haiti is one of the countries. It is because of this reason that Laurent Lamothe - Prime Minister of Haiti and Vanneur Pierre - Minister of Education for Haiti attended a meeting with UNESCO in Washington D.C. along with the ministers of the 7 other nations. The other nations include South Sudan, Yemen, Nigeria, India, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Bangladesh.

UNESCO called this meeting to discuss the challenges faced by these countries and the steps that can be taken to open doors for education for the children. International Monetary Fund and World Bank hosted a ministerial meeting on April 18 with a theme called 'Learning for All'. Michaëlle Jean, UNESCO Special Envoy for Haiti also attended the meeting. It was informed to the press by Michaëlle Jean that she participated in the round table that dedicated specifically for Haiti alongside Vanneur Pierre, Laurent Lamothe, Irina Bokova (Director General of UNESCO) and Gordon Brown (US Special Envoy for Global Education).

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There are a lot of facts to know about children in Haiti. Primary school is attended by just about 20% of the children and after primary grade many of the children don't attend school. Many of the schools barely have canteens or cafeterias.

Estimates On Status Of Haitian Children As Per 1998
As per estimates of 1998, the death rate per 1000 children was 99. Lack of care and medication are the main reasons for 25% to 30% death of children in the provinces. It is through a church that the missionaries support around 60% of the private schools in Haiti. Around 60% of the children hardly get three meals per day. Many of the children have no breakfast or lunch.

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The sex bondage trade most often ensnares female adult and child victims.

Forced into various kinds of sex bondage, perpetrators feed on them. The crime of sex bondage has many purposes, from single-ownership to religious ritualism, in which the sex bondage trade flourishes. Criminal syndicates, high-level government functionaries, depraved netherworld perverts, and dedicated human rights members all use victims of transnational human trafficking for sexual purposes. The international sex bondage trade is a world-wide phenomenon, particularly in South and East Asia.

Commercial sexual exploitation of children embraces activities such as "turning out" child prostitutes, and using them as fodder for child pornography and sex tourism. Any and all kinds of sexual activities are perpetrated on children, some of young as six. Sex bondage can occur as a tangential activity for debt bondage and transportation of brides for forced marriages.

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