Our Impact

Sadly, quality medical care is now rare in Haiti as gangs have targeted doctors, clinics and hospitals. Many medical professionals have been kidnapped, killed, or have fled the country. 

The Chanje Movement employs a full-time medical director who cares for the children at Chanje Lakay children’s home, ensuring they receive necessary treatment and regular preventative care, without having to leave the shelter. He and his team also conduct mobile clinics in the surrounding communities. For many people, these clinics are their only opportunity to see a doctor or nurse. 

Sadly, quality medical care is now rare in Haiti as gangs have targeted doctors, clinics and hospitals. Many medical professionals have been kidnapped, killed, or have fled the country. 

The Chanje Movement employs a full-time medical director who cares for the children at Chanje Lakay children’s home, ensuring they receive necessary treatment and regular preventative care, without having to leave the shelter. He and his team also conduct mobile clinics in the surrounding communities. For many people, these clinics are their only opportunity to see a doctor or nurse. 

Haitian nationals run all Chanje Movement operations on the island nation. The core staff and leadership team include a director, doctor, psychologist, food outreach and programs manager, and pastor. Support staff include drivers, cooks, security guards, teachers and house managers. We also work closely with IBESR (Haiti’s Child Protective Services) and have an assigned social worker assisting in family reunification.  

Our U.S. staff and non-profit board help with key decision-making, fundraising, finance management, and partner development. They are in daily communication with Haitian staff to ensure they have everything they need to keep things running as smoothly as possible. 

Kids at Chanje Lakay Children’s Shelter regularly attend school and receive help with homework from staff. Tuition is also a wraparound service we extend to families in our Family Support program. In addition to formal training, we provide the kids at Chanje Lakay with skills training including computers, leatherwork and tutoring in English. They participate in field trips to learn about their community and culture. 

Chanje Lakay is a children’s shelter established in 2013 to care for children who have been orphaned physically or economically (their families abandoned them believing they lack the essential resources for their children to survive.) Chanje Movement partners with caregivers, community leaders, local pasters and IBESR (Child Protective Services in Haiti) to create an environment where children can thrive knowing they are loved and have a purpose.  When a child’s basic physical needs for food and shelter are met, they can play, develop healthy relationships, focus on school, and dream about the future. These children are not destined for adoption. While some can and have been reunited with extended family, others will stay at Chanje Lakay and learn the skills they need to transition to independent adulthood and be future leaders of Haiti. 

While many organizations were forced to leave greater Port Au Prince because of intense gang violence, we continue serving meals in that area thanks to a small team in the community. Once or twice each month they cook hot meals that feed up to 250 of the most vulnerable people – primarily kids and those living on the street. For some, this will be the biggest meal they get all month. Separately, outside the volatile gang zone, our outreach team provides family meal kits of rice, beans, spaghetti and oil that are distributed in the local villages where Chanje Movement continues to maintain community relationships. 

Not long ago, Chanje Movement contracted with a local nonprofit to drill two deep water wells in greater Port au Prince so that communities could have continuous access to clean water – which they still do today. While we have provided many hand dug wells over the years, these two access a deep water table, are in controlled environments, and in the future could allow for powered access and specialized filtration systems.  Once the power and control of the gangs have diminished and drilling opportunities resume, we hope to drill more wells.