As Haiti battles with ever-increasing gang violence and a reality where 5.7 million people daily find themselves up against high-level food insecurity, Mary’s Meals is hoping its extensive school meal program can become a powerful shield for the nation's next generation. 

Emmline Toussaint, a Haitian-born coordinator responsible for implementing Mary’s Meals’ school feeding program, has seen the crisis surrounding her people up close every day for years. 

“ The Haitian population is facing what I would say is one of the worst security and humanitarian crises known in the world so far,” she told The Catholic Register. “The situation is fueled by ongoing gang violence, attacks on national police and, unfortunately, most victims and people being killed are from the civilian population.” 

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Gang violence in the capital city of Port-au-Prince has spilled into Centre and Ouest departments, where Mary’s Meals also serves children. Some 1.4 million people have been displaced, half of them children, with hunger compounding the struggle. Of the 5.7 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity, upwards of one million are children. 

Mary’s Meals has served school meals in Haiti since 2006. Currently, Mary’s Meals reaches 196,000 children in more than 670 places of education in the country, working through local partners. Even as conditions have forced many organizations to scale back, partners on the ground have adapted their delivery plans to keep reaching as many schools as possible. 

Toussaint said these adaptations come at a largely unseen cost that underscores the dire needs of Haiti’s youth seeking a meal. 

“Although we are seeing all this corruption, we have people who believe in God and are here to help the younger generation. We take longer routes  through normally inaccessible roads to avoid gang activity, we access local transporters who help us ship the food to the schools, sometimes we buy from suppliers located near the schools, and we even use boat transportation should it be necessary. We use so many tactics, and thank God they have succeeded until now,” she said. 

The coordinator says the daily school meal provides more than mere nutrition, but a reason for kids to attend school, energy to learn, a safe space away from violence and protection from gang recruitment. Many from ages 15 to 30 have already planned to emigrate from the country, or stay and join in criminal activity, a generation seemingly “lost” in Toussaint’s mind. 

For many children aged three to 14, Mary’s Meals program is their only reliable, nutritious meal of the day, sometimes their only meal at all . 

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Toussaint shared how seeing the positive impact Mary’s Meals has made on the youth, even amidst struggles, became a way for her to live out her faith practically each day. 

“ I am a born Christian and Catholic, and I do try to practise my faith on a daily basis. I still remember in the Bible where Jesus said, whoever receives one child in my name receives me,” she said, referring to Mark 9:37. “I’m trying to do that with my work, and it’s helped my personal view of how to respect the commitment of God by doing this. It keeps me going.” 

While giving her thanks for the small team of fewer than 100 people directly involved in the program, Toussaint did highlight Mary’s Meals' urgent appeal for continued funds towards crucial nutrition. Rising costs and violent disruptions, as well as the food and fuel prices and transportation detours, heavily impact the team's sustainability. 

These struggles, while glanced over in headlines, are everyday realities for her, the team and the children. 

“ I experienced it myself personally, where if I tell a Canadian or an American that a child can have days pass without eating, to them, it's unimaginable, but it is our truth.  Our goal is to ensure that this does not happen. The kids deserve to find Christians like us, who, even if they do not have a lot, have a little more to lend a hand. That is what Mary’s Meals does and will continue to do with their help.”

Visit marysmeals.ca or call 1-855-702-0330.

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