Mitch Albom's Haiti orphanage, a small oasis for children inside a gang-controlled city
In a Nutshell
In gang-controlled Port-au-Prince, Mitch Albom and his wife run Have Faith Haiti, a fortified 7-acre orphanage sheltering 56 at-risk children with love, faith, rigorous education in French and English, and security measures like armed guards and emergency bunkers. Most children arrive abandoned or malnourished; 16 high school graduates have earned U.S. college scholarships, pledging to return and serve Haiti for two years to rebuild their country. Amid Haiti's collapse—90% gang control, mass displacement, and stalled UN intervention—the orphanage proves environment unlocks every child's potential, fostering leaders undeterred by violence.
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It's rare to hear about something good happening in Haiti. 16 years after the devastating earthquake which killed some 200,000 people and left more than a million homeless, the government has all but collapsed and gangs battle for control of the capital, Port-au-Prince. There's a small oasis in that besieged city where children grow up behind walls, but hope is very much alive. It's an orphanage called Have Faith Haiti run by best-selling author Mitch Albom and his wife Janine. Since the earthquake, they've been taking in the most at-risk kids: abandoned infants, toddlers with disabilities, children begging in the streets. With love, faith, and a focus on education, the results have been extraordinary.
It's too dangerous for international flights to land in Haiti's capital. Every month, Mitch Albom flies the 2 hours from Florida to the northern city of Cap-Haitien. From there, they board a helicopter to reach Port-au-Prince. From the air, much of Haiti is a maze of dry riverbeds and rugged mountains stripped of trees. Port-au-Prince appears as a dense sprawl of chaotic streets and dilapidated buildings. On the ground, heavily armed guards drive Albom to the orphanage in a convoy of bulletproof vehicles.
It's kind of crazy just what it takes for you to get in and out of here. And you do this every month.
Yeah. Back before the gangs were an issue, we had two security guards. Now we have 24.
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