Children beaten after a football match turned violent, a woman accused of witchcraft and murdered, a person killed while traveling from one village to another — these are just a few of the stories of Haitians suffering under gang violence.

Death or attack feel unpredictable in the country, leaving many anxious to survive.

Though gangs were partially pushed from Port-au-Prince, their violence has spread to the outskirts and rural areas. Roseline DeHart from For Haiti With Love said, “Lives are getting harder every day. Things are very hard right now in Haiti, and Haiti needs help from its neighbors.”

Aerial view of Port-au-Prince (Photo courtesy of Matteo Favre via Pexels)

Since July, more than 1,200 people have been killed in gang attacks, self-defense retaliation, and army operations. Over 700 were wounded. On top of that, sexual abuse and kidnappings are widespread. Victims of the gangs are often chosen at random, including children.

DeHart added, “We need other countries to realize that Haiti needs help, to come and help Haiti.”

For Haiti With Love continue their work of Gospel in Haiti, helping those displaced, local communities, children, and more. They are also preparing a Christmas celebration for hundreds of kids with hot meals, toys, and the Gospel.

DeHart says, “We want to help as many as we can, but so many people have moved into the Cap-Haïtien area, and there are street kids everywhere. It’s become overwhelming, and we’re doing the best we can with what we have.”

Among their ministries is a free burn clinic. After patients are treated and reach for their wallets, staff tell them Jesus has already paid the cost. DeHart explained, “That’s when they break out crying and want to know who this Jesus is. And then we tell them about Jesus!”

The overwhelming need for help opens doors for prayer and giving. Find your place in the story: join the spiritual battle for the people of Haiti, and if you want to help in practical ways, visit the For Haiti With Love website.

Man standing on the mountain, Haiti (Photo courtesy of Kelly via Pexels).

Gang violence, malnutrition, and loss of educational services and infrastructure feed into each other, forming a “polycrisis” that threatens Haiti’s Next Generation.

(Photo courtesy of Zach Vessels via Unsplash)

A lack of schooling makes kids especially vulnerable to danger. Even when people flee to areas where there are schools, “They don’t have the money, because all they took with them is the clothes on their backs,” For Haiti With Love’s Roseline DeHart explains.

“Surviving is a priority.”

Many displaced families and kids live on the streets. “This is also a problem,” De Hart says, “because anybody can give those kids money to go do any trouble – anything they want them to do – just for survival.”

For Haiti With Love points the people they serve to God and to hope in Him for their future. When they have the budget, they give food, build homes, and offer a school support program.

“We always tell them that God doesn’t want them to live like that. Even though the country is the way it is, it’s not God’s plan,” De Hart says.

“They’re the future of Haiti. They can go to school and make it better, and God has a plan for them.”

Pray for God’s mercy on Haiti and consider giving financially to For Haiti With Love. “We just keep doing all we can, and we ask for support so we can continue to do it,” De Hart says.

Header image depicts Haitian children circa 2014. Photo credit MNN/Katey Hearth. 

As of Thursday, August 7, businessman Laurent Saint-Cyr is now the head of Haiti’s transitional presidential council. He is supposed to serve a three-month term before Haiti begins steps toward a 2026 general election.

Also last week, the U.S. announced a $93 million emergency food aid package. Supplies will go to Haiti and 12 African nations.

Medical clinic (Photo courtesy of For Haiti With Love)

The aid is desperately needed. According to a May-June 2025 report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, half of the people in Haiti face high levels of acute food insecurity. Makenson Saint Fleur, an attorney with For Haiti with Love, takes it a step further. “Somewhere in Haiti, people eat the dirt.” 

Regarding government leadership, Saint Fleur says candidly that some officials actually work with gangs. “They do nothing for the people. They do nothing for peace, nothing for security,” he said. 

Although the team at For Haiti has a security guard, Saint Fleur says this means nothing in a country where gangs run rampant in many places and leaders can be assassinated like President Jovenel Moïse was in 2021. 

Still, For Haiti continues to operate a clinic and distribute aid in the name of Jesus. “We teach the people the gospel, the Bible, but they still just need food, need clothes, need something to survive,” said Saint Fleur. 

In these struggles, pray over Haiti and the ongoing gospel ministry of For Haiti With Love.

“Haiti need[s] prayer,” said Saint Fleur. “We need more [resources] to help the people. We need more [things] like clinic supplies, like food, like clothes.” 

Header photo courtesy of For Haiti With Love. 

Makenson Saint Fleur is an attorney with For Haiti with Love. He says gangs carry on their criminal activity regardless of international designation. 

“The US tries to help Haiti with the situation, but for now, nothing is well. Everything is getting worse and worse every day.” 

Gangs have expanded their reach from Port Au Prince and are now trying to take over the entire North. 

“They take Mirebalais, they try to take Plateau centrale, they try to take Cap-Haïtien. They want to take all the country,” Saint Fleur says. 

Up to now, For Haiti with Love has been helping the needy of Cap-Haïtien with a burn clinic, food, and housing assistance. But Saint Fleur says if gang activity worsens in the area, the ministry will be forced to vacate. 

“If they take the city, you can do nothing – just leave the city,” he says. 

Currently, the burn clinic remains in place; but Saint Fleur says the ministry has had to cease meal distribution due to the unrest. 

“We can’t do everything we used to do,” he says. 

Even now, the Gospel remains central to FHWL’s efforts. 

“We always pray with them, and we teach a part of the Bible in every activity we do,” Saint Fleur says of their interactions with Haitians. 

As the team at For Haiti with Love cares and prays for their people, would you pray for them? 

“We need help. We need prayer,” Saint Fleur petitions. “We need every single prayer because Haiti is getting worse and worse again.”  

(Photos in this article courtesy of For Haiti With Love)

 “These people have left everything they had in Port-au-Prince. Some of them have just the clothes on their back they fled with,” she says. 

Widespread demonstrations protesting gang activity are an outgrowth of an aching question: Can things in Haiti get any worse? DeHart says people are discouraged, fed up, and tired. 

“They just pray that God will intervene and do something with Haiti with all these gangs because they can’t stand it anymore,” she says. “We try to help the ones we can.” 

For Haiti With Love has been working in Cap-Haïtien for years, but the recent violence is unprecedented. 

“This is the first time we’ve ever seen anything like this in Haiti,” DeHart says.  The ministry has a reputation for refusing to abandon Haiti, come what may. 

“God is really holding us together so we can continue to help them. And that is a big thing for them: knowing we will always be there for them,” DeHart says. 

Practical help includes food assistance, a burn clinic, and housing help. 5,000 US dollars funds the building of a starter house for a single mother. DeHart says the ministry has built eight such houses so far, with three more on the way. It’s a sizable effort for a team operating alone for the last five years. 

“Everybody’s afraid of going to Haiti now, so we haven’t had any team at all since 2020,” DeHart shares. 

She puts her faith in God, whose protection she entrusts herself to as she and her team care for the poor. As they serve, sometimes people ask more about the One in whose name these deeds are done. 

“That’s when the doors open and we tell them about the Gospel,” DeHart says. 

Please pray for peace and God’s intervention in Haiti. Pray for the people who are suffering and discouraged. Pray that God would turn chaos into order and restore Haiti to a country of beauty and thriving. 

Haitian boy. Courtesy of Tim Trad via Unsplash.

Header image courtesy of topshere via Unsplash

“Each day the gangs are taking over city by city down south, so everybody is moving,” DeHart says. 

Thousands of Haitians have been fleeing to the North of the country away from Port-au-prince. They are primarily finding lodging, along with relative stability and safety, in Cap-Haïtien. But not all is rosy there. 

“Everybody is bringing their business to Cap-Haïtien,” DeHart says. “But the inflation is still really high. People still can’t afford to eat. It’s getting very crowded.”

DeHart says to support the housing needs, her ministry built two houses last year and plans to build four more in 2025. But the influx of people is outpacing ministry capability.

Courtesy of Jörg Haller from Pixabay

“We don’t have the means to build houses for all the people that are asking us for housing,” she says.

Food is another issue. For Haiti with Love currently feeds about 100 people a day.

“Again, we don’t have the means to feed everybody. We would like to, but we can’t.” 

Adding to Haitian’s daily concerns in Cap-Haïtien is an ever-present fear that gangs will join the northward surge. 

“We are praying it doesn’t happen – that Cap-Haïtien stays safe,” DeHart says. 

Her ministry expected 500 children at their Christmas program last month. 

“We ended up having over a thousand children,” she recalls. “They got their tummy filled up, and they also got fed spiritually.” 

For Haiti with Love also hosts a medical clinic. Dehart says the staff tell patients the free services reflect the free love of Jesus. 

“They always ask us about who is this Jesus, and we tell them who Jesus is and tell them to pick a church and go to a church.” 

With the unrest and violence, Dehart says many missionaries have already left the country. 

“And I understand it is hard, but we are there and we want to continue to be there to help God’s children in Haiti,” she remarks. 

Please pray for Haiti. Pray that Haitians would look to Christ for both spiritual and physical needs, and pray that For Haiti with Love would continue to meet those whenever possible. Pray for safety of and provision for families, and pray that God’s mercy would be evident to His followers in this country.

Featured photo courtesy of Patrice S Dorsainville via Unsplash

Each year the organization hosts a massive Christmas party for around 500 children. This event not only blesses kids with a few toys and a warm meal, but gives them an opportunity to hear about and celebrate Christ.

Feeding Bodies and Hearts

The children show up in their best clothes for a warm meal of rice and beans, chicken, cookies and candy. They sing Christmas songs and learn about the Christmas story. Then each child receives a gift of a backpack.

(Photo courtesy of Andreas Böhm from Pixabay_

Roseline DeHart from For Haiti with Love says, “People have given us toys throughout the year to take down to Haiti. We have cars, Barbie dolls, hygiene stuff. The backpacks get filled with all kind of goodies. Then we give each kid a backpack and they go home. And then they tell the neighbors, they tell the families that didn’t come. They tell everybody what they have experienced. They tell them about the story they’ve heard – the Bible story. That’s the way that we spread the Gospel, through the children.”

Continuing to Speak about God

Typically the party moves around northern Haiti to reach different people each year. Haitians all over their community look forward to celebrating. However, this year due to the increased security concerns, they plan to have the event at their headquarters. For Haiti with Love is hiring additional security for the event to keep workers and the children safe as they celebrate.

DeHart says, “Satan is always trying to silence the people that want to talk about God. So we do it anyway, because that’s what we’re there for – to tell people about God. We have had people that come up trying to stop the party several times throughout the 30 years we’ve been doing it, but we never stop.”

As the event approaches, DeHart asks for prayer that the party will go off without any issues. Please pray that God will work mightily through the event and the discussions afterward to bring more people to know Him as Lord.

If you would like to support For Haiti with Love financially, please click here.

Representative Photo courtesy of Jörg Haller from Pixabay.

“Even schools have stopped. It’s in the whole country, not just in one part,” says Roseline DeHart with For Haiti With Love. “There’s been mudslides, the mountains washing down, flooding. People’s houses were flooded up to their hips inside their house.”

(Photo of Haitians is a representative stock photo courtesy of TopSphere Media via Unsplash)

Cap-Haitien authorities have declared a state of environmental emergency for six months. They asked for aid from the central government, but they did not receive an immediate reply.

Although flooding may seem small compared to the nation’s broader security crises, DeHart says this still affects everyone. 

“There’s still the livelihood [struggle] there,” she explains. “How to feed their family, take care of their family… It’s all part of trying to live in Haiti, and the rain just makes it worse.”

For Haiti’s base is on a mountain, so they are not experiencing the same flooding others are. They have given from their storehouse of food to serve those in need. At every opportunity, For Haiti shares encouragement based in Scripture. But they hear what people are really thinking. 

“Mentally, physically, some are giving up. They’re wondering, ‘Why is this happening to Haiti so much?’” DeHart says,

“We tell them that, you know, Jesus loves them, that there is hope for Haiti, and it’s only in God. But they say it’s hard for them to believe that there really is a God after all that’s going on.

“But we tell them there is [a God] and He is watching over them and protecting them.”

If you’ve ever known that feeling of helpless despair, pray for Haiti. Ask God to bring Haitians to know and trust in His goodness and sovereign care, even in disaster upon disaster. 

Then, pray for the rain and floods to stop. Pray that ministries like For Haiti will be able to keep serving as the hands and feet of Christ.

“Pray for peace in Haiti,” DeHart says. 

Header photo of Haitian child is a representative stock photo courtesy of TopSphere Media via Unsplash. 

The need for help is desperate as uncontrollable gang violence continues in Port-au-Prince and spreads through the country.

Haiti’s new prime minister was sworn in on November 11 — a change some hoped would lead to an improved security situation. Yet, with a rocky start last week, it’s uncertain whether the gang violence will be tamed by the leadership transition.

(Photo courtesy of For Haiti with Love)

On the ground meeting Haitians’ needs, Christian ministry For Haiti With Love is providing a sense of stability to families who don’t know where their next meal will come from.

For Haiti With Love’s Roseline DeHart says, “We don’t really know what’s going to happen after this month or during this month, but we are there to help the people as best as we can. There will be a lot of hunger. We will feed them; as many as we can…. But with Haiti, it can’t get any worse.”

God’s timing, though, is amazing. DeHart shares, “Before yesterday, the mission airline took supplies down there. We already had boxes with them and they took down all of our supplies, so the clinic is all ready for whatever happens. We have food down there already too, to help the people.”

In the space between starvation and compassion, their team is Jesus to people. Many mission groups have left, but For Haiti With Love will remain.

“People are suffering,” DeHart says. “People in Port-au-Prince, day to day, they just move from one city to another because the gangs are taking over city by city. So, we need prayers. God needs to do something, and only God can change Haiti.”

Ask God to intervene and bring lasting peace in Haiti, both socially and spiritually.

You can support For Haiti With Love’s ministry and learn more here.

Header photo courtesy of For Haiti With Love.

Roseline DeHart with For Haiti With Love says even though Kenyan peacekeeper forces arrived this summer, things have only grown worse. The northern city of Cap-Haitien is being inundated by people desperate for relief from the killings, abductions and hunger that have marked Haiti this year.

“People are on the streets, sleeping on the streets. They can’t eat, so they always come to our headquarters at For Haiti With Love, looking for food, for housing,” DeHart says.

(Photo of clinic courtesy For Haiti With Love)

Nearly half of the nation’s 11.7 million people face acute hunger, according to a September 30 report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. Among that half, 2 million are experiencing emergency levels of hunger — that means malnutrition and disease are present dangers because of extreme food shortages. 

For Haiti has continued to give out food and medical care as well as share the gospel of Christ. 

“When they come into the clinic, we always tell them about Jesus, about God, [and] if they would like to change their life, here’s what they need to do,” DeHart says. 

“Sometimes they listen and sometimes they don’t, and then they go. Sometimes they come back asking to know more about Jesus.”

The For Haiti team doesn’t ask questions of those who come to them for help. But they know there’s some risk involved in the work.

(For Haiti With Love’s headquarters, courtesy of For Haiti With Love)

“We never know who is coming up, who the people are [that are] looking for shelter. Some of them might be part of the gangs. Sometimes the gang sends up their family first, and then they come later. So security is a big problem,” DeHart says. 

“We try to do what we can, but the main thing [is] we just pray up, keep praying.” 

Ask God for the team’s protection. Consider supporting For Haiti’s work as the hands and feet of Christ to a people in crisis. 

“[Haitians] do need help. They’re very poor. They have nothing,” DeHart says. “We want to be able to continue to help. We need donations to do that.” 

Connect with For Haiti With Love at www.forhaitiwithlove.org. 

Header photo of Cap-Haitien courtesy of For Haiti With Love.