Humanitarian Relief

*** The Restavec Children ***

Haiti is located in the West Indies and occupies the western part of the island of Hispaniola which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Haiti's Capital, is Port-au- Prince and is two hours by air from Miami. Port-au-Prince has a population of 2 million and has one of the biggest slums in the Northern Hemisphere. There is little police presence, no sewers, no stores, and little to no electricity. Average life expectancy is short and infant mortality is high. Approximately 12 percent of children die before their first birthday. One third of all children die before their 5th.

With the cost of public schooling at about $250 per child each year, education is a luxury many children just cannot afford. Without access to even a basic education, Haiti's children are trapped in a cycle of poverty that has plagued the country for generations. As a result, many children are forced in slavery because their families cannot afford to care for them, feed them or give them hope.

There are approximately 300,000 slave children (Restavecs) in Haiti; some as young as 4 years old. Our Kids Against Hunger "Factory" will be holding special packing sessions on May 2, 16 and 30 for the Jean Cadet Restavec Foundation of Cincinnati in an effort to serve the poorest of the poor. In doing so, we hope to save some children from becoming a restavec slave - and living without hope.

Help us Sack Slavery by donating a 50# sack of rice – that’s all, just one sack of rice. You can buy the rice at Costco or Sam’s Club and bring it to the Factory on May 16. Or you can send your donation and we will get the rice on your behalf.

You can learn more about these special children and the organization that is helping them called the Jean R. Cadet Restavec Foundation and at the blog for A Child's Hope Interntional

To donate to Sack Slavery, click on the Donate Now image and specify Sack Slavery from the Contribution question.

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*** Emergency Airlift to Ethiopia ***

It is hard to comprehend the unfolding tragedy in Ethiopia where drought, famine, disease and hopelessness prevail.  We were able to help with Kids Against Hunger food and medical supplies.

Our thanks to:

• Prescott Support Company (Myrtle Beach, SC) for the use of their L-382 for this emergency airlift.
• U.S. Medical Resources Corp. (Cincinnati, OH) for the C100 infant incubator and
• Caring Partners, Intl. (Middletown, OH) for the durable medical equipment
• trans-Trade, Inc. (Dallas, TX) for US Customs brokerage, freight services and global logistics
• Wright Brothers Aero (Dayton, OH) for their freight loading and ground support
• RMA Fleet, Inc. (Cincinnati, OH) for their transportation services

On Tuesday, Feb 10 this critical airlift left for Addis Abab, Ethiopia and landed on Fri, Feb 13!

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*** Comfort Leaves for Haiti ***

The US Navy ship, USNS Comfort is carrying 200 pallets of humanitarian relief, specifically Kids Against Hunger food packets, to Port au Prince in Haiti. We had a last minute opportunity to get 40 more pallets on the ship last night (March 20) with the help of Project Handclasp and Children's Lifeline International! The ship delivered the payload by helicopter on April 10, 2009.

Why are we doing this? Simple. 50% of all children in Haiti die before they reach the age of 15 because of hunger, malnutrition and related causes.

Our food costs for the 40 pallets are approximately $70,000. Shipping costs to Norfolk is $2,000. Sounds like a lot ~ but what is the worth of a child today? Will you help us? Donate here.  To lean more about the children of Haiti given into slavery because of poverty, click here

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