Haitian aid groups in Flatbush send food, school supplies amid devastating hunger
Volunteers piled boxes and drums high with supplies and drove them down to Florida to be shipped by boat to the embattled nation.
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Volunteers and members of the Haitian community in Brooklyn are sending 5,000 pounds of school supplies and food to Haiti, thanks to efforts by the Haitian American Caucus Haiti in Flatbush.
Volunteers piled boxes and drums high with supplies and drove them down to Florida to be shipped by boat to the embattled nation.
The shipment is part of an effort to fight hunger and instability caused by gang violence in the country, which the United Nations says threatens to cause malnutrition in the nation.
Organizers from HACH say, unlike their usual shipments, it is too dangerous to ship to Port Au Prince, given the gang-rule now prevalent in the area. They are instead sending the shipment to the city of Les Cayes, where their school is located.
"Previous shipments went directly into the capital. Now we have to ship to the southern part, where things are much safer. Giving up on Haiti is not an option, and the Brooklyn community has proven that once again," said HACH Director Samuel Dargwin.
Dargwin says a school run by their organization was destroyed by gangs back in 2023, causing them to create a new site in the country's south that is in a less dangerous area. This is where the aid will be delivered in two weeks.
Members of the Haitian community in Brooklyn say giving back to their family and strangers is part of their culture, and the recent images out of the nation had the community disturbed.
"My mom called me crying because my dad is still there suffering from the gang violence, said Jonathan Pierre, a business owner in Little Haiti, adding, "It’s impressive [HACH] is able to get aid in. This is a time we need to be supporting each other and sending even more aid."
To that end, Dargwin says they hope to have another shipment to follow at the end of the month to help keep their students fed and in school.
