No Child Left Behind: Dona’s Story of Displacement and Discovery
“I was living peacefully in my home when suddenly I had to flee with two of my six children to avoid being caught in the crossfire of the bandits,” says Elimène, a 43-year-old mother from Saut-d’Eau, a once-quiet town in central Haiti now overrun by armed gangs. Like hundreds of other families, she left everything behind in search of safety, hoping to protect her children and rebuild a life far from the terror.
Dona is one of her children who fled very far from her birthplace. As a sponsored child, she never imagines that one day she could, in fear, flee her house, ravaged now by gang attacks. “I walked a long way through the bushes. I slept in the woods with my mother and little sister, under the rain, while fleeing to save our lives. There was a great panic and gunshots everywhere. My mother had no money. I almost died of hunger. The situation was catastrophic. We walked on foot until we came here," recalls the little girl.
In the chaos of their hurried escape, the family was forced to make difficult choices. “Four of my children were obliged to go to another place,” explains Elimène. With a heavy heart, Dona’s mother took her other two children and sought refuge in a safer part of a distant city. “My husband has a relative who lives here. That's why I came to take refuge here. I have no other plan,” she continues.
With Dona by her side, Elimène’s heart ached from the pain of separation. Every day, she worries about the safety of the children left behind and struggles with the knowledge that her family is torn apart. The relatives’ already crowded and strained home provided little comfort or stability. "I was happy at home,” says the little girl. “Today, the situation is so different. I cannot go to school and play with my friends. I am not happy,” cries the little girl.
Fleeing for safety: Dona’s life from chaos to hope
A few days after the first attacks (March 31), World Vision, committed to protecting every child, especially the most vulnerable, launched a search for displaced sponsored children. The Saut-d’Eau Area Program Manager, Jhems Jean Mary, noted that finding the displaced families was not easy. “Many fled from different cities, others to friends’ houses very far from the danger. We contacted them by phone and visited all schools transformed as refugee sites to get in touch with them,” he adds.
Furthermore, in the Central Plateau (Haiti), World Vision is stepping in to provide crucial assistance to several displaced families. In the same week as the beginning of the gang violence on March 31, hundreds of families were found out in around 25 sites to receive support from the Christian organization.
For weeks, no one knew where Dona had gone. “It’s terrifying when you can’t find the family of a sponsored child after they’ve fled violence,” says Jhems. After an extensive effort, the staff finally discovered that Dona was not in one of the refugee cities (Boucan Carré, Hinche), but in a city near the Dominican Republic border. Once located, World Vision teams arranged a visit to the family, who welcomed them with open arms. Dona’s face lit up with relief and joy when she realized she hadn’t been forgotten. “I’m happy that World Vision remembered me,” the little girl shared during a brief interview.
Dona and her family received essential hygiene and kitchen kits from World Vision, which included soap, toothpaste, mosquito nets, bed sheets, mattresses, buckets, and cooking utensils. These items provided comfort, protection, and dignity despite the harsh conditions they faced in displacement.
“Almost 1000 families have been directly served by World Vision's interventions in response to many displaced families,” shared the AP Manager, Guily Elusma. The kit provided allowed them to address immediate needs and provided a small sense of normalcy in their disrupted lives. Despite the ongoing challenges, Dona remains hopeful. "I am thankful for the help we've received, and I hold on to hope," declares the little girl.
As hundreds of children are affected by this forced displacement, Dona was unable to attend school. “I cannot go to school,” says the girl. “All the schools in the cities of Central Plateau (Center of Haiti) were transformed into refugee sites right now,” announces Ramon Edrice, a member of the Civil Protection Committee. Now, Elimène dreams of the day her family will be reunited and her children can return to school, free from the shadow of violence. In the meantime, she stays in touch with other family members by phone. "I hope to be reunited with all my children, and have a small business so I can care for them," says Dona’s mother.