Haiti Earthquake: SOS Children's Villages Providing Relief to Orphans 

SOS Has Worked in Haiti for 30 Years - 2 Villages Still Standing and Providing Relief 

SOS Children's Villages - Haiti
A two-year-old girl - SOS Children's Villages Santo, Haiti, after the earthquake
SOS Children's Villages is the world's largest charity for orphaned and abandoned children with 500 villages in 132 countries. SOS has been active in Haiti for over 30 years where we provide family-based care for orphaned children in two SOS Villages and assist thousands of others through Family Strengthening Programs. Our Children's Villages in Santo (near Port-au-Prince) and in Cap Haitien withstood the earthquake and after-shocks, and are serving as emergency relief centers.

On January 30, the Haitian government requested that SOS take in 33 children whom 10 US citizens attempted to take across the Haitian border illegally. These children were cared for in our Santo Village as officials searched for their relatives. On March 17, nearly all of the children were reunited with their parents.

SOS has received a constant stream of food and supplies coming through the Dominican Republic while special teams of SOS workers from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Peru and the Dominican Republic organized aid efforts.

How you can help provide relief in Haiti

SOS Children's Villages will provide the following aid to children and families living in the communities surrounding our villages and other facilities:

  • Temporary shelter for unaccompanied children in the Santo and Cap Haitian villages or other locations
  • Safe areas for mothers with children
  • Food, medicine, clothing, shelter materials
  • Trauma counseling
  • Reunification programs for families and children
  • Additional activities according to needs

Examples of what your donation to SOS Children's Villages Haiti Emergency Relief could do:

  • $10 can buy milk for 28 children for one day.
  • $25 can purify water for 1000 children for one day.
  • $50 can buy meals for one child for one month.
  • $100 can buy milk, water and food for 50 children for one day. 

Make a Donation



SOS Children's Villages Videos from Haiti





Red Cross and SOS staff speak with a woman at a food distribution point.

Haiti Six Months On: Out of the News but Front and Center for SOS

July 20, 2010: Half a year after Haiti’s terrible earthquake of January 12, the country’s needs remain dire. The quake left some 250,000 people dead, leaving thousands of children without parental care. With 3 million people affected and more than 1 million still homeless, tent cities are everywhere. Reconstruction is slow and, in some areas, nonexistent. Learn how you can help children and families in Haiti...
Haitian girl at a food distribution center outside Port-au-Prince - Photo by SOS Children's Villages

Haiti's Orphans and Small Groups Helping Them Often on Own

July 8, 2010: Despite an outpouring of international aid following Haiti’s January 12 earthquake, groups and individuals struggling to care for orphans there are finding their support drying up. You can help orphaned children in Haiti...
Angelina Jolie at SOS Children's Villages - Haiti

Angelina Jolie Visits SOS Children's Village in Haiti

June 21, 2010: SOS Children’s Villages, a global organization that focuses on family-based, long-term care of children, this weekend welcomed UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie to its Village in Santo, Haiti outside of Port-au-Prince. Ms. Jolie spent the night at an SOS house in the Santo Village. She visited with and brought toys for the children. On her trip she met with President Preval, current and former Government of Haiti Ministers, Haitian Judges and lawyers, U.S. State Department officials, and other NGOs regarding child protection in Haiti. Learn more about Angelina Jolie's trip to SOS Children's Villages in Haiti...
Global Village Shelters in Haiti - SOS Children's Villages-Santo, in Haiti

SOS Children's Villages Builds Innovative Shelters to House Families in Haiti

May 25, 2010: SOS Children's Villages, a global organization dedicated to providing family-based services for children without parental care, announced today the construction of "Global Village Shelters" in the SOS Children's Village in Santo, Haiti near Port-au-Prince. Learn more about Haiti Global Village Shelters and SOS Children's Villages...
A student attends class at the SOS Hermann Gmeiner School in Santo, Haiti

SOS School Reopens in Haiti

April 12, 2010: For the first time in almost three months, the flag of Haiti is flying above the SOS school in Santo. Getting the school back up to full speed will take time. SOS is in the process of hiring new teachers. Some classes will take place in the afternoon, while others will have to be held in large tents. For now, everyone is relieved to be back in the classroom. Learn more about the SOS School in Santo, Haiti
A two-year-old girl - SOS Children's Villages - Haiti, after the earthquake

A Haiti Fit for Children

March 29, 2010: On March 30 at UNICEF in New York, a coalition of child-focused organizations including SOS Children's Villages, a global organization that provides family-based care for children without parental care and social services for families at risk, will hold "A Haiti Fit for Children" - a first-time event intended to draw the world's attention to the long-term needs of children and families in Haiti. The meeting is a precursor to the International Donor's Conference "Towards a New Future for Haiti" which will take place on Wednesday at the United Nations in New York. SOS, UNICEF and other NGOs draw attention to children's rights in Haiti...
Obama Bush and Clinton

Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in Haiti to Spotlight Recovery Needs

March 24, 2010: U.N. special envoy to Haiti, Bill Clinton, and fellow former president, George W. Bush, visited Haiti on Monday to underscore its acute assistance needs. The trip was scheduled to precede a meeting of U.N. donors in New York on March 31. At that gathering, Haitian officials will request $11.5 billion for reconstruction following the January 12 earthquake. You can help children in Haiti...
SOS mother and children in Haiti

Haiti: 33 "Orphans" to be Reunited with their Parents

March 17, 2010: SOS Children's Villages announced today that the 33 children who were to be taken to the Dominican Republic by ten US citizens and were temporarily cared for at the SOS Village in Santo, Haiti, will be reunited with their biological families. SOS Children's Villages is a global organization that provides family based care for children without parental care, and social services for families at risk. Learn more about the 33 children and SOS Children's Villages...
Santo, Haiti - An SOS Mother and child

Haiti and Chile Earthquakes: Update on SOS Emergency Responses

March 12, 2010: SOS Children's Villages has decades of experience raising vulnerable children in Haiti and Chile. Emergency response is not the organization's primary mission in the 132 countries in which it operates. But when disasters such as the recent quakes in Haiti and Chile wreak devastation on children and families, SOS is there to help. Learn how you can help support SOS Children's Villages relief efforts...
Nathalie with her SOS mother in SOS Children's Villages - Santo, in Haiti

SOS Haiti Alum Returns to Help

March 11, 2010: Nathalie Nozile is back in the SOS Children's Village of Santo on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, in the home where she grew up. She really should be studying, with her graduation from the University of Florida only a few months away. You can help SOS Children's Villages in Haiti too...
Haiti Children

SOS Children's Villages in Haiti Getting Aid to More Children

February 26, 2010: SOS Children's Villages-Santo, near Port-au-Prince, is now providing temporary care for 357 unaccompanied children and those whose families are unable to care for them. The number of children arriving is growing daily, despite SOS-Santo's limited capacity. You can help support SOS Children's Villages disaster relief efforts in Haiti and around the world...
Haiti Child

SOS Saving Young Haitian Lives One at a Time: Two-Year-Old Josette

February 19, 2010: When asked who her mother was by SOS Children's Villages staff in Santo, Haiti, the toddler pointed to the older girl next to her. That girl is 17-year-old Gisele, a traumatized teenager who can barely manage on her own. Learn more about how SOS is caring for children in Haiti...
Hasbro PLAYATHON pop-up shelter

Youth HandsOn Network and Hasbro, Inc. Create Nationwide PLAYATHON for Haiti

February 10, 2010: In the wake of the devastation caused by the recent earthquake in Haiti, Youth HandsOn Network and Hasbro, Inc. have joined together to create a nationwide fundraising initiative for kids – PLAYATHON for Haiti. This effort will benefit SOS Children's Villages in purchasing "pop-up" shelters for the orphaned and vulnerable children of Haiti. Learn more about Hasbro's PLAYATHON...
Angelina Jolie Visits SOS Children's Villages Haiti

Angelina Jolie Visits SOS Children's Villages in Haiti

February 9, 2009: SOS Children's Villages, a global organization dedicated to the long-term care and prevention of orphaned and abandoned children, today welcomed UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie to its Village near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Ms. Jolie was on-site this afternoon to visit with the Village’s 300 children and families and continued to express her support for SOS’ humanitarian relief efforts in the devastated country. Learn more about Angelina Jolie's visit to SOS Haiti...
SOS Staff with Haitian Child

SOS Children's Villages Offers Safe Haven for Haitian Children

February 3, 2010: Children left without parental or other loving adult care after Haiti's recent earthquake are keenly vulnerable to hunger, disease, and human trafficking. On January 30th, Haiti's Social Ministry handed to SOS Children's Villages-Haiti 33 distressed children who were about to be illegally whisked out of the country by 10 Americans who lacked government approval to do so. Learn more about SOS Children's Villages in Haiti...
SOS Children's Villages photo by George Williet

Haitian Government Entrusts SOS Children's Villages with the Care of 33 Children - Alleged Victims of Child Trafficking

January 31, 2010: Late in the evening of January 29, the Haitian police arrested 10 U.S. citizens attempting to take 33 children from Haiti to the Dominican Republic in a suspected illicit adoption scheme, authorities said on Saturday. On January 30, the Haitian Social Ministry entrusted those 33 children (aged three months to 12 years) to the care of SOS Children's Villages. "But I am not an orphan," said an eight year old girl. Learn more about how SOS is helping Haitian children at risk...
Children eat at SOS Children's Villages Santo in Haiti

SOS Children's Villages Teams with UNICEF, the Dominican Red Cross, and Haiti Welfare Services to Help Children and Families

January 29, 2010: The emergency relief effort by SOS Children's Villages is reaching more children every day. Several existing SOS community centers have reopened with new centers launching to provide temporary care and basic supplies for unaccompanied children as needed. Learn how you can help children and families in Haiti...
Angelina Jolie supports SOS Children's Villages

Angelina Jolie Expresses Support of SOS Children's Villages as Orphan Crisis Escalates in Haiti

January 22, 2010: SOS Children's Villages is proud to count Angelina Jolie as one of its most dedicated supporters. In a statement this morning, Ms. Jolie said "As the Haiti situation unfolds, and we all focus on ways to help these desperate children - I ask you to please learn more about and consider supporting SOS Children's Villages." Learn more about Angelina Jolie's support of SOS Children's Villages...
man and child - haiti

SOS Children’s Villages Urges Caution with Haiti Adoptions

January 22, 2010: In coordination with other relief organizations, SOS Children's Villages is readying to provide temporary care for thousands of unaccompanied children. SOS joins with the UN and other non-governmental organizations to caution in removing children from their homeland. SOS Children's Villages - USA CEO, Heather Paul, was interviewed about this subject. Watch the MSNBC interview...
Celigny Darius coordinates SOS Children's Villages relief efforts

Hundreds of Haitian Families Given Basic Needs at SOS Children's Village Each Day

January 21, 2010: In the past week, a large community of individual donors, corporations and government officials have joined with SOS Children's Villages to get desperately needed supplies into Haiti. Help provide relief to children in Haiti...
Celigny Darius

Director of SOS Children's Villages Haiti: "We've never seen anything like this..."

January 17, 2009: Celigny Darius, Director of SOS Children's Villages Haiti, describes his experience during the January 12 earthquake and the situation on the ground in Port-au-Prince. Learn how you can support SOS relief efforts in Haiti...
Haiti

SOS Villages in Haiti Taking in Orphans

January 16, 2010: The two SOS Children's Villages in Haiti are still standing and are taking in orphans. SOS staff from the Dominican Republic and Peru experienced in the aftermath of earthquakes are focused on emergency relief efforts. Learn how you can support SOS Children's Villages' relief efforts...
Help Children in Haiti

SOS Children's Villages in Haiti Provides Direct Aid to Children

January 14, 2010: In the aftermath of Haiti's devastating January 12 earthquake, SOS Children's Villages is organizing relief efforts to directly aid Haitian children and adults. Learn how you can support SOS Children's Villages Haiti earthquake relief efforts...
Haiti SOS Children's Villages

Haiti Hit by Massive Earthquake

January 13, 2010: A 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on Tuesday evening, destroying many buildings and killing hundreds, possibly thousands of people. The epicenter of the quake was just 6 miles from the capital Port-au-Prince. So far, SOS Children's Villages has not been able to reach local Haiti co-workers for a situation report. Donate to support SOS Children's Villages' relief efforts...