Donate to Gardens John's Effort for Haiti's Children

My name is Gardens John, and I lived in Haiti for 27 years in a community called Grand Godet. Life there wasn’t easy. My mother has four children and doesn’t have a job, and my father does occasional work to earn money for groceries. As a child, I sometimes worked in construction to help pay for school and even gave my mother money to buy food. Despite how hard life was, my parents worked tirelessly to support us and make us happy.

In our community, we had no access to clean water or groceries. We only had one school, which offered only elementary education. After that, we had to travel to another city, Mont-Rouis, to continue school. You either had to walk two hours each way to get there or stay home. Sometimes, my parents would work extra hard just to afford bus fare, but often, I’d take the bus one way and walk the two hours back because there was no money for the return trip.

Thankfully, I worked for someone for a couple of years who helped me apply for a humanitarian program, and that’s how I came to be here. Now, I’m looking for support to help the people back home. Many go days without food, and if anyone needs water or groceries, they must walk two hours to get it or buy it from someone who can bring it from another city.

Gangs have made life even more dangerous, with violence and kidnappings happening constantly. They have no mercy, even if ransoms are paid.

Before I came to the U.S., I worked for a kind friend who helped support my community and the children there who couldn’t afford school. But now, I can’t do as much to help them since I don’t have the resources. Many of these children have already stopped going to school because their parents can’t support them. If this continues, Haiti will see even more gangs, as lack of education leaves children vulnerable. Education is the key.

Please, help me give hope to these kids in Haiti. God bless you.