Humanitarian parole

Due to the ongoing instability in Haiti, the US has opened up humanitarian parole as a way for Haitians to enter the United States legally and safely for a period of 2 years. To be eligible, Haitians must be over 18 or accompanied by a parent, and have a valid passport. In order for Haitians to be approved for entry to the US, they must also have a sponsor who agrees to financially support the individual and help them access available services, such as school, English classes, medical care, and employment opportunities.

So, what does this mean for Hearts and Hands? There are currently a handful of girls at FEP who are eligible and have the desire to come to the United States. This means that they have the opportunity to move to the United States for the next 2 years, finish their high school education, and begin exploring options moving forward – whether that be career training, college, or seeking employment. We have started the application process for eight of the girls to obtain authorization to travel to the US and hope to see this approved soon! We have a host family who will be providing a place to stay and help them enroll in school. Hearts and Hands would like to continue to support the girls during their stay in the United States, particularly while they are finishing school. At this time, sponsorships are used to provide for proper nutrition and education. Our hope is to be able to continue to support those same goals in the United States. Hearts and Hands will continue to provide for food, basic necessities and educational expenses – like school supplies, school fees, etc. If you feel led to help in additional ways such as travel expenses, long term costs, work authorization fees, medical expenses, counseling, or additional monthly support for any of these girls, please contact us and we can set that up! Most importantly, please join us in praying for each of these young women during their journey and the changes that they will experience. 

Additionally, we have families in our community sponsorship program who are also facing the increasing danger in Haiti, as well as the soaring prices caused by gang takeover of the roads and towns. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the families we work with to feed their children. Along with this, the children have had their schools closed for much of the past year due to the violence. This has led to many of the children falling behind educationally as well. 

If you would like to help sponsor one of the young women living at FEP or one of our community families, please contact us for more information, or go to our Give page to donate.