Mennonite Central Committee and a partner in Haiti are making it possible for children to attend school in a Port-au-Prince neighborhood plagued by gang violence.

It’s one example of how MCC’s staff and 11 partner organizations serve despite the risks in a country where gangs control or threaten many areas.

The partners are not named for their protection.

Gangs started ruling Haiti even before President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in July 2021. They’ve filled the leadership vacuum by violently exerting control over territory and the people who live there.

The gangs’ impact is felt especially in the capital, Port-au-Prince, though they are present throughout the country.

“Anytime you go out in Port-au-Prince, it’s a risk,” said MCC’s representative in Haiti, whose name is not used for security reasons. “Even if a road has no reports of violence or roadblocks, a traveler could be hit by a bullet at any time.”

MCC’s partner has helped children in the Kafou Fèy neighborhood attend school by providing low-cost or free education for many years. That stopped during the 2023-24 school year when a gang caused residents to flee. They became part of the 700,000 people displaced throughout Haiti, predominantly by gang violence, according to the International Organization for Migration.

This fall the school reopened, and some residents moved back. However, the partner discovered many parents could no longer afford to buy backpacks, uniforms and school supplies.

The financial struggle for parents is real, according to the World Food Programme, which reported in October that almost half the population “are facing acute food insecurity and struggling to feed themselves.”

Job and income loss have affected two-thirds of families in Haiti, and prices for food have increased 22%.

Keeping children in school helps prevent them from joining gangs, said MCC’s representative, who has seen children as young as 10 holding guns.

“If we can’t continue to support that school, we make the number of children involved in a gang increase,” he said. “If we provide for education support, we can say, ‘OK, we can give these children opportunities. We can make sure that this group of children is less likely to be involved in gangs.’ ”

In the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Site Solèy, a different MCC partner offers economic alternatives to youth who live in poverty. The partner used to work with children but now offers job training, volunteer work in technology, training on entrepreneurship and income-generating activities.

Partners put their safety at risk every day, which wears on their mental health. In September, MCC offered a two-day mental health training to partners in Port-au-Prince. Another partner is training more than 100 teachers over three years on how to reduce mental health stigma and identify students who need mental health treatment.

In Desarmes, a town about 50 miles north of the capital, gangs prevent farmers from selling their extra crops outside the community. Farmers have less income as a result. Decades-long programming there in agricultural development, nutrition, hygiene and environmental protection continues.

People in Desarmes and other rural towns live in the shadow of gang violence. In October, 70 people were massacred in the agricultural hub of Pont-Sondé in retribution for not protecting gang members from police and vigilante groups.

One partner helps people recover their agricultural production after a 2021 earthquake. The partner is seeking to expand the project because more people have moved there.