ActionAid has been operating in Haiti and the Dominican Republic since 1996 and we now work with 30,000 people in both countries.

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, with 80 per cent of the population living below the poverty line. The country has been struck by devastating hurricanes and earthquakes in recent years, whose impact has been worsened by large-scale deforestation.

Haiti has a strong sense of community responsibility, with many local organisations made up of people determined to work together to solve their own problems. We support these organisations with funding and training, and work with them to improve access to water, health services and business loans.

Child sponsorship in Haiti

Georges Pierre (pictured right) is 13 and he's helping to build a new school with his community in Lascahobas. Sponsoring a child will put you in direct communication with a young person, helping them to develop their literacy skills.

Over 50 per cent of children in Haiti don’t go to school and as a result many grow up illiterate and turn to begging for an income. Money from child sponsorships goes towards building schools in some of Haiti’s poorest communities like Lascahobas. These schools also act as shelters during times of natural disaster.

• Sponsor a child in Haiti

Community and relief in Haiti

We work to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters through disaster risk reduction workshops. We also provide immediate relief in the wake of disasters, which include the Gustav, Hanna and Ike hurricanes of 2008 and the devastating earthquake of 2010.

We provide food, water, medicine, sanitation and shelter and work to get children back to school as quickly as possible. We also provide long-term psycho-social support for communities recovering from natural disasters.

How you can help

When you sponsor a child in Haiti, you'll be providing the resources for real, long-term change. You'll get two letters a year from the child you sponsor, and updates from the country programme to tell you how the money you are spending is changing the community your child lives in.

• Sponsor a child in Haiti