HAITI STORY
Where Healing Begins in Port au Prince
Please note: The story told here comes from a composite of the real life stories of young boys served by this Boys’ Home in Port au Prince, Haiti. It is told in this way to protect the dignity and growing agency of the boys involved.
The ministry of the Methodist Church of the Caribbean and the Americas at the Delmas 54 Boys Home is more than a shelter — it is a place where children begin to rediscover safety, dignity, and hope.
Imagine a boy named Jean. Before arriving at the Home, life was filled with uncertainty and fear. He lived in a crowded and abusive environment where violence, hunger, and neglect shaped daily life. Trust did not come easily. Like many boys his age, Jean learned to survive by staying quiet, guarding his emotions, and expecting disappointment. Schooling was inconsistent, and the idea of a peaceful home felt almost impossible.
Everything began to change when church leaders helped rescue Jean and several other boys from those conditions and welcomed them into the Delmas Boys Home in Port-au-Prince. For the first time in years, he had a bed of his own, regular meals, and adults who cared not only about his safety, but about his future. The structure of daily routines, shared responsibilities, prayer, and Christian education slowly replaced the chaos that had once defined his life.
At the Home, Jean discovered something even deeper than stability — he discovered belonging. Living alongside other boys who carried similar wounds, he learned cooperation, friendship, and trust. Staff members encouraged the boys to see themselves not as forgotten children, but as young people created in the image of God and worthy of love and opportunity. Over time, laughter returned, confidence grew, and hope became imaginable again.
Through ministries like the Delmas Boys Home, Encounter with Christ has helped support the Methodist Church in Haiti as it continues to provide vulnerable children with a safe and loving environment where healing, faith, and new beginnings can take root.
You are invited to make ministry like this possible.