Quixote Center’s work in Haiti prioritizes systemic change. Our theory of change has three aspects:
Quixote Center initially launched Haiti Reborn in 1991 during a period of renewal in Haiti, following the election of Aristide and the rise of Lavalas, a popular movement for democratic reform. The coup that ousted Aristide later that year led us to focus our efforts on speaking out against United States intervention in Haiti. US foreign policy as well as development aid still has enormous influence over Haiti and its future. US NGOs and churches also funnel significant funds into Haiti, leading many Haitians to dub their country “the republic of NGOs.”
The Quixote Center partners with Haitian organizations to support smallholder farmers to build sustainable livelihoods from agriculture and reforestation. The Jean Marie Vincent Formation Center located in Grepen, Haiti, is our primary partner in the north while in the south DCCH, the Christian Community Development in Haiti is our main partner in Gouin, Les Cayes.
There is a major humanitarian crisis that is worsening the medical, economic, housing, security and other social aspects of life in Gros Morne. The Quixote Center is working with our local partners to support vulnerable familiesin through our Emergency Campaign. You can read more and support the campaign HERE.
The Jean Marie Vincent Formation Center houses a tree nursery, a model instructional garden and multiple classrooms. These resources help farmers increase the yields of their farms, find new markets for their products, and gain access to the seeds and technology they need to succeed. The agronomy team from the JMV Center travel throughout the Arrondissement of Gros Morne to deliver workshops organized with a network of small farm associations, the Catholic Church’s Caritas network, and local schools. With our support, the JMV Center also maintains the Tet Mon model forest, a reforestation project that is the only one of its kind in the region. The JMV team holds formation sessions on reforestation and tree maintenance for local leaders, schoolchildren, and agronomy students.
The Social and Economic Recovery Program was launched in January 2025 as a scalable and replicable pilot project working with 100 rural families reaching up to 1000 people. These participating families are the protagonists of this program that aims to improve their income and food security while building resilience and eliminating dependence on outside assistance. Based on a 2023 community study, the project provides targeted investments in agroecological training, animal care, women empowerment through microloans and small business ventures. After collecting baseline data, the program will be tracking progress with the goal to increase household income by 20%, school attendance by 60%, crop yields by 60% and trade diversification among women.
Read the most recent report from our partners HERE.
Haiti remains volatile. According to the most recent report from the UN Security Council, there are now 1.4 million people displaced, 12% of the population, and 5.9 million people facing hunger, with 1.9 million facing extreme hunger. There are also alarming levels of sexual violence, with women and girls the primary victims.
On January 6 the US Justice Department announced an indictment charging one US citizen and two Haitian citizens with conspiracy to smuggle goods and unlawfully ship firearms from the United States to Haiti.
Over a three-day weekend between Christmas and New Years, over 100 children from displaced families participated in a series of fun and insightful activities in Gros Morne, Haiti. With Quixote Center's support, the Lachandlé parish organized the children to celebrate Christmas by playing games, learning new skills and discussing how to stay safe.
Haiti has been in the news again this week, and not in a good way. Criminal gangs fired on US Marines guarding the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince. Although the Marines did not report injuries, it is an indicator of the gangs’ perception of impunity.
Quixote Center continues to provide cash assistance to displaced families resettling in Gros Morne, Haiti. Gang violence has forced 1.4 million people in Haiti to internally displace, about 11% of the population of the country and the highest percentage of displaced persons by population in the world. Some have ended up in Gros Morne.
Situated in the commune of Gros Morne where 3 out its 8 sections have suffered from gang violence, the Jean Marie Vincent (Grepen) Center has had to keep a low profile and downsize or even suspend some activities since 2024. With access to the center becoming ever more difficult for construction workers, staff and customers, the plantain and veterinary pharmacy projects, that Quixote Center donors support, have been affected.
With so much sad news surrounding Haiti, we are happy to share some positive reports from our work in the South. With Quixote Center’s support, our partners with the Haitian Christian Community Development (DCCH), part of the Caritas network, launched the Socioeconomic Recovery of the populations of 3rd municipal section of Les Cayes in January 2025 reaching 100 farming families.
On September 4th, 2025, Amnesty International convened, and Quixote Center co-sponsored, an academic conference to bring together experts and advocates from Haiti and the US and explore solutions to the multiple crises Haiti faces today.
Opening remarks from Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick emphasized the importance of Haitian-led solutions and recognized global responsibility for the trafficking of guns and drugs flooding Haiti.
Insecurity in Haiti continues to escalate. Haitian women and girls are particularly vulnerable as many are victims of extremely violent sexual assaults by gang members leading many families to flee to rural areas for refuge.
While the gangs continue to terrorize the population with gunfire, kidnappings and extortions, people do the best they can to take care of themselves and their families. There is a huge amount of fear, particularly in the capital Port-au-Prince where merchants and businesspeople are more exposed to the risk of being kidnapped for ransom. Students avoid wearing their school uniform to avoid unwanted attention and nobody dares to stay out too late.
Haiti has turned to the privatized military industry to take on criminal gangs that have been fuelling a crisis of violence and hunger throughout Port-au-Prince and around the country. The Haitian government signed a contract this year with Erik Prince, a private military contractor and founder of Blackwater Worldwide, a company notorious for its privatized military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
June 26th, 2025 marked the halfway point of the Quixote Center sponsored pilot project initiated by our partners with DCCH in the villages of Gouin and Saint Helene located in the commune of Les Cayes in the Sud Department of Haiti. While most of the attention about Haiti has been focused on the gang-controlled capital, Port-au-Prince, and the Artibonite region, in other parts of the country and in most rural areas, life goes on.
