IRIN--HAITI: Children Struggle in Make-Shift Orphanage

HAITI: Children Struggle in Make-Shift Orphanage, IRIN, March 22, 2010 Mami George, a retired teacher, sits in a courtyard at the small orphanage she manages in San Marie, Port-au-Prince. The area, once home to 2,000 residents, now accommodates some 6,000 people who lost their homes in the January earthquake. George began feeding the orphans living on the streets near the site and within days found herself caring for more than 50 children aged between three and 15. Only 500 orphans have been registered with the different local and international agencies in Haiti since the quake, not including the ones living in orphanages before the disaster. According to local caretakers, most children who had one living relative were taken in by them, explaining the relatively low number of orphans. The children in George’s care, however, have no one. More...