Frequently Asked Questions

On our foundation web site, click on “Ways To Help” on “Home Page Main Menu” on left side of page
Scroll down to “On-Line” Giving
Complete the form, filling in your credit card information and selecting in what way you would like your donation to help.

We have a separate bank account set up to receive wire transfers.  Please email us at helpthechildren@mfofoundation.org for details.

All of the efforts done in the United States for fund raising are donated time by volunteers.  We have no paid staff or consultants.  Postage and mailing supplies are the biggest expenses we have that might be considered discretionary. Since annual reporting is mandatory, as well as a good idea, the accounting and legal fees associated with that requirement are unavoidable and to a large extent beyond our control.

• Self-starters who do not need a lot of supervision, since Jean-Louis and the staff have enough to do without the extra work of babysitting volunteers.
• Someone with specific skills who would not be taking the job of a Haitian (we have a policy of 100% Haitian Staff).
• Someone who has taken or is willing to participate in some recognized child-protection training (the one we use is VIRTUS, which you can check out on-line).
• Someone good at interaction with the children.
• Someone who passes a background check.
• Someone who speaks French or Creole along with English.  They can help the children by tutoring in math, science, biology or English.

The goal is to keep the children until they are self sustaining.  That is, they stay until they have a college education or learn a trade they can use to support their family and help the community;

Children are admitted as early as age 4 and they stay until they have reached their goal (see above question).

The children should be orphans and they are in many cases.  However, in some cases the child may have one or both parents still living but those parents cannot care for the child.  The child has no food, cannot go to school and if usually left to beg in the streets so effectively, they are orphans.  In these cases, sometimes they are allowed to become residents of the orphanage.

Some of the children come on their own.  They tell their story and it is verified as much as can be done.  This might include a site visit to the last place the child called home. 

Sometimes the child is brought by a grandparent or other relative.  Usually this is because the grandparent or relative has been left in charge of the child but the adult is too old or too poor to care for the child.  Sometimes the child is brought by the police or the mayor who believes this is a good child that will die if left to try to live alone in the streets. 

And sometimes the child is brought by the Sisters of Charity (Mother Theresa's Order).  In this situation, the child is usually with the Sister's at the local Convelesence Hospital (The Azil) due to malnutrition.  Once the child has recovered, if there are no parents or guardians available, the Sisters' will bring the child to the orphanage and ask that this child be taken in.  It is very hard to say no in this situation.

Each resident is expected to attend school each weekday at the orphanage.  They come for the entire day except for the smaller children who have early dismissal around noon.  April 2011, there are 52 resident girls and 190 resident boys.  Some of these children attend school on campus but the older children attend school at the local Catholic High School, St. Martin de Porres. 

As of April 2011, about 6 girls and 69 boys attend school off campus at St. Martin de Porres High School.

As of early April 2011, attending the orphanage school are about 130 students from the area surrounding Hinche, Haiti.

Given the high costs associated with shipping goods into the country and the logistics of getting those goods to the orphanage, we focus our request for goods on those items that have been specifically requested by Jean Louis.

Southwest Airlines (www.southwest.com) has the most reasonable prices.  (March, 2010 trip cost $286.30 per person round trip from Norfolk, VA (ORF) to Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL)).  Arrival at the orphanage in many cases takes two days because travel within Haiti is recommended during daylight.  If you prefer to stay the night in the US, we recommend Ft. Lauderdale, where Southwest is located.  Southwest is not located in Miami.  The Best Western Ft. Lauderdale Airport South Inn and Suites at 1900 Stirling Rd., Dania Beach, FL is less than 2 miles from the airport.  It is a new hotel and very reasonably priced.  Remember to bring a credit card for the hotel.

The cheapest flight from South Florida to Port Au Prince is through Spirit Airlines (www.spiritair.com).  A morning flight will get you to Port-au-Prince in plenty of time to get to the orphanage by dusk.  You must pay for checked baggage, and they only allow one checked bag per passenger.  (March, 2010 flight only cost $227.98 per person round trip from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Port-au-Prince (PAP)).

Many of the travelers from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia travel to and from Haiti by American Airlines.  Airfare costs per round trip have been averaging from $600 to $700.  There is also a surcharge of $25 per checked bag.

Once in Haiti, you can either get to the Central Plateau by vehicle (taxi, taptap, private transportation) or airplane.  MAF will fly to Hinche landing strip.  A charter flight costs $250 (max 1,000 lbs.) or you can take a regularly scheduled flight to Hinche ($40 per seat, 50 lb. max baggage).  These planes take very few people.  To make reservations, e-mail reservations@haiti.maf.net.  You must arrange for pick-up from the landing strip. 

Remember to take small bills in order to pay taxis and baggage handlers.  It may cost as much as $50 before a day of travel is done.

Once at the orphanage, meals and lodging are $25/night ($20/night for students, but they may just get a mattress on the floor).

Before you go to Haiti, it is a good idea to register with the State Department.   If you need a foreign service officers assistance, it will streamline the process.  Also if there is a natural disaster, they will know exactly where you are to assist if needed.

https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui/

HEPATITIS B  VACCINE – 3 shots; the first 2 are given 30 days apart, the third, 6 months after the first.  This vaccine protects the liver and gives lifetime protection.  Given at health department.

HEPATITIS A  VACCINE – 2 shots, 6 months apart.  Protection same as above.  Given at health department.

TETANUS – booster required every 5-10 years.  Given at health department.

VIVOTIF BERNA – anti-typhoid capsules.  A total of 4 capsules are taken, one every other day, finishing at least a week  before travel.  The protection is good for up to 5 years.  (Typhoid vaccine injections may be substituted, but capsules are preferred.)  Capsules must be refrigerated at all times and must be consumed one hour before meals with a cold drink.

CHLOROQUINE – anti-malaria tablets.  The dosage is 500 mg, but finding the 250 mg is easier.  The advantage to the 500 mg is that it is coated for easier swallowing and no residue left on tongue.  Take one tablet the week before travel, one each week during travel, and one each week for 4 weeks after return.  Take the same day of each week.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Every year, there are an estimated 3 –5 million cholera cases and 100,000 – 120,000 deaths due to cholera. The short incubation period of two hours to five days, enhances the potentially explosive pattern of outbreaks.

• Up to 80% of cases can be successfully treated with oral rehydration salts.
• It can kill within hours if left untreated.
• Cholera transmission is closely linked to inadequate environmental management. Typical at-risk areas include peri-urban slums, where basic infrastructure is not available, as well as camps where large numbers are gathered if the bacteria are present or introduced.
• Epidemics have never arisen from dead bodies.
• Effective control measures rely on prevention, preparedness and response.
• Provision of safe water and sanitation is critical in reducing the impact of cholera and other waterborne diseases.
• In general, the body will be able to ride the infection out much like food poisoning in the U.S.
• Antibiotics may decrease the bacterial load and thus decrease the spreading of the infection and may shorten the diarrhea phase a little.
• Widespread use of antibiotics is not recommended.
• If anyone is looking to travel to the orphanage, they should bring a prescription for tetracycline or doxycycline as the drugs of choice (doxycycline is preferable because it is only twice a day and has less skin sensitivity to sun, but it still has some).

PPD TEST – for exposure to tuberculosis:  recommended 1-2 months after return from Haiti.

PEPTO BISMOL – has been found to be helpful in deterring some stomach bacteria.

IMMODIUM – anti-diarrheal.

CIPRO – anti-diarrheal antibiotic.  May be used whenever there is blood in the stool or diarrhea is constant.  The dosage is one tablet twice a day for a maximum of 3 days.

Several companies provide low-cost insurance for overseas medical care and even
med-evac coverage in case of emergencies requiring immediate medical evacuation to US

BROTHERHOOD MUTUAL INS CO  1-800-876-4994 *
AIG  1-202-861-8677
CIGNA  1-302-476-3301 (David Anderson)
GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL  1-800-282-4495 *  **

*Recommended by the CDC.
Their Traveler’s Info Hotline is a good source of advice.  (1-404-639-2572)

**This has been used by our groups.  A 15-day premium costs around $60.

This link will take you to a web site of a place in Port-au-Prince that some of our volunteers have stayed at in the past.  We make no guarantees concerning this facility but we do know that our past visitors have spoken highly of the service and price. 
http://www.parishprogram.org/matthew-25-house