No One Can Survive COVID-19 on an Empty Stomach

My name is Sofia Silvertooth. I live in Bethesda, Maryland, a tree lined suburb nestled along the Potomac river in the shadow of the nation’s capital. Bethesda is a nice place, but in the face of this crisis, families are struggling to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. Fortunately, the U.S. government, some corporations, and many non-profit organizations have stepped forward to ease the pain of Americans in the face of this crisis. The difference in a country like Haiti is that similar governmental and institutional resources simply don’t exist.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), which works to fight hunger worldwide, says that 821 million people go to bed hungry around the world. According to the WFP, Haiti ranks 169th out 189 countries in the 2019 Human Development Index, and one in three (3.7 million) Haitians need “urgent food assistance.” More than half of Haiti's total population is chronically food insecure, and a huge percent of children are chronically malnourished. Underlying drivers of this situation include extreme poverty and frequent natural disasters. That data is pre-Coronavirus. With the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, Haitian families that were contending with hunger challenges face an even more dire reality today.

The past few years I’ve volunteered with Havserve, a non-governmental organization working in rural Haiti to deliver education and development in the village of Lebrun. I’ve been inspired by Haveserve’s motto which is, “if you have, you serve.” You can serve with your skills, you can serve with your time, you can serve with your compassion, and you can serve with your resources. You can serve with your donation, just a small amount will bring some relief to Haitian families by bringing food to their tables. My beginning goal is to feed one family of 4 for one year, and $50 will feed a family of 4 for one month. Your support will make a big difference in the lives of families in the village of Lebrun in the Nippes Department of Haiti.

Thank you for supporting my efforts in alleviating hunger and poverty in Haiti for one family at a time!

Sofia