Sponsor a Child Today

Adony lives with his father and his mother. His father is sometimes employed as a laborer and his mother is sometimes employed as a seller in the market. Adony works at home carrying water. There are 5 children in the family.

Soccer and listening to music are Adony's favorite activities. In pre-school his performance is average and he also regularly attends church activities.

Please remember Adony in your prayers. Your love and support will help him to receive the assistance he needs to grow and develop.

Adony lives on the plains of Gonaives, home to approximately 160,000 residents. Typical houses are constructed of cement floors, brick walls and corrugated iron roofs. The most commonly spoken languages are Creole and French.

The regional diet consists of maize, beans, chicken, bread and rice. Common health problems in this area include fever, coughs and malaria. Most adults in Gonaives are unemployed but some work as street vendors and earn the equivalent of $21 per month. This community needs scholastic materials, qualified teachers and employment opportunities.

Your sponsorship allows the staff of Gonaives Student Center to provide Adony with Bible teaching, medical exams, health and hygiene education, recreational activities, educational classes, schoolbooks and uniforms. The center staff will also provide meetings and educational workshops for the parents or guardians of Adony.

Haiti occupies the western third of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean. A mix of mountains, valleys, lakes, seashores and rivers gives Haiti varied weather conditions. About two-thirds of the terrain is unsuitable for farming.

Haiti is one of the most densely populated and poorest countries in the world. Most Haitians are subsistence farmers who cultivate small plots of land around their mud-and-thatch homes. Most speak Creole, but their official language is French. Catholicism is the major religion, but Voodoo, practiced by roughly half the population, was recognized as an official religion in 2003. Compassion works in nearly every region of the country.

In 1492, Columbus discovered Hispaniola and the island became the center of Spanish rule in the West Indies. The indigenous people were quickly wiped out and slaves were brought from Africa to populate the island. In 1697, Spain ceded half the island to France and this became Haiti. In 1804, a former slave led a revolt and Haiti gained its independence. Forty years later, the eastern part of the island split off to form the Dominican Republic.

Haiti historically has been plagued by political violence. In 1990, Haiti installed its first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, an ordained Catholic priest. But he was ousted in a bloody military coup and forced to seek asylum in the United States. In 1994 Aristide returned from exile and abolished military rule. He won a second term as president in 2000, but was ousted in 2004 amid allegations of corruption. The current president is René Garcia Préval, elected in May 2006.