MADISON, Wis. — Violent gang activity in Port-au-Prince, Haiti is making it difficult for social service agencies to reach people in the country who are vulnerable.

What You Need To Know

  • The FAA’s recent grounding of flights in and out of Haiti has increased the challenges for delivering aid, adding urgency to fundraising efforts
  • Doug Fearing and the Schools for Haiti nonprofit provide education and resources to over 2,200 students, their families and 200 staff members across ten schools
  • Presently, Schools for Haiti needs $70,000 to supply food aid during a critical two-week holiday break, despite gang-related roadblocks and unrest
  • Inspired by a 2008 earthquake, Fearing has worked since 2014 to support Haitian students through education and essential aid, believing it offers hope for a brighter future

At the end of last month, as the fighting intensified, the United Nations issued an evacuation order for its employees, those who work at foreign embassies and relief agencies, and diplomats and security personnel. The main international airport in Port-au-Prince was also shut down in early November because commercial flights were being hit with gunfire while landing and taking off.

Those airport closures and gang roadblocks mean many social service agencies that have long been helping the people of Haiti cannot get food and donations to those who need it most. That includes the nonprofit Schools for Haiti.

Doug Fearing, who owns Fearing’s Audio Video Security in Madison, leads the nonprofit’s efforts in Wisconsin.

Fearing said educating and supporting the next generation of Haitians is key to saving that country from turmoil.

“Give them a hope for the future and let them understand that they’re part of making that hope happen,” he said.

Fearing and his wife went on a faith-based mission trip to Haiti that he said changed their lives. When the country was hit by four consecutive hurricanes in 2008, they knew they had to do something more. The hurricanes caused major damage, killing nearly 800 people, and injuring more than 500.

“This was where the Lord was calling us to be,” Fearing said.

Through Schools for Haiti, Fearing helped establish The Wisconsin Academy in Haiti in 2014.

“We’re very proud of that accomplishment,” Fearing said.

The Wisconsin Academy was the first school in the Schools for Haiti program that featured a dedicated computer lab and internet access. The schools serve more than 2,200 Haitian students and provide daily meals for them. They also help students’ families and more than 200 staff members.

“It’s made things difficult with the gang violence and stuff going on. But we’re still operating every day,” Fearing said.

This year, the need is greater than ever. Gang violence and political unrest have disrupted supply chains, making it increasingly difficult to transport food and essential supplies to the schools. Trucks often face gang-controlled checkpoints, where bribes are demanded.

“There’s three or four gang stations that our trucks with food and supplies have to go through,” said Daniel Michel, who was born in Haiti, still lives there and now runs the Schools for Haiti program. “It can be $3,000 to $5,000 to bribe your truck through. They’re making their own customs, their own money.”

Despite these challenges, Fearing and the nonprofit remain focused on the mission. Every year, Fearing organizes a fundraiser in Madison for Schools for Haiti. The goal this year is to raise $70,000 for food and education.

“People live on less than $2 a day in Haiti, so food aid is one of the greatest gifts that you can give them,” Michel said.

The Schools for Haiti program continues to operate thanks to the dedication of its supporters. For more information or to donate, visit Schools for Haiti.

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