Director Mansour Masse reports all the children in Holt International care at Holt Fontana Village in Haiti are safe and sound in the wake of Hurricane Gustav. Holt International Senior Executive Dan Lauer spoke by phone with Mansour on Wednesday afternoon, and Mansour said all had survived the storm.
The hurricane hit southwestern Haiti on Tuesday, dumping torrential rains. Mansour said that the effects of the storm have shut down Port-au-Prince. Holt Fontana Village is situated about an hour’s drive from Port-au-Prince, and families adopting children from Holt Fontana Village travel to Haiti to and from the Port-au-Prince International Airport. Several families are due to travel to Port-au-Prince early next week, but none were in Haiti when the hurricane hit.
The Holt Fontana Village currently houses 24 children, with services provided by Holt International. Peter and Shay Fontana founded the facility to nurture and care for homeless children, and Holt International joined their work in 2004, providing services to protect the children’s rights and encourage healthy development. The Village has its own solar power generation and water supply systems, and the children live in sturdy, well-shuttered cottages. Director Mansour Masse is pictured here with some of the children who were in care in Fall 2007.
Children usually arrive at the Village weak, malnourished and carrying infections because of their previous unsanitary conditions. Within weeks, the nurturing care and medical treatment of Holt Fontana staff improve the children’s health. The devoted staff has established a loving family-like atmosphere where children can flourish until placed with permanent adoptive families.
Currently, new construction is underway in the Village. Four new cottages will be able to accommodate 40 children.
[...] centered in the village of Montrouis, north of Port-au-Prince and about a half hour from the Holt Fontana Village. The heavy rains and storm damage from three recent hurricanes have made it harder than ever for [...]