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🇺🇸 United States /Conflict & Security

Haiti's gang violence confines children to orphanage, Anderson Cooper reports

From CBS News · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • The Have Faith Haiti orphanage, founded by Mitch Albom, provides refuge and education to children amidst severe gang violence in Port-au-Prince.
  • Many children have been confined to the orphanage for years due to the dangerous security situation outside.
  • Anderson Cooper, reporting on the situation, noted the extreme danger and shared a personal connection to Haiti through his former math teacher, Yves Volel, who ran for president in 1987 and was assassinated.

In Port-au-Prince, the Have Faith Haiti orphanage, established by author Mitch Albom, serves as a sanctuary for children facing extreme gang violence that has gripped the Haitian capital. The security situation is so dire that most of the children have not left the orphanage grounds for four years.

Most of these kids have not left this orphanage for four years because of the security situation in Haiti.

— Anderson CooperCooper describing the impact of gang violence on the children's lives.

Correspondent Anderson Cooper, reporting for 60 Minutes Overtime, described the pervasive danger, stating, "The security situation in Haiti is completely out of control. And it is as dangerous as I have ever seen in the decades that I've been traveling to Haiti." Gunshots were frequently heard from outside the orphanage walls during Cooper's visit, and students recounted instances of bullets flying over their heads.

We're trying to prepare them to be the next generation in Haiti that can hopefully change things.

— Mitch AlbomAlbom on the mission and future aspirations for the children at the orphanage.

Have Faith Haiti offers food, shelter, and education to children from desperate circumstances. The program has seen success, with 17 graduates receiving scholarships to American colleges and universities. Albom expressed hope that these students will become the "next generation in Haiti that can hopefully change things."

The security situation in Haiti is completely out of control. And it is as dangerous as I have ever seen in the decades that I've been traveling to Haiti.

— Anderson CooperCooper's assessment of the current dangerous conditions in Haiti.

Cooper also shared a personal connection to Haiti through Yves Volel, his high school math teacher in the 1980s. Volel, a passionate Haitian, aimed to return to his home country and effect change. He ran for president in 1987 but was assassinated while speaking to the media, an outspoken critic of the interim government at the time. Volel had previously shown CBS News his car, which had been strafed by gunfire, believing it to be an assassination attempt.

Yves Volel was working with groups of people who had left Haiti, who were here living in New York, trying to mobilize support for Haiti.

— Anderson CooperCooper recalling his former teacher's efforts to support Haiti while in New York.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CBS News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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