Overture International Launches “Orphanages Are NOT the Answer” Booklet Series

Organization Works to End the Harmful Orphanage System in Haiti

HIGH POINT, N.C., Feb. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Overture International, a non-profit organization committed to protecting children and empowering families and communities in southern Haiti, today announced the release of the first two installments of its booklet series titled “Orphanages are NOT the Answer.” The booklets delve into the harsh realities of the orphanage system in Haiti, aiming to shed light on the pervasive issues and promote a shift towards family reunification and strengthening.

Key findings presented in the booklets expose the startling truth that nearly 90% of children residing in Haitian orphanages have both parents living, with only 1% being true orphans. Haiti is currently home to over 750 orphanages housing more than 25,000 children. Lumos, an organization specializing in the orphanage system, reveals that the majority of these children would not be in orphanages if their families could afford basic needs such as education and healthcare.

The booklet series also reports that orphanages in Haiti often serve as breeding grounds for sexual and physical abuse, neglect, and corruption. Some organizations even go to the extent of convincing and paying parents to relinquish their children, exploiting them to raise funds that end up in staff pockets rather than invested in the children’s welfare.

Overture’s Executive Director Lisa Hyatt acknowledges that this is a challenging subject, “Churches, civic groups, and individuals have good intentions to help children in Haiti,” she says. “But when they support orphanages in Haiti they are ultimately supporting and perpetuating a broken and destructive system. We encourage them instead to support organizations working to reunify the children with their families and put an end to this practice.”

Overture International firmly believes that the alternative to orphanages lies in equipping and empowering families and communities to break the cycle of generational dependence and become self-reliant. The organization has already facilitated the successful reunification of over 250 children with their families and foster families, with a remarkable 100% family stability rate more than three years later.

Through Overture’s Social Support Model and its Five Pillars – Empowerment, Education, Nutrition, Healthcare, and Infrastructure (housing, community centers, etc.) – families and communities in Haiti are experiencing newfound freedom and self-reliance. Overture International emphasizes that reuniting and keeping Haitian children with their families is not only possible but achievable when financial resources are combined with an empowering Social Support Model that guides families from dependence to self-reliance.

To access the first two installments of the “Orphanages are NOT the Answer” booklet series, interested readers are encouraged to visit www.orphanagesarenottheanswer.org. To be informed of the release of the third booklet of this series, sign up for our newsletter on the website. Join Overture International in revolutionizing the narrative and advocating for a future where families thrive and communities flourish.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Lisa Hyatt
Executive Director
[email protected]
336-870-5723

SOURCE Overture International