Chances for Children provides the financial and strategic support for an adoption center named Crèche Enfant de l’Jèsus located in the small village of Ti Mache, east of Port au Prince, Haiti.

The crèche was built in 2003 by hundreds of volunteers from the U.S., Canada and Haiti. The result of their efforts was a beautiful 14,000 square foot facility that is currently home to 70 children. The facility has an expansive play yard, a volunteer/guest wing, an on-site English speaking pre-school and a clinic for our fulltime nurses and part time pediatrician.

In the current landscape of International adoption, Haiti is often a forgotten country.  Despite harsh and desperate living conditions, the country possesses wonderful children filled with promise and potential. Due to the widespread poverty, economic turmoil and chaos in the streets there is an orphan epidemic in Haiti. Fifteen percent of Haiti’s population are orphaned or abandoned children, wandering the streets, fighting for survival. These magical children are in desperate need of our support.

The primary mission of Chances for Children and the Crèche Enfant de l’Jèsus is to save some of these children. We provide them with a safe and sane sanctuary, and return them to a healthy state. The children are fed, clothed, bathed, developed educationally and loved while they wait for a family to adopt them.

Most orphanages in third world countries are bare bones operations and the level of care the children receive is minimal. We have taken a different approach. We believe the children of Haiti are worthy of the high standards our facility offers and our staff demands. Our unheard of four to one caregiver ratio, our academic faculty and our medical staff are some of the features that distinguish us.

The result is a nurturing and supportive environment that promotes physical, emotional, and educational development in all of the children that are part of our program. Our core values and standards have created a one of a kind environment, but choosing to maintain those standards comes with a high cost.  

We encourage you to join us and become part of the solution. Please take a few minutes to review the video portion in the Photo Gallery section of our website and be sure to visit the Adopt and Contribute pages. Our hope is this information will serve as a call to action and compel you to help us fund this project, or influence you to explore the possibility of adopting one or more of these delightful children. We were recently featured on a local news segment showcasing the orphanage.

I know first hand what joy that can bring as we have adopted three of the children ourselves. Our work in Haiti offers us a never-ending challenge. We realize and accept the task at hand, and are asking for your help.

Thank you in advance for considering your possible contribution to this cause.

 Craig Juntunen, Founder, Chances for Children.