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Haiti's Violent Riots Not Stopping Children's Food Ministry

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Tensions are rising in Haiti ahead of Sunday's first round of presidential balloting and local elections.

Officials say at least 15 people were killed over the last few days in Cite Soleil, one of the biggest slums in the country on the edge of the capital city of Port Au Prince.

In other parts of Haiti, riots have been happening every day for months. The town of Arcahaie is one of those communities. It sits along the main road running through Haiti.

Driving through it looks much like any other community, until you take a closer look.

Scorch marks scar the roads, visual reminders of riots from the day before and the unrest that has plagued this community.

The anti-government riots often break out without warning and result in violent altercations between the rioters and police.

Children's Lifeline, an organization that partners with CBN's Orphan's Promise has been working in the community for nearly 20 years.

"We're not working for the government, we're not working for anyone, but we're working for God," Osmy Bozor, the Haitian director of Children's Lifeline, said.

The organization's school feeding program has been affected by the riots. Schools have been closed for more than a month already because it's not safe for kids to attend.

But Children's Lifeline refuses to let the children in their care go hungry. The kids are coming to their complex five days a week for a warm meal.

For those who can't make it, staff members pack the food into buckets and travel either by truck or on foot to make sure it's delivered.

"We try to do our best, even though we got problems in this area, we still send them food," Bozor said.

"The other day we got problems because no vehicles can drive on the main roads," he continued. "We carry the food on our heads to transport to the kids because we care about them."

It's unknown when school will be able to resume for the children of Arcahaie, but Children's Lifeline says, despite the violence, it won't stop carrying out it's mission.

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About The Author

Caitlin Burke Headshot
Caitlin
Burke

Caitlin Burke serves as National Security Correspondent and a general assignment reporter for CBN News. She has also hosted the CBN News original podcast, The Daily Rundown. Some of Caitlin’s recent stories have focused on the national security threat posed by China, America’s military strength, and vulnerabilities in the U.S. power grid. She joined CBN News in July 2010, and over the course of her career, she has had the opportunity to cover stories both domestically and abroad. Caitlin began her news career working as a production assistant in Richmond, Virginia, for the NBC affiliate WWBT