RSHaiti started organizing its Annual Summer Camp in Haiti in 2010.   Each year RSHaiti distributes sport equipment (shoes, uniforms, socks, and balls) to more than 1,500 participants at the Camp.  This program helps prevent juvenile delinquency; enhance young people’s athletic skills; and rebuild Haiti through local community empowerment, positive social interaction, youth leadership development, and community stabilization. The Camps are vital to the social development of Haiti’s youth, emphasizing skills such as discipline, leadership and teamwork, as well as offering participants the opportunity to interact with others from different communities. RSHaiti works with limited financial resources. Each year, we seek support in the form of grants and individual donations. If you are interested in making a monetary or in-kind contribution, your donation is tax-deductible and will have a major impact on these youths.

Over 70% of Haiti's 10 million inhabitants are under 30 years of age, and over 80% of them are unemployed. In effect, these young people are living a life of idleness in a country torn by division, social inequality, extreme poverty, economic disparity, and gripped in political gridlock. Despite facing severe adversities, few of these youths receive the supports and resources they need to cope and succeed. These youths are marginalized and are extremely vulnerable to negative influences. Often, corrupt politicians take advantage of these youths’ vulnerability and use them to create instability by burning tires on the streets and destroying public institutions and private businesses to advance their political ambitions. And we know, as the old saying goes, “idleness is the mother of all vices.”

To assist these youths, every summer, since 2010, we organize the Summer Camp for thousands of vulnerable children and at-risk youths. This program harnesses the power of sports, nutrition, and reading to effect positive change in under-served communities and to empower disadvantaged children and marginalized youth. Through our summer program, we increase the ability of these youths to communicate effectively and work well within a team. We integrate boys and girls in the same activity so that they can learn about gender equality and mutual respect for opposite genders. 

List of Activities 

Although our Summer Camp is not purely academic in nature, it incorporates concepts and skills to enhance the youth’s educational and social development. The Summer Camp revolves around soccer but also includes:

• Daily meals
• Reading and writing
•  Folkloric dancing
• Sports (i.e. daily soccer games)
• Leadership and Self-Discipline teaching
• Community Service (i.e., planting trees to reverse the environmental disaster) and volunteerism
• Youth mentorship programs
• Health and civic education
• Conflicts resolution and human rights seminars