Haiti Empowered, a nonprofit organization that operates schools and provides meals and healthcare to more than 2,500 children in Haiti, has launched a cross-country road tour called The Empowered Road. The initiative comes as the organization faces a significant budget shortfall that could force it to close a school and cut off vital services to children in one of the world's most vulnerable nations.
The road tour is a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic's lasting impact on the organization's ability to connect with supporters. For years, mission trips served as the primary way new donors encountered Haiti Empowered's work. Volunteers traveled to Haiti, met the children and the Haitian team, and returned home as sponsors, advocates, and long-term partners. When mission trips stopped during the pandemic, that pipeline of new supporters largely disappeared. Child sponsorship, which once accounted for about 75 percent of the organization's income, has now fallen to approximately 47 percent.
The timing is critical. More than half of Haiti's population now faces acute hunger, with over 1.8 million people in the emergency phase and in urgent need of food. An estimated 253,725 young children are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition over the coming year, and one in seven Haitian children is already out of school, with nearly a million more at risk of dropping out. For the children who attend Haiti Empowered schools, the stakes are existential: for many, school is where they eat, learn, and access healthcare. It is often the safest and most hopeful place they know.
Last year, the organization faced a similar crisis when it fell behind budget. In response, it partnered with Creative Studio Productions, an Eagan-based creative agency, to build a campaign called Adopt a Box. The campaign allowed supporters to donate at levels ranging from $25 to $1,000, and it raised $42,000 in thirty days, surpassing its $40,000 goal. The budget was caught up, and the school remained open. But this year, the gap is larger. Rising costs for food, fuel, medical supplies, transportation, and wages for the Haitian team have added $150,000 to the budget. The organization is currently feeding children on credit.
Kay Larson, president of Haiti Empowered, is now leading The Empowered Road to share the mission in person and introduce a new generation of supporters to the children who depend on it. The tour runs on introductions: Larson is asking supporters to connect her with churches, businesses, foundations, and community groups. Those interested can learn more or request a meeting by visiting haitiempowered.org. The organization also offers a way for supporters to see the faces behind the mission through images like this photo of the children.
The implications of this announcement extend beyond a single nonprofit. It illustrates the cascading effects of the pandemic on organizations that relied on in-person engagement to build donor relationships. As mission trips remain stalled, Haiti Empowered is forced to innovate to survive. The road tour is a test of whether a story told from a distance can still inspire the kind of sustained support that keeps schools open and children fed. For the 2,500 children who walk through Haiti Empowered's doors each day, the success of this tour may determine whether they continue to receive a meal, an education, and care when they are sick. The organization's ability to adapt could serve as a model for others facing similar challenges in a post-pandemic world.
