Message from the Founder

I have served in crisis response and humanitarian relief operations around the world for many years. But, nothing compares to what I experienced following the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010. It was one of the most lethal natural disasters in history, killing 300,000 people and leaving 3 million homeless. The physical destruction and human suffering were almost incomprehensible.

Two days after the earthquake, international humanitarian aid began to arrive at the Port-au-Prince airport. Weeks later, much of the donated food, medicine and other emergency supplies sat on the airport tarmac entangled in a web of bureaucratic confusion. There was no clearly established leadership structure in place to coordinate dozens of international government agencies and NGOs. Politicians, UN bureaucrats, and NGO officials conducted press conferences and postured for media attention. International relief agencies and large NGOs quickly established high tech command centers and built air conditioned accommodations for their employees—all while hundreds of thousands of homeless, injured and starving children struggled to survive just outside the government's barb-wired compounds.

Billions of dollars of government aid and charitable donations have flowed into Haiti over the past 40 years. Yet, today more than 80% of the population clings to life in the most abject human conditions imaginable. More than 3 million people live in violent slums and squalid tent camps without electricity or running water. The infant mortality rate is 100 deaths per 1,000 births. Chronic malnutrition affects 70% of children under five. The illiteracy rate is over 65%. Adult unemployment is almost 80%. Life expectancy from birth is 51 years.

90% of Haiti's children do not have access to clean drinking water and sanitary waste disposal. More than 2 million orphans and abandoned children are exposed constantly to physical abuse and deadly water-borne diseases. There is no health care for these severely neglected children.

The entire population of Haiti has been trapped in a cycle of ignorance, dependency and extreme poverty for generations. Pervasive corruption, international ambivalence, and the lack of education and employment opportunities have produced the most abject socio-economic conditions in the western hemisphere. Haiti and other countries that are overwhelmed by extreme poverty must find a "New Way" forward. The "Old Way" of government dependency will not lead to dignity, prosperity and hope for the future.

With our individual hearts and hands we can help the suffering children of Haiti break free from the grip of corruption, neglect and extreme poverty that has paralyzed their country for decades. We can give the children of Haiti a chance at life – a chance stolen from previous generations. The recovery, reconstruction and socio-economic development of Haiti will require the collaboration and commitment of those who understand that true charity is personal and voluntary. The sustainable solution to extreme child poverty will not be achieved by more government-to-government aid or large institutional charities. The solution begins with the hands-on protection, care and love for the individual child. Our success must be measured One Child at a Time.

With a global economic crisis on the horizon, many families are understandably anxious about their own financial security and futures. The human tragedy in Haiti is fading from public view. But, the nagging question remains: if we do not protect and care for the suffering children trapped in extreme poverty, who will? Together, we are the hope for these innocent children. They are the hope for mankind.

Please join us in this just and noble cause.

Charlie Beall
Founder, Critical Path Foundation

Founders Bio

EVERY LIFE SAVED IS A VICTORY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



“Be the change you wish
to see in the world.”





"Let the children come to Me, for their's is the Kingdom of Heaven"


Song, “If I Had My Way” written and performed by Vince Gill, from the Album, “When Love Finds You.” © 1994 UMG Recordings, Inc.



 


Critical Path Foundation
Atlanta, GA
info@criticalpathfoundation.com
www.criticalpathfoundation.com


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