Support for Deportees and Displaced Persons in Haiti

Gang violence in Haiti has displaced close to 1.3 million people. Most displaced families come from the capital Port-au-Prince, and the city of Mirebalais where the local population is under constant threat and attack from the bandits. The rural area of Gros Morne in the Artibonite region is also under pressure as 3 out of its 8 sections have suffered from violence. They are also receiving a growing number of Haitians deported from the Dominican Republic and the US, and with few resources for resettlement, the situation has become a humanitarian crisis. 

Our partners at LaChandler Parish in Gros Morne reached out to Quixote Center to ask for emergency assistance to help with resettlement. While the Parish used a survey to identify the most vulnerable displaced families in the area, the Quixote Center organized a fundraising campaign.

Over a hundred donors contributed to this emergency fund that we are disbursing in three installments. The Quixote Center sent the first disbursement of $15,305 to the parish in May and a second disbursement of the same amount in July. This emergency campaign has so far reached 270 families who used these funds according to their needs: starting a small business, renting land to plant a garden, securing housing, paying school fees or buying clothes, food and covering health costs. 

Partners addressing displaced families

Even though each family receives a modest amount of money, this cyclical distribution of cash allows them to address their most pressing needs and makes a positive difference as they try to resettle in their new community. The Caritas Chandler Parish and Quixote Center are exceedingly grateful for your continued support for the people of Haiti. Thanks to your help, we will expand this program to reach over 500 families. We are also in discussion about other ways to support them for the longer term.

Map of Origins of Displaced People 

Place of Origin of Displaced People 

How is the Money Spent?

Migrant Justice

Addressing the Reverse Flow of Migration:

Strengthening the Capacity of RFM in Panama and Colombia

As a result of the current administration's hostile migration policies, a growing number of migrants are traveling south through new reverse migration routes in Panama and Colombia, where local teams, supported by the Quixote Center, are providing assistance.

Our partner RFM-Panama has served over 2,900 meals to migrants since April in Paso Canoas, at the Costa Rica and Panama border. The most vulnerable migrants, including families and children, can take refuge in David, Chiriquí, where RFM runs the Hogar de la Medalla Milagrosa shelter with support from the Quixote Center. Since January, the shelter has provided psychosocial care, medical attention, food, wifi, clothing, and a safe place to sleep to more than 100 migrants.

Following the Quixote Center's March trip to Panama, RFM-Panama has stepped up to provide crucial support to migrants in Miramar, the last stop in Panama before they embark on a treacherous maritime journey to Colombia. RFM-Panama launched a meal program serving food to stranded migrants. However, as this route becomes more popular, fewer migrants stay in the area for long, as many have already arranged to pay for their boat passage and leave immediately from Miramar. This, along with a recent shift to nighttime crossings and reduced local support, led to the closure of the community dining hall that had been supported by the Quixote Center.

As we continue to monitor the situation in Miramar, the Quixote Center will continue supporting migrants arriving in Colombia by boat from Miramar through our partnership with RFM-Colombia. In August, RFM-Colombia will hold a national assembly as part of its broader capacity-strengthening process. Joining the assembly will be two Franciscan sisters from Necoclí, one of the receiving communities of migrants on boats coming from Miramar. Supported by the Quixote Center, the assembly will bring together volunteer teams from across the country to develop a two-year action plan and concrete follow-up strategies to address the mass influx of migrants.

This gathering will allow RFM-Colombia to strengthen models such as their "communities of life" program to promote dialogue, mutual recognition, and inclusion between migrants and local citizens. It also builds on RFM's recent international advocacy efforts, including their participation in June at the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in Geneva, where they called attention to the rights of migrants with physical, sensory, cognitive, or psychosocial disabilities, "the invisible within the invisible population". RFM-Colombia continues to develop strategies for political advocacy, pushing for inclusive and humane migration policies at both national and international levels. We look forward to sharing the outcomes of the Colombian national assembly.

Medalla Milagrosa

RFM Staff and Volunteers

Preparing a Meal

RFM Volunteer

Preparing a Meal

Children's center at

Medalla Milagrosa

Haiti Reborn

Qualitative Assessment of the Social and Economic

Recovery Program in Gouin and Saint-Hélène, Haiti

"It's like when a car has a dead starter and another car pushes it to restart. This project gave us the push we needed to move forward."

Eight months after launching the Social and Economic Recovery program in the communes of Gouin and Saint-Hélène in southern Haiti with our local partner DCCH (Haitian Christian Community Development), the Quixote Center conducted a qualitative assessment of the impact of this pilot project between July 22nd and August 3rd, 2025. We contracted a local independent development professional to visit the different project sites, meet with the DCCH staff and interview participants in the agriculture, livestock and the MUSO (Mutual Solidarity Groups) programs.

With the help of a questionnaire and in person interviews, the findings show that all the respondents confirmed receiving training and resources in:

• Modern farming techniques: the 100 participating farmers received quality seeds and observe that their fields are better organized and more productive compared to past practices.
• Livestock management: selected participants began building goat pens and planting forage grasses in preparation of receiving two goats. They will then have to give back two offspring until every participant receives livestock.
• Environmental protection: Participants established a tree nursery in Gouin, producing fruit and forest seedlings to serve all the communities.
• Waste management and composting: Participants practiced sorting waste and learning about plastic management and how to prepare organic compost.
• MUSO operations and financial literacy: Especially appreciated by women, this program allows its members to access small loans to invest in small businesses which improves their family income and food security.

The Quixote Center - DCCH partnership has had a positive impact on the lives of the 100 participating farmers and their families in Gouin and Sainte-Hélène. By combining agriculture, livestock, environmental stewardship, and financial solidarity, the project has restored trust, strengthened social cohesion, and empowered communities long neglected.

Participants view the program as a catalyst for change, a "miracle," and a foundation for lasting peace and resilience. Scaling up while integrating their recommendations would amplify its impact and inspire replication in other communities.

MUSO meeting

Participant in Front of her Goat Pen 

Tree Nursery in Gouin

Advocacy

Ending Illegal Trafficking of Weapons to Haiti

Criminal gangs control most of Haiti's capital and large parts of the north, where Quixote Center's long-term partners are located. More than 1.3 million people have been displaced by the violence, and the UN reports that 4,000 people were killed during the first 6 months of this year.

US-made weapons fuel gang violence in Haiti. Getting arms and ammunition out of the hands of lawless gangs is the most constructive and efficient initial step our government can take to bring security to the country.

Quixote Center has prioritized this issue and taken the lead among US organizations to advocate with Congress and the administration so that they take concrete steps to end it. So far we have:

• Convened a coalition of 40+ organizations dedicated to working on this issue.
• Sponsored a petition to Department of Homeland Security that garnered 3,063 signatures. We sent the petition in June.
• Invited our supporters and allied organizations to send letters to their members of Congress to support the bi-partisan Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act, which will take measures to curb the financing which enables gangs to purchase weapons. So far, our action has generated 3146 letters to Members of Congress.
• Worked with allies in Congress to generate a Congressional letter to Department of Homeland Security and Department of State. 32 Members of Congress signed the letter, which was sent on August 1.
• Developed an organization sign-on letter as a companion to the Congressional letter. So far, 82 organizations have signed on.

You can find copies of the Congressional letter at this link.

We have created momentum, and we are optimistic that all of these steps together will lead the Administration to take action. Many thanks to each of you that signed the petition or sent a letter. You have literally helped to save lives.

Nicaragua Announcement

We are pleased to announce new programming in Nicaragua! In partnership with PeaceWorks and Green Empowerment, the Quixote Center is co-financing the CACAONICA cooperative "Community Autonomy in Energy and Sanitation" pilot project for 40 cacao producing families in Waslala. We will share more in an upcoming blog post.