Oriani, Haiti is a village up in the mountains of southern Haiti. The economy of this area relies on produce from their gardens that they sell in the markets in Croix de Bouquets and Port au Prince. They use this money to buy rice, flour, oil, and other items they need and require. The economy here has been increasingly strained over the last several years by gangs imposing high “tolls” on trucks and other vehicles trying to access these markets. This has further depressed the already very poor people in this area. However, they continue to put in the hard manual labor required to grow gardens. Some of the gardens are on the side of very steep hills in very rocky soil. The effort put into farming this land and bringing their produce into the village to sell to merchants who arrange transport down the mountain is very impressive. However, in July, the gangs attacked Ganthier, a town on the road to Port au Prince and the road has been closed since. This was very bad timing as the first large harvest is in July and now they can’t access the markets to sell their produce. As a result, they lost their entire harvest! This area was already extremely poor with many people living on the edge of malnourishment. Now with the road being blocked, this has reduced the supply of food and driven up costs. At the same time, no one has money to buy food! The situation looks very grim. Now is the time to replant gardens in hopes of another harvest in November, but they lack the money for fertilizer and the ability to pay for the labor necessary to replant. At the same time refugees from Ganthier and the other towns affected by the gangs are coming up the mountain. This increases the demand for food and medical assistance. Many of these fled with only the clothes on their backs. The clinic has relied on a small fee for service to help supplement donations to cover the costs of operating. Due to the current crisis, we are often waiving this fee as fewer people are able to pay. We are asking for donations to help cover clinic costs and provide food and clothing for refugees in the area. We would also like to provide assistance to farmers as funds become available. The ability to replant gardens will be key in preventing a complete economic collapse up here on the mountain. Any assistance is greatly appreciated and will go much further here than you might think. Please mark funds as “Special Request” Thank you and God bless you.