Jamaica’s Deputy Prime Minister Horace Chang has announced the country’s commitment to welcoming orphans from Haiti, responding to the growing social challenges in the French-speaking nation, particularly in Port-au-Prince.

Chang conveyed, “We have reached an agreement to provide accommodation for a specific number of individuals through legitimate channels, focusing on orphans currently residing in an orphanage that is grappling with isolation and various challenges. These children are under the care of the Mustard Seed Community, and efforts to coordinate the logistics for this arrangement are already in progress. Furthermore, the World Bank has approached us to host their staff, and we are actively engaged in facilitating this process.”

Government statistics indicate that approximately 30,000 children, out of a total population of around 4 million, reside in approximately 750 orphanages across Haiti. However, Chang did not specify the exact number of orphans that Jamaica would be accepting from Haiti.