Overview:
With insecurity disrupting daily life and leaving Haitian children with few safe spaces or services, the community organization Groupe Activement Dévoué Envers les Minorités (GADEM) offered the support needed. GADEM organized a recreational day for dozens of children and their parents at the Pétion-Ville National High School, offering games, medical consultations, meals, and educational activities, filling critical gaps for these children affected by Haiti’s ongoing crisis.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Haiti’s local community organization is stepping in where basic services remain scarce, offering hands-on support for children and families through games, medical care and food at an end-of-year event in Pétion-Ville.
On Dec. 28, the Groupe Activement Dévoué Envers les Minorités (GADEM) organized a recreational and health outreach day for dozens of children and their parents at the Pétion-Ville National High School—an effort that organizers say reflects the kind of community-based action still filling gaps left by Haiti’s current crisis.
Children spent the day playing football, jumping rope, singing, and dancing, while parents and children also received free medical consultations through a mobile clinic staffed by volunteer nurses and doctors. For many families, it was a rare chance to access basic care in a safe and supportive space.
“This activity shows that you don’t need great resources to make a good and meaningful gesture. Despite the country’s situation, when an opportunity to do good arises, it must be seized,” said Christeline Jean, president of GADEM.
Alongside games and performances, GADEM provided hot meals, food kits, and basic first-aid training. Organizers said the goal was not only to bring joy but also to offer practical support to families navigating daily hardship.
The group, made up mainly of young volunteers and medical students, has carried out similar efforts in the past, including school-supply distributions at the start of the academic year. GADEM focuses on child protection, educational support, community awareness, and health access, with an emphasis on dignity and solidarity.
Here are some images from this recreational day organized by GADEM with children at the Pétion-Ville National High School:
Children and parents line up for medical consultations during a mobile clinic held as part of a recreational day for children, organized by the Groupe Activement Dévoué Envers les Minorités (GADEM) in Pétion-Ville on Dec. 28, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise/The Haitian Times
Young girl sits across from a medical worker during a consultation at a recreational event organized by the Groupe Activement Dévoué Envers les Minorités (GADEM) in Pétion-Ville on December 28, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise/The Haitian Times
A parent has their blood pressure checked by a medical worker during a mobile clinic held at a recreational event organized by the Groupe Activement Dévoué Envers les Minorités (GADEM) in Pétion-Ville on December 28, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise/The Haitian Times
Several children playing football using empty juice cans in the courtyard of the Pétion-Ville National High School during the recreational day organized by the Groupe Activement Dévoué Envers les Minorités (GADEM) on December 28, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise/The Haitian Times
Two children looking at the Christmas Solidarity banner of the organization Groupe Activement Dévoué Envers les Minorités (GADEM) displayed at the Pétion-Ville National High School during a recreational day for children on December 28, 2035. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise/The Haitian Times
Children, guided by a GADEM member, gather before marching and singing in the courtyard of the Pétion-Ville National High School during the recreational day organized by the Groupe Activement Dévoué Envers les Minorités (GADEM) on December 28, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise/The Haitian Times
Dance performance offered to children who attended the recreational day organized by the Groupe Activement Dévoué Envers les Minorités (GADEM) in Pétion-Ville on December 28, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise/The Haitian Times.
Christelline Jean, president of the organization Groupe Activement Dévoué Envers les Minorités (GADEM), handing a juice to one of the children participating in the recreational day in Pétion-Ville on December 28, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise/The Haitian Times
A young girl getting ready to play jump rope in the courtyard of the Pétion-Ville National High School during the recreational day organized by the Groupe Activement Dévoué Envers les Minorités (GADEM) on December 28, 2025. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise/The Haitian Times
Two children looking at the Christmas Solidarity banner of the organization Groupe Activement Dévoué Envers les Minorités (GADEM) displayed at the Pétion-Ville National High School during a recreational day for children on December 28, 2035. Photo by Juhakenson Blaise/The Haitian Times
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