MIHANDS has always been fueled by people, not deep pockets. Because we lack the massive financial reserves and pre-staged stockpiles of larger international agencies, our response standard operating procedure is a race against time to mobilize—gathering our volunteer network, fundraising, and sourcing materials from scratch whenever a crisis hits.
The devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Southern Mindanao tested us, but our community answered the call. After days of intense preparation (…)

Every Oct. 17, Haiti celebrates Dessalines Day, commemorating the assassination in 1806 of the country's first head of state postindependence, Jean-Jacques Dessalines.
One of the founding fathers in the struggle for Haitian independence, alongside Toussaint Louverture, Dessalines has a mixed legacy: celebrated at home for his role in ending slavery and overthrowing French colonial rule, but often condemned internationally for his violent tactics and the 1804 killing of white French people (…)

Ahead of its first match in the 2026 World Cup, the Haitian national soccer team was forced to make a last-minute change. But it didn't have anything to do with its roster or travel plans. It was the team's jersey.
FIFA, the sport's global governing body, said the jersey design violated its rules, which ban political slogans or imagery.
FIFA banned Haiti's original jersey due its nod to the Haitian Revolution on the right hip of the jersey. Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images
FIFA didn't (…)