On Friday the fire at the orphanage, which is under the control of American religious groups in Haiti, killing 15 children.
Two children burned to death, another 13 died from choking smoke from a fire that engulfed the orphanage of the Church Understanding the Bible in Kenscoff.
The cause of the fire at the facility, located South of the capital Port-AU-Prince, is not clear.
One of the children in the orphanage said that they used candles because the electricity was disconnected, and the emergency generator did not work.
The worker on care of children rose-Marie, Louis, working at the shelter, said about half of the victims were infants or toddlers. She added that other victims about 10-11 years.
Two children were burned to death and 13 died due to smoke inhalation in the blaze that ravaged the Pennsylvania-based Church of Bible Understanding»s orphanage in Kenscoff, just south of the capital#Haitihttps://t.co/lv71VbqGlZ
— WION (@WIONews) February 15, 2020
Arielle jeanty of Villegreen, Director of the Institute of social security, said that the Church understanding of the Bible not licensed for the management of the institution, which houses about 60 children.
She said
«We are going to place children in the transit center while we explore the plight of their families and see if we can reunite the kids with their parents.»
Disagreement about the hundreds of unlicensed children’s homes in the poorest country in North and South America.
Only 35 of 754 institutions officially authorized, and 100 more are in the process of obtaining a license.
Over the past five years, the government has closed about 160 institutions, said Villeroy, and forbidden to open new ones.
Pregnant mom screams after her twins die in orphanage fire that killed 15 children https://t.co/dmntkNvp9c
— The US Sun (@TheSunUS) February 15, 2020
According to the government, in orphanages in Haiti located approximately 30 000 children, and the vast majority of them (four of five) have living parents. These children are in care because their parents believe that can’t afford to look after them.
A local judge Raymond Jean Antoine reported that this orphanage has no right to work in 2013.
«We see children living like animals,»she said, adding that the building did not have fire extinguishers.
Representatives of the Church understanding the Bible, reported on its web site that opened its first orphanage in Haiti nearly 40 years ago, with the main objective «to spread the gospel among all who will receive.»
According to the world Bank, nearly 60% of the 11.2 million Haitians live on less than $2.40 per day.
Poverty, disability and lack of access to basic health, education and social services mean that many Haitian parents send their children to orphanages or to wealthier relatives and acquaintances.
As reported by the SUN, critics argue that children who are hosted by relatives, are often used as servants, do not communicate with their peers, because they are employed in housework, and rarely go to school.
