Jacksonville missionaries back in Florida fear for the children and families in Haiti

At All Things New, a Haitian orphanage founded by Jacksonville missionaries, 22 children and teenagers go about their daily lives with meals, tutoring and recreation.

They try not to think about the danger, worsening by the day, that lurks nearby.

The orphanage is near the city of Gressier, about 20 miles from the nation's capital of Port Au Prince, where years of civil unrest recently exploded with gang violence, murders, sexual brutality, kidnappings and a mass prison escape.

Founders Matt and Jessica Bush are safe in Jacksonville with their three children, one adopted from Haiti. Matt Bush is a pastor at Glendale Community Church and his wife is a long-term substitute teacher at Covenant School. They now run All Things New from the U.S., with the help of about 30 on-site staff.

So far, the chaos has not reached the orphanage. But as the unrest escalates — the government has declared a state of emergency and the embattled president recently resigned — the Bushes live with constant fear and worry about "our kids" and staff in Haiti.

"Watching from afar is one of the worst experiences we can remember," Matt Bush said. "You become numb after a while, but then a picture or a news story jogs your memory and makes you realize that the people that you love are in danger or are in a very difficult position and there is nothing you can do to help."

Plans to live in Haiti abandoned

When the Bushes moved to rural Haiti in 2014, they envisioned making the Caribbean nation their home and taking occasional trips to Florida to see family and fundraise for the orphanage. But by 2021, Haiti had become so unstable — including the assassination of the president that July and a major earthquake in August — they decided to make Jacksonville their home base.

Matt was last in Haiti in 2021, wife Jessica and their children not since 2019.

"We made the decision when things got bad that we did not want to put Haitians in danger by making them drive into the airport to pick us up or to be seen with us and for others to think that they have resources and money," Matt Bush said. "We also did not want to take resources, such as food and water, from Haitians when things are already so difficult to find."

Recently the situation has declined further, with heavily armed gangs taking over most of the capital and the country's infrastructure, including its international airport.

"Thousands and thousands of people have been displaced in Port Au Prince and thousands of people have had to evacuate their homes," Bush said.

Jessica Bush's father, Phil Atter of Jacksonville, said current conditions in Haiti are "far worse" than any time in the orphanage's history. He's glad the family is safe in Florida but said "there is considerable concern that the gangs, if not contained, could encroach in our area."

"The gangs need to be eradicated and Haiti must find a way to hold open elections and install leadership that truly cares about the people and survival of Haiti, not another corrupt leader in a nation that keeps recycling corrupt leaders," Atter said.

In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he would send additional law enforcement and state and National Guard resources to the Keys because of an expected influx of illegal immigrants from Haiti. The Coalition of the Haitian Community in Jacksonville asked DeSantis to reconsider. At a recent rally, they called on stated and federal leaders to provide Haitians "refuge and humanitarian help," according to First Coast News, the Times-Union's media partner.

"We are a nation like all other nations," coalition leader Pierre Paul said at the rally. "Like Ukraine nations, like tourists. They’re coming not for opportunity, but to save their lives."

The state Division of Emergency Management also has launched a portal — floridadisaster.org/Haiti — to collect information from Floridians and other Americans who may be trapped in Haiti. The "rapidly escalating instability" put them at risk, according to the agency.

Concerns abroad as danger escalates

No Americans are currently at All Things New. But the Bushes worry its U.S. ties could cause trouble.

"I wonder if people find out that our kids and employees have Americans that are helping them and providing for them if they will be in more danger," Matt Bush said. "Right now, the resources that we are able to help provide for them have allowed them to ride out the storm without the added fear of not having food to eat or clothes to wear. The food situation in Haiti is as dire as it has ever been and the cost of living there and the inflation rate has made starvation and malnourishment an even greater threat to most of the Haitian population."

The Bushes pray that the worst of the chaos, currently mainly in and north of Port Au Prince, does not spread south of the capital to the rural area that is home to orphanage. But there are clear danger signs.

"There have been some threats of gang activity, the schools in the community are closed and there is definitely fear amongst the population where our kids are," Matt Bush said.

In their enclave, 22 youth live on site and nine more from the neighboring community come there daily to receive tutoring and get meals.

The couple's initial goal for All Things New included preparing the youth to live on their own and helping provide jobs when they graduate. They planned to launch a job-creation training program in computer coding, working with U.S. churches and small nonprofits to maintain their social media and websites.

The unrest has forced a pause. "We still hope to do it, but it will just be after things calm down," Bush said.

How can the public, the U.S. government help?

Brad Henry, owner of Bradford Real Estate Network in Jacksonville, is a longtime donor who has made multiple visits to the orphanage. He is an All Things New board member and was title sponsor of the Bushes' recent banquet fundraiser at Deerwood Country Club.

"The Bushes have maintained their dedication to the kids and employees under circumstances where other missionaries may have discontinued support," he said. "They have a strong group of employees that they trust to handle the day-to-day activities, so it is not critical that they be there in person. It is unfortunate that the conditions in Haiti have made it unsafe for them to travel to Haiti as I know they miss the kids dearly. "

Mission trips and in-person contact with the children and staff can be inspiring for potential donors and sponsors, he said. Recruiting them now from the U.S. is "more challenging," so the recent fundraiser was "critical to maintain their work," Henry said.

The U.S. government has urged American citizens to depart Haiti as soon as possible: The State Department has maintained a "level four: do not travel" warning because the current situation "is unpredictable and dangerous." The U.S. military has airlifted some American "non-essential" staff out of the country's embassy and airlifted some locals into the embassy to boost security.

The Joe Biden administration committed funding for a Kenyan-led multinational security force, but according to an Associated Press report has so far refused to send U.S. troops to Haiti.

"There are numerous political issues that have prevented the U.S. from getting more involved, and the historical relationship between the two countries is very complicated," Bush said. "At some point a foreign actor will have to get involved to help."

He asked the public to stay informed — "However bad you think things are right now, they’re much worse" — and not be afraid to support any nonprofit organization that is trying to help the Haitian people.

"If you know of someone who runs a ministry in Haiti that is trying to care for people, feed people or otherwise help them and you trust that person, do not be afraid to send money," Bush said. "Many people see what is going on and hesitate to give because the country is not getting better. The majority of people there cannot afford basic survival goods."

Despite the unrest, chaos and uncertainty, the Bushes remain committed to the children.

"We have not changed our long-term idea of always being there for them," he said. "Whether it be through All Things New for as long as that lasts or whether it be just our family being there for them, they are our kids and we will do whatever we can for them always."

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville couple worry Haiti unrest and the orphanage they founded