There are more than 2.5 million children living with HIV/AIDS around the world and 90 percent of these children are in developing countries. In recognition of the growing international need, The Children's Place Association founded Children's Place International in 2007.

The goal of Children's Place International is to ensure that children affected by HIV/AIDS have the opportunity to live their lives in fullness and dignity. To achieve this goal, our approach is to help families meet their children's physical, psychological, and cognitive developmental needs. This approach, similar to our Chicago-based programs, is based on the philosophy that child development occurs optimally in the presence of loving and nurturing adults.

Children's Place International launched the Northern Haiti Family Support Project in January 2008. We are currently assisting 235 HIV/AIDS-affected children in Gonaives, Limonade, and Cap Haitien, Haiti. The second program will begin in Guyana in late 2008.

How the Program Works
Children's Place International works with medical centers to identify families affected by HIV/AIDS who are unable to meet the developmental needs of their children. The program then sends Community Child Support Workers (CCSWs) to engage with these families to build trusting relationships in order to understand their needs and to create a care plan to address them. Needs may be met by the family itself, the community or external resources provided by Children's Place and donors from the United States.

Our International Staff
Director of International Programs, John Sweeney
jsweeney@childrens-place.org
Caribbean Program Manager, Jennifer Miller
jmiller@childrens-place.org
Haiti Project Coordinator, Hannah Hoover
hhoover@childrens-place.org

Visit the Blog of our Haiti project coordinator, Hannah Hoover, to learn how Children's Place International is currently helping the children of Haiti.