Volunteer Programs in Haiti

Haiti is a small island country in the Caribbean Sea, occupying the western half of the island of Hispaniola (the Dominican Republic occupies the eastern half), and home to just over 10 million citizens. Long inhabited by the indigenous Taino people, the island was first discovered to the outside world by Christopher Columbus during his fateful voyage of 1492.

Today, the bustling capital city of Port-au-Prince is typically the most popular destination where to volunteer abroad in Haiti. Sitting on a natural harbor with over 3 million people living in the metropolitan area, Port-au-Prince is the major political, cultural, and economic nucleus of Haiti, as well as home to well over a third of the country’s total populace.

Other destinations where you might look to volunteer abroad in Haiti include the smaller urban areas of Jacmel, Les Cayes, and Leogane. The country is very small, so anywhere you choose to volunteer in Haiti will be relatively nearby to everywhere else.

Bear in mind while deciding on a location where to volunteer abroad in Haiti that the country is still very much in recovery from the 2010 earthquake, which took a catastrophic toll on lives and infrastructure. Some places were hit harder than others, so this will affect both the progress of the rebuilding effort and the demand for volunteers from abroad.