Help us help Haiti

Life is what you make it.

But if you live in the slums of Port au Prince, Haiti, that life can be very short indeed.

Even before the massive earthquake which struck and killed 300,000 people this January, Haiti was the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere.

And in areas such as Cité Soleil, a sprawling slum which Mother Teresa once called "the poorest few miles on Earth", those 35 seconds of hell hurt more than most.

The inhabitants of these slums must endure grinding poverty, open sewage, hurricanes, lack of transport, the absence of schools and the threat of gang life – every day of their lives.

For many of the children, the gang is the only family they will ever know.

Unlikely hero

But they are not without friends.

Patrice Millet is a Haitian businessman who has battled illness, and now the slum gangs, to found a most remarkable project.

His FONDAP youth sports programme has helped more than 1,000 children from Port au Prince's slums to escape gang life.

The soccer and volleyball coaching, plus support and counselling he provides, helps keep the children out of the criminal groups which provide (for many) the only real family they have.

The earthquake, however, has shaken that dream.

The sports fields on which the children once played are now tent cities, filled with the homeless and refugees.

"Many of our regular supporters are now themselves in need of help having lost everything," says Patrice.

"So today, at a time when these children are in the greatest need of an escape from their grim reality, we find ourselves running a downsized programme affecting only 400 children."

A dream … a reality?

Patrice dreams of helping his youngsters much further – by establishing proper sports facilities and buying land outside the slums. This is where Children on the Edge hope to be able to help.

"Our vision is to provide these children a different reality. One with a field of their own where they can have access to sports. One with a school with qualified teachers. A reality which will get them away and out of the misery in which they live daily," he says.

Luckily, Patrice has the support of an existing agency, Food for the Poor, which helps feed up to 800 of the children he supports each day.

And he has identified the perfect site for his new project, some 40 minutes drive outside the slums. He even has the promise of help for the construction.

Children on the Edge and Patrice need to raise $120,000 (£80,000) to complete the purchase of the new land and arrange daily transport of such a huge number of young people.

Would you help us – and the thousands of children he can help in Haiti's slums – with this task?