Morgan Weinberg's Presentation Feb 10, 2022
Program
Paul McMenemy introduced today's speaker Morgan Wienberg and I will be the first to say that this woman and the organization she represents left me speechless. She is a crusader of a very worthwhile cause.
Morgan is the Co-founder & Executive Director of Little Footprints Big Steps (LFBS). Morgan left her home in Whitehorse as a teenager and co-founded LFBS in 2011. She has been working for the organization full-time since the summer of 2011 and has been honored for her work in Haiti with a number of awards, including Canada's Meritorious Service Cross Medal, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Rotary International Paul Harris Fellowship Award.
LFBS works to raise awareness globally about child protection issues that help to educate about the dangers of supporting the orphanage system and encourages reflection as well as a shift in thinking about how to better facilitate international aid. Morgan's presentation emphasized that foreign aid can do more harm than good when money is funneled to institutions rather than communities.
Morgan originally came to Haiti as a volunteer to help out after the earthquake in 2010. She was introduced to a locally run orphanage and then lived there for 5 1/2 months with a view to improve its living conditions. She then started to advocate for orphanages to be closed down and focused on efforts to reunite children with their families. Ten years later, the LFBS has 20 full time staff who work with 350 families in 45 communities. They provide seven programs in four areas. Their main program involves family tracing, mediation and communication.
Here are some staggering and saddening facts:
Over 80% of orphanages worldwide are poverty orphanages
Haiti has:
Below is Morgan's Powerpoint presentation:
Paul McMenemy introduced today's speaker Morgan Wienberg and I will be the first to say that this woman and the organization she represents left me speechless. She is a crusader of a very worthwhile cause.
Morgan is the Co-founder & Executive Director of Little Footprints Big Steps (LFBS). Morgan left her home in Whitehorse as a teenager and co-founded LFBS in 2011. She has been working for the organization full-time since the summer of 2011 and has been honored for her work in Haiti with a number of awards, including Canada's Meritorious Service Cross Medal, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Rotary International Paul Harris Fellowship Award.
LFBS works to raise awareness globally about child protection issues that help to educate about the dangers of supporting the orphanage system and encourages reflection as well as a shift in thinking about how to better facilitate international aid. Morgan's presentation emphasized that foreign aid can do more harm than good when money is funneled to institutions rather than communities.
Morgan originally came to Haiti as a volunteer to help out after the earthquake in 2010. She was introduced to a locally run orphanage and then lived there for 5 1/2 months with a view to improve its living conditions. She then started to advocate for orphanages to be closed down and focused on efforts to reunite children with their families. Ten years later, the LFBS has 20 full time staff who work with 350 families in 45 communities. They provide seven programs in four areas. Their main program involves family tracing, mediation and communication.
Here are some staggering and saddening facts:
Over 80% of orphanages worldwide are poverty orphanages
Haiti has:
- 30,000 children in orphanages - The majority of these children have families who are unable to provide for them.
- 749 orphanages
- 35 of these meet minimum standards of childcare and are operating legally - The rest are operating illegally and are not providing the care that the families believe their children are receiving. Many children are neglected, abused and/or victims of child trafficking.
Below is Morgan's Powerpoint presentation:
| lfbsrotarypresentation__1_.pptx |
You can find out more about Morgan's story, LFBS and watch the 3 minute video about her experience here:
