Help the Desmaret Family Stay Safe in the U.S.

Hi, we’re the Desmaret family: Peterson (Dad), Rhyan (Mom), and our six amazing kids, Annabel, Henry, Della, Jonathan, Malachi, and Zariah.

In late 2022, our family arrived in Minnesota after evacuating our home in Haiti due to escalating insecurity. That day, and the days that followed, were a blur of excitement and grief. We were incredibly thankful to be together and finally feel safe, but we had left behind the only home our family had ever known. We knew it was unlikely we would be able to return for several months, but we could never have imagined how much things would worsen, or how terrifyingly far Haiti would fall.

900+ days later, we’ve found peace and comfort in the lives we’ve built here, but none of us ever could have imagined that we would still be unable to go “home” to Haiti. There are so many people we miss deeply, and while we know the life we once had no longer exists, we are homesick nonetheless.

We’ve had to accept many heartbreaking realities over the years, most recently coming to terms with the fact that we cannot return to Haiti in the way we had hoped and planned. We are incredibly thankful to have knowledgeable and dedicated people in our corner, and because of their hard work, we now have a clear path forward in the process of obtaining legal status so that we can all remain in the U.S. together.

We know that we are privileged to have this opportunity, but, as with every step of the immigration process, this journey comes with a great cost. Much of the progress we worked so hard for in Haiti has been lost. However, we are confident that our legal team will move mountains for our family, and we know that every penny we pay them will be well worth it.

At this point, it seems like we can break down our fundraising needs into three steps. I tend to get easily overwhelmed these days, so being able to divide what feels like a huge goal into manageable steps is a relief.

Tonight, I’m launching this fundraiser with an initial goal of $11,000, which is the amount needed for Step 1 of our journey. Once that goal is met, we can breathe a little easier, but we’ll have a few more steps (and fundraising goals) ahead. I’ll share those updates in the coming weeks.

For many years, countless individuals supported our family and our work in Haiti. We are who we are because of the love, support, and community that shaped us. Thank you for being a part of our journey.