Haiti orphanages being targeted for theft as people struggle to survive in the aftermath of quake

(CNN) -- Haiti's orphanages have become targets for people desperate for food, water and medical supplies in the aftermath of the devastating magnitude 7.0 earthquake.

On Wednesday night, Maison de Lumiere, an orphanage caring for 50 orphans, came under attack from a group of 20 armed men, aid workers told the Joint Council on International Children's Services.

A neighboring orphanage sheltering about 135 children has been robbed several times over the past few days, they said.

Meanwhile, aid workers said a third orphanage caring for 17 orphans reported that townspeople are trespassing and tapping into the water supply that is reserved for the children.

"It was calm at first, but the situation is getting more desperate," said David Beck, pastor at Child Hope International, the nonprofit that oversees Maison de Lumiere. No shots were fired in the attack on the orphanage, and security guards were able to drive off the marauders, he said. But one orphanage worker was hit in the head with a rock, he said.

"If people think you have food, then they will come after it," Beck said. The orphanage is rationing what food and water it does have, he said.

Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, and experienced high rates of poverty and disease even before the quake. The quake has made the situation far more desperate.

Looting is becoming a big concern for the orphanages as fear and frustration mount and help is slow to arrive, said Tom DiFilipo of the Joint Council on International Children's Services, a U.S.-based advocacy group for children in need of families.

To protect the children, some orphanages are on lock-down, according to volunteers working with the relief agencies.

"When bringing in supplies to an orphanage, you can only bring in a day or two day's worth," said DiFilipo. "If you bring more than that, the locals come in."

This week's raids are included on a growing list of difficulties facing orphanages that is being compiled by the Joint Council on International Children's Services. DiFilipo said he expects the challenges of food, medical aid and security to continue affecting the orphanages for weeks.

For every Haitian orphan brought to safety in the United States and elsewhere, thousands more are left behind to face the primitive conditions resulting from last week's earthquake. There is no accurate count of how many orphanages have experienced looting and other attacks.

Since the quake, the Joint Council on International Children's Services has received dozens of phone calls, text messages and e-mails from orphanages reporting problems ranging from food shortages to security threats.

The agency is in touch with about 50 orphanages in Haiti and the reports are updated daily. The group is also working with members of Congress, the Red Cross and other aid agencies to relay the messages.

Before the quake, Haiti had 380,000 orphans, according to UNICEF. It is still too early to determine how many children were orphaned by the quake.

The people of Haiti have grown desperate for food, water and assistance since the quake decimated the capital last week, toppling buildings, cutting power, contaminating water supplies and ravaging roads.

The conditions for children in Haiti are bleak, aid officials said. Orphans are sleeping outside or in makeshift tents. Facilities are running low on food, water and medical supplies. Some orphanages have already reported deaths.

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