A complete, unfancy guide to keeping family in Haiti reachable

By Gabenley Bien Aime · ChatRefill

This is the article we wanted when we first started sending to Haiti from a phone in another country: no poetry, no panic, just the order of operations.

You open www.chatrefill.com. You are helping someone stay reachable. Everything else is detail.

1. Know the operator

Digicel or Natcom. Ask this week. Write it next to the number. If you send to the wrong one, ChatRefill did not “fail.” The send went to a network that is not theirs.

2. Know the number

Use the format the site shows. Compare it to a recent WhatsApp call. Haitian numbers are not a place to improvise extra zeros.

3. Know the product

Airtime if they need to call. A bundle if they need data. A gift card if it is a birthday and they already have credit. Haiti is a popular destination for all three. You do not have to make it a personality test.

4. Pay, then speak

Keep the receipt. Tell them you sent it. If they share a phone, name the person: “for Manman, Digicel.”

5. Make it a month, not a crisis

The worst Haiti sends are the ones that happen after two days of silence. A small weekly or twice-monthly top-up from the US, Canada, or France is calmer than a large panic send. You will still have panic days. They just will not be the only days.

What this guide is not

It is not a promise that every tower is up. It is not a substitute for asking if they are safe. It is the part you can actually complete from a kitchen in Miami or a studio in Montreal: credit on a Haitian line, through ChatRefill, without a speech.

When you can, send. When they ask for data, send data. When they ask you not to send, listen. The complete guide includes that last line on purpose.