A Bermuda-funded orphanage and school in Haiti have been caught in the crossfire of the Caribbean island’s civil unrest.

Armed bandits invaded the Feed My Lambs facility in the past week, smashing windows and toilets, and ripping solar panels from roofs.

In the present lawlessness, rebels have targeted key installations across the island, taking control of the airport and marine docks, helping convicts to escape from the island’s main prison and seizing property from civilians.

Last week, interim prime minister Ariel Henry gave in to a key demand of the rebels by resigning.

Despite that development, violence continues to rampage across the island, which is now on the brink of famine and civil war.

The orphanage and school, located 70km from the capital of Port-au-Prince, were set up by Bermudian Philip Rego in 2009.

On Saturday, Mr Rego said that although Haiti had always had a troubled history — be it through natural disaster, disease, or political instability — the present crisis was the worst he had witnessed.

Speaking at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Warwick, the philanthropist said: “Haiti is in a very bad way. We have never seen anything like this before.

“If you look on the news, it’s pretty devastating, wouldn’t you say so? Can you imagine half of your buddies on this side of the street and half on that side and there are fires and tyres burning and that kind of stuff?

“There’s a group of gangsters that came up to our area, our community, and into the village to take all the houses from the people. And they have the power. Why? Because they have guns.”

During Saturday’s presentation, Mr Rego called orphanage’s manager, Kelley Geon, who was able to give the audience a first-hand account of the troubles.

Mr Geon said: “We live in an area that’s 45 minutes from the airport, and it’s very dangerous. We have two groups fighting for land. One is down on the beach, the other is up on the mountains. Both groups have all types of guns, so they’re shooting each other and people are dying. Since Tuesday, these guys have been fighting each other. There’s been shooting all over this area. We hear the gunshots.

“They came into our area to cause chaos. They smashed windows and toilets and solar panels. There’s a lot of Haitian people that don’t know what to do because these guys are thoughtless.”

Mr Rego said that despite that scare, the organisation will continue with its work.

He said: “We opened up the next day. Even though it’s total chaos, you kind of have to keep on moving. We didn’t come to a full stop.

“Don’t worry about the gangs — they’re there. You’ve got to keep moving and make sure you stay out of the wrong places — that’s all it is. Don’t worry about the gangsters, because even if bullets are hitting the walls, these are people who just want a better day and hoping that the right person can get them into the right position.

“We need to be very mindful that Haiti has this upbringing of no rules and no regulations. Take your minds away from Bermuda because Bermuda is another world. We have a structure here that needs to happen in Haiti.

“This is strong stuff. This is strong stuff for little kids to see. We’re just trying to give tomorrow a better day.”

Mr Rego and Mr Geon praised Bermuda for supporting its Caribbean neighbour and the charity.

Mr Rego said: “If it wasn’t for Bermuda, I don’t know what we would do because everything that you see … I would say 90 per cent of it is donated from Bermuda.”

Mr Geon added: “I want to say thank you to Bermuda. Bermuda is a blessing to the Haitian people.

“I just want to say ‘God bless’, because we have come to a point where it’s very difficult for us. We want to see change. It’s going to be coming so that the people can get fortunate, so I want them to pray and thank God and I want to say thank you again for all the support from Bermuda.”