Education for 400 young women in Haiti's slums

2018 was the third year of the current phase of our girls youth center program in Hait. As you can read in the annual report below, the program achieved its goals and made a positive impact in the lifes of the participating girls. This was possible thanks to the generous support from many donors like you. Therefore, we'd like to express our gratitude to you.

Haiti is considered the poorest country on the American continent. More than 80% of the population live on less than USD 2.41 per day. Extreme poverty, political instability and the huge damage caused by past natural disasters are the main factors behind the country's instability.

Young women and girls in particular suffer under these difficult circumstances. They are often victims of violence, have inadequate educational opportunities and are malnourished. As a result, psychological trauma and health problems are almost unavoidable. The Horyzon programme of the local women's organisation YWCA Haiti opposes this negative spiral. It promotes the development, health and economic independence of girls and young women and stands up for their rights.

In 2018, about 195 girls (5-18 years) have visited the Youth Center daily from Monday to Friday, where they have received professional psychological care and have been able to talk openly about their problems. The Youth Center has offered them daily school tuition and training on topics such as hygiene, sexuality, violence prevention, rights and the environment. In addition, this year the girls were able to have a cooked meal every day.

In the past year, 273 young women between the ages of 18 and 35 have learned at the Leadership Academy how to make self-determined decisions and thereby assume an exemplary and leadership function. In weekly intensive courses, they acquired leadership skills and worked on topics such as human rights, work ethics, sexual and health rights.

A highlight was the Summer Camp, which has taken place for the fifth time in 2018. A total of 198 girls were able to take part in leisure activities, discover new talents and hobbies and work up their school material during 6 weeks. For example, in this year's Poetry Slam Workshop the girls have learned how to express themselves better and how to debate. In the Mobi-Cinema, they have been informed about human trafficking in Haiti with a short film and learned how to protect themselves.

Links:

• More about the project
• About us