Child Protection Haiti Project #25800

Schools Not Slavery for Rural Haitian Children

by Beyond Borders

Schools Not Slavery for Rural Haitian Children

Project Report | Jan 17, 2025
120 Girls and Boys Safe from Exploitation, Thanks to You

By Freda Catheus, Guyto Desrosiers, and Brian Stevens | Beyond Borders Staff

A community Child Rights Training on Lagonav.

120 Girls and Boys are Safe from Exploitation and Violence, Thanks to You

Thank you for your generous support for Beyond Borders’ Schools Not Slavery project on GlobalGiving. We are deeply grateful for your solidarity, your generosity, and how closely you hold vulnerable children in Haiti to your heart. One hundred twenty children benefited from protection interventions against exploitation and violence in various communities on Lagonav Island, including nine children – seven girls and two boys – liberated from exploitation during the quarter. These children received protection services such as psychosocial support, medical care, and judicial support.

Thank you for your solidarity with vulnerable children in Haiti and your commitment to growing the movement to end the practice of child servitude (restavèk).

Your Generosity is Providing Comprehensive Psychosocial Support to Children

Your generosity is supporting a psychosocial support strategy focusing on children who are victims of violence and exploitation, particularly through the practice of restavèk. BB’s psychosocial support is designed to be a comprehensive approach that considers all aspects of human development and well-being, including physical, biological, cognitive, social, familial, economic, and cultural factors, to provide the best possible care and to help individuals reintegrate into society.

The objective of this strategy is to develop community-based mechanisms to address children’s needs. This approach involves multiple stakeholders, including Adult Survivor Network members, Child Protection Brigade members, local authorities, families, other community organizations, and basic service providers.

The psychosocial support strategy is a process that begins with identifying a case, completing an identification form to evaluate the child’s risk level, analyzing the child’s needs through case scenarios, and developing a specific action plan to provide an appropriate response.

For the quarter covering October, November, and December 2024, the identified child protection cases required interventions such as liberation, psychological support, access to medical care, temporary placement in host families, reunification with biological families, educating parents about their roles and responsibilities, supporting families of children who experienced sexual violence, visiting children in host families, and judicial follow-ups.

You Are Supporting Seven Key Strategies to Protect Children

Your generosity is supporting seven key strategies to reduce the risk of child exploitation and promote access to quality education for all children on Lagonav Island, specific areas in Port-au-Prince, and other regions through partnerships in the North, Artibonite, and West departments in Haiti: (1) Engage more actors in the movement against restavèk (child servitude) practices; (2) Strengthen the capacity of organized actors within the movement; (3) Facilitate networking among movement actors; (4) Provide intervention for children at risk of exploitation; (5) Enhance psychosocial and economic capacity for survivors of restavèk practices; (6) Demonstrate progress in combating child exploitation and improving education access through solid data; (7) Support educational stakeholders in providing coordinated responses to educational access and quality.

Thank you for making the development and implementation of these strategies possible!

Your Generosity Supports New Partnerships to Protect Children

Building a movement cannot happen without networks and the engagement of many diverse actors working toward the same goal. BB/DF recognizes this and has chosen to integrate strategies that engage more actors daily in the movement. During this quarter, the program developed partnerships with like-minded organizations to expand the reach of the movement against child exploitation.

This quarter, we established a new formal partnership with an organization based in Haiti’s northern department called GHRAPDEL (Haitian Group for Pedagogical Research and Actions for Local Development). This partnership will enable BB, through GHRAPDEL, to involve more actors in the movement against violence and exploitation of children.

A joint action plan has already been developed between the two partners, outlining the first intervention phase, which will reach 20 communities—8 in Mayisad and 12 in Laviktwa—where 600 people will be educated using the dialogue-based Education as a Conversation method.

An informal partnership established with the Episcopal Church on Lagonav has already enabled the training of 20 literacy monitors who will facilitate literacy centers for adult survivors of restavèk practices who cannot read or write, addressing a critical issue identified by these survivors. Additionally, efforts were made to develop guides and modules for psychological well-being group activities.

For the first quarter, a formal partnership was also established with FOKA, which will implement child protection actions in various churches on Lagonav Island. For the fiscal year, the objective is to establish partnerships with 5 organizations. Currently, we have 2 formal partnerships and 1 informal one.

This quarter also marked the completion of technical support provided to the Father Joseph Network (FJN), training members of various congregations on human and child rights. FJN received guidance to launch a new fiscal year, and PDL received support to integrate new communities.

Thank you for making new partnerships like these possible!

Your Faithful Support Helps the Team Navigate Challenges

Despite these accomplishments, the program faced challenges, including a liquidity crisis at the only commercial bank on Lagonav Island, which caused delays in activities requiring financial support. To address this, the program coordinated with local individuals in Anse-à-Galets to exchange U.S. dollars for local currency to continue operations. Additionally, the office’s only printer broke down, necessitating increased spending on external printing and relying more on digital document circulation. Furthermore, the start of self-help groups was delayed due to setbacks in developing facilitation guides and training modules for group leaders.

We are grateful for your continued solidarity in good times and bad.

More Communities and People Join the Movement to Protect Children

The number of communities and actors at the local, regional, and national levels has increased and engaged in the movement to end the practice of restavèk (child exploitation). Community structures and sectional networks carried out mobilization activities to raise awareness and engage individuals in combating restavèk practices. The program established six new survivor networks and six new child protection networks across six sections of the Anse-à-Galets commune, organizing numerous activities to structure these networks.

Here are some of the activities that your generosity made possible:

The coordination of the Ansagalè Survivor Network held a press conference attended by 50 members and 7 journalists.
The Palma Survivor Network Chapter alerted local authorities to cases of sexual violence occurring in the section. Judicial follow-ups were conducted for four children who were victims of sexual abuse.
1,910 people were educated about children’s rights in various communities through community structure interventions, including 1,131 women and 772 men.
Awareness and mobilization activities were conducted within eight community structure networks.
33 children, including 18 girls and 15 boys, received support from protection structures to attend school.
56 participants (35 women; 21 men) from 19 Child Protection Brigades across seven sections in the Ansagalè commune received capacity-building training.
6 members of the Ansagalè Coordination participated in a financial management workshop.
Capacity diagnostics and strengthening plans were conducted for three Survivor Networks (Gran Lagon, Palma, Ansagalè).
7 members of the Port-au-Prince network participated in a SWOT analysis workshop.
Capacity diagnostics and strengthening plans were completed for two other community structures.

In total, 3,350 participants mobilized to act against violence toward children and the practice of restavèk through community structure efforts. Thank you for making this movement-building work possible!

Your Generosity Empowers Communities to Organize and Take Action to Protect Children

With your support, communities created local structures to protect children’s rights and eliminate restavèk practices. They developed annual community action plans with concrete steps such as sending children to school, educating families, and freeing children from exploitation. Currently, 30 new child protection structures are up and running.

During this quarter, six structures carried out awareness activities in communities like Doglas, Nouvelsite, Mont Troujak, Bwadantèl, Doval, and Grandplèn, involving 232 participants (149 women and 81 men). Collectively, they implemented 32 of the 75 planned activities.

Groups in communities like Fonplèzi, Mont Chandèl, Nan Kafe, Nan Letan, and Bwa Brile conducted eight awareness activities on child protection. Topics included sexual violence, which has significantly affected communities on the island in recent years. These activities reached 1,321 participants, including 783 women and 538 men.

Communities Develop Action Plans to Protect and Educate Children, Thanks to You

Action plans included interventions for child protection and liberation. During this quarter, four community structures (Nouvelsite, Grandplèn in the 1st Section Palma, Toulwijèn, and Sou Fò in the 4th Section Granlagon) collaborated to support children’s education by collecting funds internally, mobilizing community resources, and receiving support from Beyond Borders. These efforts enabled 33 children (18 girls and 15 boys) in difficult circumstances to attend school.

Although many structures are newly established, program staff helped several develop action plans to mobilize communities and engage actors against child violence and exploitation. This quarter, eight Survivor Network Chapters (e.g., Port-au-Prince, Ansagalè, 1st Section Palma, etc.) and six Child Protection Brigades implemented activities.

These structures completed three activities, reaching 357 people (204 women and 153 men). The Survivor Network in the 4th Section Granlagon conducted a door-to-door awareness campaign in Lagayèn, reaching 84 people (40 women and 44 men), focusing on respecting children’s rights.

The Ansagalè Survivor Network held a community meeting in Mònalo, attended by 62 participants (44 women and 18 men), discussing strategies to protect children from violence and exploitation.

The 4th Section Granlagon Survivor Network conducted two additional door-to-door campaigns on restavèk practices, engaging 123 members (55 women and 67 men).

In metropolitan Port-au-Prince, the Survivor Network hosted a 3-day family planning workshop for 88 participants (65 women and 23 men). Participants decided to hold separate training for men to address issues related to uncontrolled family growth.

Thank you for making this kind of community level engagement and movement-building possible!

Your Generosity Supported Local, Regional, and National Work to End the Practice of Restavèk.

Here’s a look at some of the other work that your generosity made possible:

Three Survivor Section Networks were created this quarter: the 2nd Section Tisous, 3rd Section Gransous, and 5th Section Pikmi.
Eleven workshops on survivors’ needs were held, with 168 participants, including 148 women and 20 men.
Ten orientation workshops were conducted with 10 Child Protection Brigades, attended by 166 participants (127 women and 39 men).
Thirty-eight orientation workshops were held with 38 Child Protection Brigades, involving 485 participants (375 women and 110 men).
Seven open-space meetings were conducted to establish Child Protection Brigade networks, engaging 225 participants (146 women and 79 men).
Seven Child Protection Brigade networks were created during the second quarter, each with its own coordination committee.
Eight Survivor Networks (6 in rural sections and 2 in urban areas) now have action plans for implementing activities.

Your Solidarity is Expanding Access to Quality Education in Rural Haiti and Keeping Children Safe

One of the best ways to ensure that children are not sent away to the city to live with others where they risk becoming trapped in servitude is to ensure they can get a quality education, close to home. That’s exactly the kind of movement-building work that your generosity is supporting on Lagonav Island.

The Communal Education Platform – created by Beyond Borders – is organizing teachers, school directors, parents, elected officials, and others who care about education to address problems of access to and quality of education for all children.

For several years, BB has collaborated with community leaders to establish and support sectional networks as a community-based response to improve education quality and access across 11 sections in the Pwentarakèt and Ansagalè communes on Lagonav Island.

This quarter, four education networks (2nd Section Tisous, 4th Section Pwentarakèt, 4th Section GranLagon, and 5th Section Pikmi) held their quarterly general assemblies. These gatherings brought together network members, other community leaders, and representatives from various structures to evaluate the progress made in education in their respective sections.

Discussions included teacher training, efforts to ensure children attend school, school supervision visits, and collaborative education initiatives with the Ministry of Education to improve the education system.

Eleven assemblies were planned for this quarter, but socio-political and economic challenges, particularly the cash flow issues on Lagonav Island, prevented six networks from holding their assemblies. The sectional education assembly remains a vital space for reflection and proposals to improve education quality and access for all children.

Each education network develops an action plan to improve access to and quality of education in its section. Periodically, networks must update their programming. On November 7, 2024, the 5th Section Pikmi Education Network held a workshop to update its programming. During this session, participants reformulated objectives and activities to better address community needs and achieve improved outcomes.

The workshop produced a program document to guide the network’s actions for the period covered. Twenty-five participants (16 women and 9 men) attended the session. Other sections plan to hold their programming update workshops in the coming quarter.

Here are some of the other activities your support made possible:

Collaboration between Education Networks, the Ministry of Education, and Beyond Borders enabled 267 teachers (169 men and 98 women) to receive training for the start of the school year.
Four education networks (2nd Section Tisous, 4th Section Pwentarakèt, 4th Section GranLagon, and 5th Section Pikmi) held their quarterly general assemblies.
The education network in the 5th Section Pikmi updated its action plan.
Thirty-eight schools benefited from supervision visits, with the Ministry of Education conducting 38 inspections.
The Ministry of Education organized an assembly to foster collaboration among educators, with 36 participants (33 men and 3 women).

Thank You Again

We are grateful for all the good work that you are making possible through your support for the Schools Not Slavery initiative – especially in these challenging times in Haiti. Thank you again for your extraordinary generosity and solidarity. If you have any questions about what you read in this report, please call or text Brian Stevens at (305) 450-2561 or write to him at: b.stevens@beyondborders.net anytime!

A leader in the Adult Survivors of Restavek.

Survivors planning their child protection work.

A school director takes part in teacher training.

Teachers gather for training on Lagonav.

A child rights training leader at work.

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Sep 20, 2024
You've Helped Free and Protect Nearly 200 Haitian Children

By Brian Stevens | Engagement Director

Adult survivors strategize how to protect kids.

Deep Gratitude for Nearly 200 Children You've Helped Free and Protect in Haiti

We are filled with awe and gratitude for supporters like you, who’ve helped to free and protect nearly 200 children in the past fiscal year. I can't thank you enough. Your generous support for the Haitian-led movement to end child slavery has spared these children from the nightmare of forced servitude, exploitation, abuse, and neglect.

A total of 195 children identified as at-risk of falling into the restavèk (child servitude) practice and/or of being mistreated were provided with protective services. Among them, eight children – six girls and two boys – were liberated from harmful situations.

Two girls were provided with legal assistance – at their request – so that they could seek justice against those who harmed them. Fifty-seven children – 37 girls and 20 boys – were found to be living in households where the risk of violence was a significant concern.

Efforts to mitigate this risk involved sensitizing their parents and providing ongoing follow-up. As a result of these interventions, child protection groups have reported that the risk of violence in these families no longer persists.

One-hundred-twenty-four children – 53 girls and 71 boys – received educational and economic support, allowing them to return to school.

All of these girls and boys are free, safe, and in school now -- where they belong -- thanks to you and your care, your concern, and your solidarity.

You Are Equipping Local Leaders to End Child Servitude

Your support trained and equipped parents, Adult Survivors of Child Servitude and local Child Protection Brigade leaders to find and free at-risk children and to strengthen and grow the grassroots movement to end the practice of child servitude.

Psychological support for trauma recovery was provided to 192 adult survivors – 181 women and 11 men – and 95 adult survivors received economic support through Village Savings and Loans groups, facilitating their reintegration into their families and communities.

Your generous giving made it possible to provide psychological, medical, and foster care, and economic support as well, to ensure that each of these girls and boys is not only free and safe, but back in school too.

Can you imagine how different life will be for these children now?

You made all of this possible. These girls and boys are no longer among our world's most vulnerable children -- because of you.

Thank you again for your faithful solidarity and your generous support for the movement to end child servitude in Haiti. You've made a life-changing difference for these children and their families, and for that I can never thank you enough.

You Are Strengthening Local Child Protection Groups

The establishment of community-based Child Protection Structures far exceeded expectations too in the last fiscal year, with 32 new structures inaugurated: 19 CPBs (Child Protection Brigades) and 13 SRN branches (Branches of the Adult Survivors of Restavèk Network). This doubled the goal of 15 new Child Protection Structures.

These 11 new SRN branches bring together 218 survivors – 32 men and 186 women – who have committed to identify and support other survivors, and to implement an action plan that will aid in raising community awareness to end the practice of restavèk.

Following capacity evaluations for CPBs, BB staff facilitated the development of a capacity-building plan for 19 CPBs that underwent a baseline evaluation. These structures began receiving various technical support based on identified weaknesses according to seven critical themes for sustained engagement and leadership in the movement.

Twenty-seven CPBs have shown progress in improving their capacities, and one scored as requiring minimal support. The capacity-building work will continue into the coming year.

Nearly 100 Percent of Child Rights Training Participants Graduate

The Education is a Conversation (ESK) Child Rights training program realized significant success as well. By July 1, 2024, 97 percent of participants had graduated. More impressively, 92 percent of these graduates reported using dialogue as their primary form of discipline with their children, rather than resorting to violence. Additionally, 84 percent of participants stated they no longer belittle or bully their children.

BB’s approach also employs the Ti Rankont Sektè (TRS) methodology alongside Education is a Conversation (ESK) to combat child exploitation and the restavèk practice. While the comprehensive ESK program spans 22 sessions over six months, TRS offers a condensed, nine-session version that requires less time commitment.

TRS allows community members who have completed ESK to facilitate sessions in areas beyond ESK's reach, such as churches, schools, marketplaces, and individuals who were unable to join the ESK sessions in their community for whatever reason, thereby expanding the program's impact.

A key aspect of this initiative is its leadership by adult survivors of restavèk, whose involvement is crucial. The TRS method enhances their ability to contribute through the SRN Branches. During this year, 30 people – 14 women, 16 men – from 25 communities who received training on how to facilitate TRS led a total of 27 TRS groups, reaching 531 new participants – 360 women and 171 men.

Thank you for helping to build and strengthen local child protection groups!

Events Marking National Children’s Rights Day and International Day Against Child Labor

On June 12th, in recognition of National Children’s Rights Day in Haiti and the International Day Against Child Labor, 19 CPBs organized awareness-raising activities in 21 communities. These events involved 1,136 participants – 915 women and 221 men – and centered on the following themes: identifying harmful forms of child labor within the community, understanding why these labor practices are detrimental to children, and discussing the consequences of such labor on their lives.

Using Open Space methodology, community members gathered to discuss the violence faced by children and youth, make collective decisions, and commit to addressing these issues while seeking justice and reparations for victims. A total of 19 Open Space sessions were implemented by the CPBs across 21 communities, engaging 649 participants – 450 women and 199 men.

Additionally, recordings of simulated legal trials were shown in four regions (Gransous, Titans, Pikmi, and Palma) covering 21 communities to raise awareness about Haitian anti-trafficking laws. Four projection sessions were attended by 188 community members – 114 women and 74 men. The objectives of these projections were to: promote the enforcement of the Haitian 2014 Anti-Trafficking Law; raise awareness about anti-trafficking laws among members of the public; inform community members about legal sanctions to encourage better treatment of children, and; deter the exploitation of non-biological children by highlighting potential legal consequences.

Your generous support helped make this awareness raising work possible. Thank you!

Fostering Unity Among Community Members and Building Local Economic Power

And finally, one key activity that fosters unity and bonds among community members is the formation of Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) groups within Child Protection (CP) groups and local communities. BB recently completed a second round of training for 13 additional communities, equipping 39 participants – 17 women and 22 men – with the skills needed to serve as VSLA agents and establish these groups within their respective CP groups or communities.

Your Generous Support Made Even More Child Protection Work Possible

Here’s a look at some of the other Child Protection work that your support helped make possible the last fiscal year:

139 members – 93 women, 46 men – of new Child Protection Brigades trained in advanced Child Rights and Protection
Community-based Child Protection Structures in 11 communal sections conducted self-assessments in organizational capacity
23 children who were at high risk of being sent away and trapped in the system of restavèk received support to remain in school thanks to the coordination of Child Protection Brigades with school administrators
10 female adult survivors joined a special trauma therapy group for more intense psycho-social support
10 participants from Welcoming Families (BB’s adoptive family network) participated in a sharing and learning workshop on how to manage children in their care and/or future cases

Cassandra, an Adult Survivor of Child Slavery, Shares Her Story

One of the best ways I can convey to you the difference that you are making for vulnerable girls and boys in Haiti is by having you hear directly from someone whose work to protect children you make possible.

Cassandra is a leader in Beyond Borders' Adult Survivors of Child Slavery Network that your generosity supports. Here is Cassandra, in her own words:

I am a survivor of restavèk [child slavery]. As a child, I endured severe abuse and exploitation, separated from my parents.

For years, I didn’t see myself as a survivor. Then, two years ago, I heard people in my community discuss restavèk. It felt like a lightning bolt struck my soul.

My childhood pain resurfaced, and I realized for the first time the depth of the abuse I endured. This awakening fueled a fierce determination within me to fight for children still trapped in this nightmare.

Joining Beyond Borders’ Adult Survivors Network changed my life. It allowed me to embrace my identity as a survivor and gave me the strength to stand up, not just for myself, but for vulnerable children in my community.

Thanks to Beyond Borders, I received life-changing training on children’s rights and how to advocate against the practice of restavèk that scarred me.

The support I received lifted me from the shadows of my past, enabling me to take on leadership roles and speak out with confidence. Today, as the General Secretary of the Survivor Network, I work tirelessly to protect children from the horrors of restavèk.

My journey from silence to leadership fills me with immense pride and gratitude. To you, and every Beyond Borders supporter, I am deeply thankful. Your support has transformed my life and empowered me to defend children everywhere.

I stand here today, not just as a survivor, but as a warrior for the rights of children, thanks to you.

~ Cassandra, General Secretary, Adult Survivors of Child Slavery Network

Thank you again for your faithful solidarity and your generous support for the movement to end child slavery in Haiti, and for leaders like Cassandra.

Your Generosity Makes Quality Education Accessible to More Children on Rural Lagonav Island

A lack of affordable, quality education in rural Haiti is one reason parents will send their children to the city to live with others, hoping it will mean a better life and more opportunities. Often these children become trapped in household servitude. That’s why increasing access to quality, affordable education close to home is one of the ways the Schools Not Slavery initiative is protecting children.

Despite a challenging environment, the past fiscal year was marked by significant achievements as we strive to improve the quality of and increase access to primary education. Ten new rural schools on Lagonav Island were initiated into the two-year training program aimed at improving the quality of education by integrating new methods and approaches – like school gardens, for example – to deliver primary education in Haitian Creole that is participatory, nonviolent, and rooted in local culture.

The year began with a two-day in-person training at the Matènwa Community Learning Center – our primary education partner on Lagonav Island. Educators from all 10 schools returned to MCLC each month for one day of in-person training, in addition to one to two site visits each month to schools by MCLC teacher-trainers to observe teachers in their classrooms and provide coaching. Each school also received from MCLC a kit of didactic teaching materials and seeds and garden tools to plant school gardens.

Your generosity helped make these initiatives possible. Thank you!

Nearly 90 Percent of Children in Participating Schools Complete the Academic Year

By enhancing educational infrastructure and teacher capacity, the training program is establishing a strong foundation for the future of primary education in these areas of the island. To that end, 87 percent of children in participating schools completed the academic year.

Additional training supported by your generosity this year included 272 teachers – 121 women, 151 men – trained by the Ministry of Education on their new tool on good communication for good learning; 26 pedagogical and school garden support visits; a one-day refresher training for staff from 14 schools that previously graduated from the teacher training program on classroom management, lesson preparation, written material production in Creole and the importance of using various materials during lessons; training in how to design and carry out student-led public advocacy efforts in support of teaching in Haitian Creole; and, two separate awareness-raising activities on the importance of the Creole language for seven schools.

Thank you again for your generous support for nonviolent, native language teacher training!

Expanding the Communal Education Platform to Four New Communities

New branches of the Communal Education Platform were launched in four communities: La Sous, Gran Vid, 3e Twoului, and Gwomang. This brings the total number of branches to 11 on the island. One of the key objectives of bringing together education stakeholders on Lagonav Island is to promote increased access to quality primary education and foster creative, collaborative solutions to problems encountered. These new branches will play a crucial role in providing local support and coordination for educational initiatives – for example, ending the use of corporal punishment in classrooms and ensuring universal school attendance – which represents a significant milestone in our progress.

The Communal Education Platform also led the effort to expand into the commune of Pwentarakèt, the other commune on Lagonav Island. And finally, 215 people -- 60 women, 155 men -- participated in four Open Space Sessions to talk about education priorities in five new communities.

Your generosity also helped provide direct assistance to more than 100 children who were at-risk of dropping out of school – and therefore at-risk of being sent away and becoming trapped in servitude – because their families were unable to afford tuition. With your support, we organized an effort by Child Protection Brigades and teachers that kept 133 children – 73 girls, 60 boys – in school and growing up at home, with their families, where they belong.

Thank you for investing in locally-led education initiatives!

Providing Support for Ministry of Education School Inspectors

Ministry of Education School Inspectors on the island continued to play a larger and more integral role in movement initiatives, despite a lack of sufficient support from the mainland. MCLC’s Institute of Learning provided inspectors with office supplies, didactic materials, and provided transportation to inspectors so that they could lead presentations at teacher trainings organized by the institute.

Thank you again for your care, your concern, and your commitment to making a quality education possible for every girl and boy on Lagonav Island.

Thank You Again

I am grateful for all the good work that you are making possible through your support for the Schools Not Slavery initiative – especially in these challenging times in Haiti. Thank you again for your extraordinary generosity and solidarity. If you have any questions about what you read in this report, please call or text (305) 450-2561 or write to me: b.stevens@beyondborders.net anytime!

Your gift empowers local child protection leaders.

BB staffer Freda animates a survivor training.

Adult survivors set the objective for their mtg.

BB staff, local leaders discuss child protection.

Training teachers in nonviolent classroom mgmt.

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May 28, 2024
Enshrining Child Protection in Haitian Law - Your Support Makes It Possible

By Brian Stevens | Engagement Director

A new child protection tool made possible by you.

Enshrining Child Protection in Haitian Law – Your Support Makes it Possible

Your generous Schools Not Slavery Partnership is transforming lives by freeing enslaved children, reuniting them with their families, helping them heal, and preventing children from being enslaved in the first place. Thank you!

I want to share with you the latest child protection initiative that your generosity is helping to make possible -- a new municipal government form that all adults leaving Lagonav Island must complete to document that they are the legal guardian for any child traveling with them.

The new procedure is an effort to better enforce a municipal government decree issued in 2021 to ensure that children are not being trafficked to or from Lagonav Island. The decree -- drafted by Beyond Borders staff who also advocated for its passage -- mandates the prosecution of any case of child trafficking discovered.

This new travel requirement, enacted last month, is another way that Beyond Borders is working with municipal authorities to buttress both the 2021 decree and the 2014 national anti-trafficking law -- often criticized for its lack of enforcement -- by equipping local governments with the legal framework they need to take action to protect children.

The 2014 law also spells out standards of care for children living apart from their parents and requires institutions that work with children to report suspected cases of child trafficking.

Your generosity and your solidarity are making innovative collaborations like this between Beyond Borders and local governments possible, codifying practices that will free more enslaved girls and boys and prevent child trafficking.

Thank you again for your faithful solidarity and generous support for the movement to end child slavery in Haiti. You are making a lasting difference for some of our world's most vulnerable children.

Your Generous Schools Not Slavery Partnership Empowers Adult Survivors to Lead the Movement: One Woman’s Testimony

Your generosity is making it possible to train and organize a growing network of more than 1,200 adult survivors of child servitude, men and women like Gertrude who are deeply committed to ensuring that no child in their community is enslaved, abused, or neglected.

No one understands the complex realities facing children trapped in servitude more than adult survivors. With your generous support, we’ve convened survivors nationwide, many of whom were left deeply wounded by their own experience of servitude.

Survivors like Gertrude are helping each other heal from their trauma through Beyond Borders-sponsored psycho-social therapy groups that empower them to reclaim their voices and become leaders in the nationwide movement to end child servitude.

Gertrude shared how therapy has empowered her to overcome the trauma she experienced as a child:

"Thanks to the therapy sessions, my victimization as a child living in restavèk [child servitude] does not define me anymore. I am more comfortable with myself. For so long, I did not see a future for myself. But now, thanks to this therapy, I see a vast future. My spirit is no longer enslaved. I am becoming a new person – experiencing a rebirth."

Gertrude's leadership in the adult survivor network and her personal journey of healing inspires us to find strength in community and courage in confronting life's challenges.

None of this work with adult survivors would be possible without you and your generosity and solidarity. Thank you again for your commitment to the Haitian-led movement to end child servitude.

Your Generosity is Training Teachers to Join the Movement to Protect Children

Your generous Schools Not Slavery Partnership is making it possible to train women and men like Wiltho, an elementary school teacher in his community, to become Child Rights Activists and join their local Child Protection Brigade.

"One of my dreams as a teacher, young person, and now member of the Child Protection Brigade is for there to be no children in Granplèn who cannot go to school or who are subjected to violence, sexually abused or trapped in restavèk [household servitude]," Wiltho said.

You and supporters like you have made it possible to train an army of volunteer Child Rights Activists like Wiltho -- more than 75,000 since 2010 -- who are very good at what they do:

Identifying enslaved children,
Securing their freedom,
Reuniting them with their families,
Pressing charges against their captors,
Organizing communities to end the practice of child servitude, and,
Pressuring the government to enforce laws prohibiting child slavery.

None of this would be possible without you and your generosity and solidarity.

"I take my hat off to everyone who supports Beyond Borders work here," Wiltho told us. Thank you again!

Your Schools Not Slavery Partnership is teaching students in Haiti Leadership and Democracy

Your generous Schools Not Slavery Partnership means that more rural, impoverished children -- many of whom are among the most at risk of being trafficked to cities as household slaves -- can now get a quality education close to home. Thank you for your care and concern for these children – especially during these difficult times in Haiti.

On May 18th, students at the Matènwa Community Learning Center -- Beyond Borders' primary education partner -- joined with students across Haiti to celebrate Fèt Drapo, Flag Day!

The flag was originally sewn on May 18, 1803 by Catherine Flon with guidance from her godfather, Haitian revolutionary leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines. The Haitian flag is a source of pride for Haitians worldwide and its annual commemoration on May 18th is one of the country's most revered traditions.

Matènwa co-founder Chris Low described the celebration as a reminder to students that "with hard work and self-determination, they can be leaders in their community and for their country."

Your generous Schools Not Slavery Partnership is ensuring that more girls and boys on Lagonav Island are taught by educators committed to a nonviolent, native language, participatory approach to classroom management that teaches students about leadership and democracy.

It's an approach that empowers students to practice democracy and become both good citizens and tomorrow's leaders -- and it's made possible by you and your support.

Thank you again for your generosity, your solidarity, your care, and your concern. Your Partnership is making a lasting difference for children in Haiti -- even in these challenging times -- ensuring that more girls and boys grow up safe and free, at home and in school, where they belong.

Thank You Again

You make Gertrude's child protection work possible

Teachers like Wiltho are joining the movement.

Celebrating Flag Day & learning about democracy.

Students in Matenwa celebrate Flag Day!

Give with confidence.

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About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.