By Brian Stevens | Engagement Director
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:
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!
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