Schools Not Slavery for Rural Haitian Children

In the communities where we work, change is driven from the ground up by local activists, adult survivors, teachers, and community leaders who refuse to accept child exploitation.

Over the past quarter (April to June 2026), their courage and persistence have continued to fuel the powerful and growing movement across Haiti to protect children from domestic servitude (restavèk) and keep them in classrooms where they belong.

Your financial support helps make their daily work possible, and backs their dedication, and hard work. 

Edline’s Journey Home

A well-known Haitian proverb says timoun se pye banann—children are like banana trees; they grow from the roots of those who came before them. As one generation ages, the next rises. For ten-year-old Edline, this cycle was tested by loss and displacement, but ultimately restored through the vigilance of her community.

Edline lived on Haiti’s mainland with her aunt until her aunt’s death. She ended up staying with distant relatives after that, who fled gang violence and moved back to Lagonav with Edline. It soon became clear she lacked the stable support every child needs.

Local Child Protection Brigade members noticed Edline at school; she often arrived without basic supplies or a uniform. Despite providing hygiene kits, school fees, and child rights education, the Brigade remained worried. They didn’t just see poverty; they saw warning signs that Edline was being exploited for domestic labor rather than being raised as a member of the family.

A Family Restored

The Brigade reached out to a Neighborhood Survivor Group—adult survivors of child slavery who now work to protect children in their own communities. Together, these groups—galvanized by Beyond Borders' Movement to End Child Slavery—began a search for Edline’s biological family.

They located her grandmother, Iracia. Already caring for two of Edline’s siblings, Iracia did not hesitate. When she learned what her granddaughter was experiencing, she insisted Edline come home to her.

The Brigade and Survivor Group coordinated with local authorities to bring Edline to her grandmother. The reunion was deeply emotional. “When they brought her to me and I saw the state she was in, I just cried,” Iracia recalls. “I opened both my arms to her. Now she is home with me.”

To Iracia, her responsibility was clear. “Children are not like goats or chickens that you send away for others to raise,” she says. “It is better to care for your own because timoun se pye banann.”

Edline’s story reflects the strength of the Lagonav community care network—a growing grassroots protection system built by groups of activists spread across the island who have spent years learning and working together to keep children safe. Through their shared commitment, children facing neglect, exploitation, or abuse are protected and restored to safe and loving care.

Today, Edline is living safely with Iracia and her siblings—no longer adrift, but held fast by her family.

When neighbors see her walking to school or receiving her grandmother’s warm embrace, it serves as a reminder: protecting children is a shared responsibility.

Quarterly Impact Highlights

Edline’s story reflects a growing grassroots protection network built by activists across Haiti. 

Here is what Haitian-led leadership achieved this past quarter:

Mobilizing & Healing in Community: Over 3,000 community members and adult survivors joined local protection networks and child rights workshops. Through 31 wellbeing groups and clinical sessions, 361 survivors participated in wellbeing activities or received trauma therapy, while 18 adults graduated from literacy programs in Nan Sema and local savings groups received micro-credit boosts for economic independence.

Demanding Justice: Local leaders took to the streets and the airwaves to demand accountability. Hundreds marched peacefully in Ansagale and Gwo Mon to enforce anti-trafficking laws, press conferences carried demands to central authorities, and door-to-door campaigns swept four high-risk communities.

Direct Child Interventions: Local protection teams successfully liberated 1 young girl from an abusive restavèk situation and provided direct accompaniment, legal support, and care for 13 children facing abuse (7 girls, 6 boys). Monitoring visits also ensured the safety of children placed in accredited foster families across Lagonav.

Reconnecting Children to School: Through targeted matching funds, local organizers helped 46 out-of-school children enter primary school for the first time and re-enrolled 43 dropouts. Logistical support enabled district offices to inspect 150 schools, train teachers in positive discipline, and honor 99 local Haitian donors who contributed funds, space, or skills to their neighborhood schools.

Every young student in a classroom, every survivor who finds their voice, and every child reunited with their family is the direct result of Haitian leaders fighting for the future of their own neighborhoods. 

Thank you for standing alongside them!