Schools Not Slavery

Anise Mathier is one of the young women that you helped send to school.  Anise is 15-years-old and she lives in the remote village of Meno, an hour and a half walk up a rocky, treacherous mountain incline in southeastern Haiti.

"I want to be a nurse," said Anise, who is the only one of her 6 siblings - 2 brothers and 4 girls - on track to complete her education. 

Thanks to your support for Beyond Borders' Accelerated Education Program and our "School, Not Slavery for Haitian Children" campaign, many more children like Anise will have the chance to go to school, complete their education and contribute to the renewal of their community and their country.

"I'm about to start the 5th grade with my friends," Anise proudly declared.

She's done so well in her two years in the Accelerated Education program, Anise's teachers recommended that she be mainstreamed in to a regular classroom where she can join her peers.

But Anise's chance at an education almost never happened.  Unable to start school at the traditional age of 6 because her family was too poor to send her, with each passing year Anise became more and more likely to be sent away as a household slave than to see the inside of a classroom.  Why?

Families that can't feed their children or send them to school often believe the alternative - sending their child to the city to live as a household servant with at least the promise of a meal and a chance to go to school - is better.

The reality, however, is that most of the time children sent away to be household servants never go to school.  Instead they end up as household slaves, working long, backbreaking hours and suffering emotional, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of adults.

"Our goal is to see no child sent in to slavery instead of going to school," said David Diggs, Beyond Borders executive director.  "Our Accelerated Education program is a key component of our strategy to save kids from slavery." 

This past school year 146 young people - 62 girls and 84 boys - in 7 classrooms had a chance to be something they've never been before:  students.  Your support made this happen.

In the coming school year we will add 3 more Accelerated Education classrooms to bring the total number to 10.  It's a modest start to be sure, but with your continued support, and the intense dedication of Haitian teachers, school administrators and parents, we believe we will continue to add new Accelerated Education classrooms each year.

Simply put, we can save more Haitian children from slavery with help from you and your friends, family members, co-workers and neighbors.

With each additional $80 in support, Beyond Borders can place another student like Anise in an Accelerated Education classroom for a year.  How can you spread the word about Accelerated Education with those in your life and help us welcome more students like Anise into a classroom?

Thank you for your generous support for Beyond Borders' Accelerated Education program in Haiti!

Links:

• Share this video about our Accelerated Education Program!