Education Haiti Project #21506

Model Communities Protecting Children from Slavery

by Fondation Limye Lavi

Project Report | Dec 27, 2016
Model Community Project Report

By guerda constant | General Coordinator

Community Model Project Report

The young people who were trained in craft-making last July are continuing to work, even as the harvest season arrives.

Those young people are working at home, under on-line supervision by KomAnTim (Comunity Child Protection ) . That lead trainer is monitoring their progress, while collaborating with Fondasyon Limye Lavi.

All 20 youths are applying the skills they learned, making handbags, bracelets, sandals, belts, etc. They have on-going communication with the trainer, who is available for any questions they may encounter in their work.

The trainer shared with Fondasyon Limye Lavi that this group of young people are unique in their enthusiasm: she never had a group so motivated!

She expressed a strong desire to continue the training with them. According to her, a second level is highly desirable. It would consist of three (3) days. So Fondasyon Limye Lavi is planning those additional training days for the first trimester of the new year.

Fondasyon Limye Lavi will also organize a fair to exhibit the items for partners and the public in general, and facilitate exchanges with other groups of artists.

In the community of Gou, one the youths made and offered a telephone pouch to the leader of the community, after realizing that he did not have one for his telephone: the man really appreciated the gesture toward him, and has mentioned that gift several times:

“It was an encouragement to continue working with the community.”

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Sep 20, 2016
Model CommunitiesProtecting Children from SLavery

By Guerda L Constant | General Coordinator

Global Giving Report

May-August 2016

The psychosocial support and education have been the top priorities of the Foundation for the children returning from domestic servitude for the trimester. The Foundation had, during the trimester:

(a) continued therapy activities with children in the communities of Haut Geffray and Bas Geffray,

(b) assessed the psychosocial support needs of young people / teenagers of two new communities (Gout, Fonds Bourgeois),

(c) continued to accompany children in accelerated education classes and (d) conducted small-scale training of vulnerable young people from the Gout and Marre communities.

Therapy activities begun in Haut and Geffray ended in April. The young children said at the end of the sessions that they are released from their traumas.

Case of two youth (1 in Bas-Geffray 1 Haut- Geffray) who testified to the transformation brought by the therapy on their lives.

1- Jean Marc (not the real name), a 16-year's old boy from Bas Geffray community, who lived two years in domestic servitude (2013-2015) said at the end of the last meeting: "I was very happy with the work you had done with me. I got a lot of benefit. I learned to forgive, to forget what they did wrong to me. I have the ability now to think about my future. I am happy. With the therapy activities, I feel totally liberated despite the fact I could not go to school this year because of the precarious economic situation of my parents. I believe that Jesus will help me get there the next year. "

2 .- Antoine Pierre( not the real name), a 16-year's old boy from HautGeffray, who lived two years in domestic service (2013-2015). He abandoned the family he lived with because of the abuse he suffered. At the final session of therapy, Antoine said: "I feel liberated from my traumas. I was always ashamed to meet Mr. Louisbert (the head of the host family) because it was me making the decision to leave his home. I felt guilty. Now I am not ashamed. I know that I made the right decision (the decision to defend my rights). I know that I should not allow anybody to violate my rights. I have the ability to meet face to face Mr. Louisbert, to shake his hands whether he decides to answer me or not. »

The sessions of therapy are completed, a psychosocial facilitator had conducted a pre-test with the young people / teenagers of Gou and Fonds Bourgeois communities to assess their needs in psychosocial support. Twenty-six youth (26)/ teens have passed the test: eighteen (18) in Gou Community and 8 in Fond Bourgeois community. Of the twenty-six (26), only one teenager in Fund Bourgeois was identified as needing individual therapy. For others, the facilitator find it is a priority to organize training sessions on social behavior and sexuality.

Between June 28 and July 2, the Foundation also held a week of training for twenty (20) young people who had previously taken accelerated classes from the Marre and Gout communities and four (4) directors of KomAnTim (Committee of Child Protection ) of of the same communities. The young people learned during the week to make bracelets, belts and sandals. The young people received a hardware kit to keep working after the training. A new session will be organized for them at the end of 2016 if Limyè Lavi find the financial support to make it happen.

Monitoring activities were held with children who received a grant from the Foundation for the accelerated education program at the new school of Jean Marie Vincent in Marre community. The salary for the teacher working in the room was paid. The assessment of student learning was made at the end of the academic year. Eleven (11) students (4 girls, 7 boys) completed the academic year. Eight (8) students, a percentage of 72.72% of them have passed the examinations. These students will enter at the 3rd fundamental cycle in the month of September.

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May 27, 2016
Re-integrating former Restavek children

By Johny St Louis | Project Leader

One of the main reasons parents in rural areas send their children into the restavek system is for them to access education. Economically poor rural families cannot afford to pay school, buy books, uniforms and all the materials their children need to go to school. Generally, when children are sent into the restavek system, their parents are ensured that they will be sent to school. However, in reality, they rarely are.

This means that the majority of children who come out of the restavek system don’t know how to read or write. Limyè Lavi Foundations helps former restavek children, who are back in their home communities, to get an education. Since November 2015, thanks to the contributions made on the Global Giving platform, Limyè Lavi has been helping a group of 13 former restavek children to go to a local school in their community. There, they are in an ‘accelerated program’, where they are able to catch up on all the schooling they missed. The 13 kids (3 girls and 9 boys) were able to do official exams in December and 9 out of them passed. Limyè Lavi is continuing to work closely with the school to provide teacher training and to meet other needs. As well as the children in the accelerated program, we are providing education for 7 vulnerable teenagers, 5 of which are former restavek children who returned to their families with the help of Limyè Lavi’s model community program. We continue to work closely with these children and to support them in preparing for the future.

Illiteracy is one consequence of the restavek system. Another important consequence is trauma, as a result of the abuse these children endure. When they return to their families, many of them show signs of post-traumatic stress. In order to help these children deal with trauma, Limyè Lavi offers a psycho-social program for them. Since February 2016, one of our staff members, a professional therapist, has been working with a group of children from 2 of our model communities.

Individual therapy sessions were provided to 11 children in the various communities we assist. The sessions had been taking place every week, and came to an end in May. It was clear, through our evaluations, that the children who attended made enormous progress with their mental health. At the end of the psycho-social children’s program, Limyè Lavi met with the parents of the children who attended to explain the activities and to inform them on how they can continue to help their children at home.

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