Schools Not Slavery for Rural Haitian Children

Thank you for your generous support for the Schools Not Slavery initiative. We’re deeply grateful for your steadfast generosity and solidarity with children and families on Lagonav Island. Thanks to you, Beyond Borders’ Model Community Initiative moved from promise to proof this past fiscal year, advancing child protection, expanding access to learning, and strengthening household livelihoods despite daunting national challenges. This is a high-level look at what your support made possible in the fiscal year that ended in July.

At a Glance:

• Community awakening: Outreach and dialogue activities sensitized 10,000+ people to children’s rights and the harms of restavèk (domestic servitude).
  
  
• Direct child protection:12 children were liberated and safely reunified or placed with caregivers; ~80 additional children received coordinated case management and multi-sector services.
  
  
• Grassroots leadership:7 Child Protection Brigade and 8 Survivor Network coordination committees are now active and organizing local action.
  
  
• Healing & skills for survivors:32 psychosocial groups reached 479 adult survivors; 4 therapeutic groups served those with complex trauma; ~255–264 survivors advanced through literacy activities; ~338 participated in community savings-and-loan groups.
  
  
• Education gains:13 local education platforms held 23 quarterly meetings; 94 children were enrolled or retained in school; the Ministry’s district office completed 133 school supervision visits; 363 teachers were trained in child-centered, nonviolent methods; an island-wide Education Database neared operational status.
  
  
• Pathways out of ultra-poverty:160 families in the Family Graduation Program completed a 24-month journey, with 100% meeting graduation criteria after 8,471 home-coaching visits. Community savings totaled 890,900 HTG (≈ $6,800), and rainwater harvesting and home gardens improved food access and resilience.
  
  

Protecting Children & Ending Exploitation

Your support fueled a coordinated approach—community mobilization, survivor-led organizing, advocacy with authorities, and hands-on casework. New coordination committees for Child Protection Brigades and Survivor Networks are developing their leadership capacity and carrying forward prevention, referrals, and public pressure for accountability (including calls for stronger judicial response to sexual violence). When children were in danger, trained teams acted: liberation, safe placement, and follow-up care anchored by psychosocial, medical, legal, and educational support.

Equipping Survivors to Heal and Lead

Survivor-focused groups offered safe spaces to process trauma and rebuild confidence, while literacy classes opened doors to information, income, and participation. Savings-and-loan groups (AVEK) helped members stabilize budgets, invest in livelihoods, and maintain a solidarity fund for emergencies—practical tools that reinforce dignity and self-reliance.

Opening School Doors—and Improving What Happens Inside

Education platforms brought together parents, educators, and local officials to remove barriers that keep children out of school—covering fees, addressing drop-outs, and coordinating follow-up. With logistics support, the district education office reached schools that had rarely seen supervision and led teacher trainings focused on active, nonviolent classrooms. The emerging Education Database will allow stakeholders to track enrollment, retention, and school-quality indicators and act earlier when a child is at risk of leaving school.

Building Livelihoods that Last

The Family Graduation Program paired weekly coaching with practical supports—safe housing and sanitation, assets for income generation, basic literacy, health and hygiene, veterinary services, and savings access. Families reported better living conditions, improved food access, and new income streams from climate-smart home gardens and other activities. Savings groups strengthened resilience against shocks by enabling small loans for school costs, productive investments, and home improvements.

Stories of Change You Helped Spark

Survivors of restavèk who once carried the weight of trauma now facilitate meetings in their communities, support peers through savings groups, and speak publicly about children’s rights. Stories like theirs—moving from surviving to leading—are becoming more common as survivors gain skills, solidarity, and platforms to influence local decisions.

Empowering Adult Survivors of Child Slavery to Lead: Lisiana’s Story

“My name is Lisiana. I’m 49 years old, a mother of 10, and the president of the Survivors’ Network Coordination in my community. I was born in Fon Plezi and have lived here all my life. Before this role, I went through very hard times.

When I was 10, my aunt convinced my mother to send me to Port-au-Prince for school. But instead of studying, I became a domestic worker. At just 10 years old, I did all the housework, went hungry, was beaten, and slept alone. School was never an option. One day, desperate and exhausted, I ran away—hiding on a boat to Lagonav. Another aunt took me in, but life was no different. I suffered the same abuse. I left again, with only a few clothes a cousin hid for me, and went to live with my grandmother. She tried to help, but I had to work in the market and could only attend school part-time. I became a mother very young, without skills or support.

What changed my life was joining the Survivors’ Network. Through training, I began to understand myself, recognize the abuse I suffered, and start to heal. Now, as president, I’m proud to help others. Thanks to education efforts by the Survivors Network chapter more children here go to school and more adults understand how to treat children with respect. My goal is to make sure no child in our community suffers as I did.”

Strengthening Education on Lagonav: Francois’s Story

Francois—a father, education technician, and school inspector from Gran Lagon—shared his appreciation for the Beyond Borders partnership with the District School Office (BDS):

“I want to congratulate and express my appreciation for the way Beyond Borders works in partnership with the District School Office (BDS)—carrying out school supervision activities and providing training to build education networks that support BDS’s work.”

Thanks to this partnership, the BDS is more present in rural communities, has stronger oversight of local schools, and now manages a functioning database—improving everything from school supervision to data management. Inspectors can travel more easily, BDS can gather education stakeholders together, and even the renovation of the BDS office is underway with support from new partners.

Because of these changes, schools are more accountable, resources reach where they’re needed most, and children on Lagonav have a better chance at a quality education.

Challenges We Faced—and How We Adapted

Country-wide insecurity, transport disruptions, inflation, and drought affected travel, procurement, and even access to animal feed and medicines. The team adapted by sequencing activities differently, partnering more closely with local government, prioritizing rainwater harvesting, and reinforcing financial controls and monitoring. These measures protected core services and deepened local ownership during a difficult year.

Thank you. Your generosity is helping communities on Lagonav protect children, keep students in school, and move families from extreme poverty toward stability and hope. With your continued support, local leaders are building systems that will endure—so every child can grow up free, safe, and educated. 

Links:

• Visit our blog for the latest on our work in Haiti.

We are deeply grateful for your continued generosity and solidarity with Haiti's children. Because of your support, the Schools Not Slavery project is transforming lives on Lagonav Island and beyond. This report shares the progress your support made possible during the first quarter of 2025. We hope it brings you hope and inspiration, just as your gifts bring hope to children, families, and communities across Haiti.

Thanks to your support, the Model Community Initiative Program continues to pursue a bold vision: a Haiti where every child lives free and in dignity with family, goes to school, and has the chance to shape a hopeful future—without ever becoming a victim of restavèk (forced servitude) or other forms of violence and exploitation.

This quarter, your support made it possible to:

• Mobilize over 3,350 community members to take action against child exploitation.
• Train church leaders in 21 congregations to educate their members about children's rights and the harms of restavèk.
• Launch psychosocial support groups and literacy classes for adult survivors.
• Help 114 children enroll or stay in school.
• Strengthen grassroots community and survivor networks.

A Success Story You Made Possible: From Survivor to Leader

One powerful testament to your impact comes from a survivor of restavèk who is now a community leader:

"I came to understand that what I lived through as a child was the practice of restavèk, and it left deep scars. But today, thanks to the survivor network and Beyond Borders' IKM Program, I’m a leader in my section—even the network president! I’ve received training, I support other survivors, and I raise awareness in my community. Children are now going to school. I am deeply proud of what we are achieving."

Your support made this transformation possible. Thank you for helping survivors become leaders in the movement to end child slavery.

You are Mobilizing Communities to End Child Exploitation

Thanks to you, Beyond Borders and our partners organized more than 40 public education and mobilization events across Lagonav and northern and central Haiti this quarter, including:

• 42 Ti Rankont Sektè small-group discussions in churches.
• 46 sermons focused on children’s rights and dignity.
• 22 community-led events by survivor networks reaching over 1,000 people.

Your support also enabled:

• A press conference demanding a juvenile court be established on Lagonav.
• Open space dialogues involving more than 500 residents in six communal sections.

You are Equipping Survivors with New Skills and Support

Because of your generosity, survivors of restavèk are healing, learning, and leading:

• 310 adult survivors joined psychosocial support groups in 54 communities.
• 264 survivors began literacy classes across 19 locations.
• 23 literacy group facilitators were trained to lead these classes.

Survivors are also accessing economic empowerment through savings and loan groups, thanks to you.

You are Protecting Children at Risk

Your support is directly protecting children from harm:

• 1 girl was liberated from the restavèk system.
• 17 children received protective care services: medical, psychological, and legal.
• 33 children enrolled in school with support from community protection teams.

Each of these children is safer and more hopeful today because of you.

You are Expanding Access to Quality Education

Together, we’re ensuring more children can access school and succeed:

• 114 children were enrolled or retained in school through local education platforms.
• 94 teachers were trained in active, participatory, and nonviolent classroom methods.
• 21 local education platforms held quarterly meetings to coordinate support for students.

You are helping build a sustainable local system that keeps kids in school and out of slavery.

Thank You Again

Every accomplishment shared in this report is thanks to you. Your generosity and solidarity are helping Haitian communities end the restavèk system, build local leadership, and ensure every child has the chance to grow up free, safe, and educated.

We are so grateful to walk this journey with you. If you have any questions about what you read here, please email or call Brian Stevens at b.stevens@beyondborders.net or (305) 450-2561.

Links:

• Join us for the Haiti Hope-a-thon May 20th @ 7 pm!
• Join us for an in-depth look at our Rethinking Power program.
• Read The Lancet article on our violence prevention work.