Literacy in Canaan

Canaan, named after the town in the Bible that was “flowing with milk and honey”, is a new settlement located north of Port-au-Prince, Haiti with an estimated population of 150,000. Canaan, along with its neighbors Onaville, Jerusalem, and St. Christophe, were sparsely inhabited before the January 2010 earthquake, but are now overcrowded.

The new literacy program began here 6 months ago, in a church at the top of the hill. The pastor, a quiet soft spoken man, is always happy to have visitors, especially from Restavek Freedom. He was one of the first people to settle here in the mountain. He has a little church and a small primary school.  

Inside the church you will not find much, only 9 pews and a few decorations to make the church look presentable.  The classes are held at the back of the sanctuary. We hold two classes, Alpha I and Alpha II, with a total number of 35 active participants. They are taught basic reading and writing in Alpha I. Alpha II is a 1^st grade class.  When I first start speaking to a group I normally introduce myself and present the mission and vision of the foundation as well as our hopes for the participants. These programs are not only to teach adults to read and write, but are in place to mobilize people in the small neighborhoods to stand up for the freedom of children living in restavek. As I build relationships with the participants, I begin discussing the issue of restavek and its effect on Haitian society. We talk about what they can do to end this system, slowly changing their attitudes toward the treatment of children in their care. We end by projecting our hope for this program and ourselves.

One particular class has only one man among 15 women (He says he likes being the only man in the class…It pushes him to work extra hard to compete with the women!). His name is Guy; he is married with 4 children. He lays brick and cement block for a living but has not worked in almost a year. He heard about our program and decided to go back to school. He said he does not want to sit at home doing nothing while waiting for a job. He’d rather come to the program and learn how to read and write. The pastor sponsors Guy’s children at the primary school, allowing him to go to school for free. Guy is motivated to do well in class in order to give his children a better life.

Through building relationships with adults in the community, our goal is to be the voice for children who are currently living in restavèk. I believe that no child should be mistreated. I tell each person in class what the Bible says about the treatment of children; there is nowhere in the Bible where it says to mistreat children. I tell them that discipline is very different than mistreatment and putting them in inhumane conditions.

My hope is to expand our Child Advocacy program in to Canaan next school year; we already have a presence surrounding areas. These children need to know that there are people who care for them and love them just as they are. We do not want these children to think we have forgotten about them, and with the literacy program the movement is in full force. We hope that by working with the adults and helping to influence their attitudes towards children, that one day the children living in restavek will find happiness and peace in Canaan.

Djougine St Hilaire, RFF Child Advocate