Filiana is new in our program. She was born into a very poor family. She should be very far in her studies, but is not because of the poverty of her mother who must raise four children. The poor woman’s strategy to ensure the education of these children is to send one or two children to school for a year but cut the others out of school during the same year. So if two children go to school this year, the other two children have to wait their turns until the following year.
When I first saw Filiana she cried a lot because she knew she would not go to school the following year. Her mother was in the process of sending her into domestic service because she could not properly provide education and food for her children. Her mom told me there was a lady who worked at the school. She wanted to help with Filiana’s education, but wanted her to come live in her home. Filiana’s mom is poor and unable to take care of these four children and that lady knew it; she was taking advantage of her situation by asking for the child, knowing Filiana’s mom didn’t have much of a choice. Thanks to Restavek Freedom’s intervention, Filiana got to stay with her mother. The foundation supports her education and also gives her nutritional support every month.
The change is already visible in Filiana, physically and psychologically. The head of the school is very grateful for the support given to Filiana. She tells me she is the smartest child in her class and also tells me that she sees that the child has changed in more ways than one. She is always happy at school and gets a hot meal before school, allowing her to focus. We are very proud to be an actor in the struggle for a Haiti without restavek, and we are happy to help Filiana avoid a life in restavek.
~Robenson Saint-Hilaine, Child Advocate
