It was 9am, and the children and staff from the two schools had gathered to take a field trip to Fort Jacques. Everyone was singing, dancing, and laughing…but nobody was happier than Job.
Job has been living in restavek ever since his parents died five years ago. He has a lot of responsibilities at home, including washing dishes, fetching water, cleaning the house and going with his host to the market every day before school. Doing all of these chores means he is the first to wake up and the last to go to bed. He is only fed if he happens to be there when the family is cooking, and even then is forced to eat alone.
After my first home visit, Job reported being treated better. Later on at my mid-year assessment with him, he thanked me, saying he doesn’t have to do nearly as many chores as before and is no longer mistreated the way he used to be. Now he is actually allowed to eat with the family, and must only fetch water on the way home from school. He also doesn’t have to wake up as early as he did before. Any time off he has, however, is still spent alone.
Last March when I met with Job, he asked me, “Mr. Frantso, could you please organize a visit to Fort Jacques for us, because I never go anywhere other than school. I am always studying the history of Fort Jacques in books, but I have never seen it in person.” So I held a parent meeting, and Job’s host came. When I shared about the planned visit everyone was excited, including Job’s host. After the meeting, Job was overjoyed to find that his host had agreed to let him come on the trip. He could not wait for the day to come.
The morning of the field trip, Job called me at 2am; it was already the best day of his life, and he could hardly wait. He came to school so happy, joking around and singing. On the trip from Delmas to Fort Jacques, Job began to cry when he realized it was actually happening.
Together we visited the park; Job saw the town and even got to sit on one of the cannons at the Fort. After the visit to the Fort, I noticed Job was more expressive and his self-esteemed seemed to have boosted. Job said he couldn’t wait to go back and explain the history of the Fort to his classmates.
When I met with Job last week, he said that his host has treated him even better since returning from the Fort. And Job finally got to have some time off.
Frantso Sagesse, Child Advocate
