How Education Can Help Eliminate the Practice of Restavek

by Frantso Sagesse, Child Advocate

Education is the key to changing the mentality of everyone involved in the restavek system.  This is true for everyone, above all for the child living in restavek.

A “restavek” is a child who doesn’t live with his or her biological parents, but rather with a relative or person they don’t know, who often lives very far from child’s biological family.  A child living in restavek doesn’t have the possibility to make something of himself or herself.  They don’t have any dreams for their life or get to go to school, because school is not for them. Often they watch the other children in the house go to school, while their host doesn’t allow them to go.  They go to sleep after everyone else and wake up before everyone else.  All of the household chores are theirs.  Their life is very difficult, but they just accept it because they haven’t had any education about how children should live. They don’t think they have problems, even though they are mistreated by their host aunt or uncle or cousin.  They think this is just the way their life is, or that God created them inferior to others.

What does education do?  Education changes the minds of both the parents and the child:

When parents are educated, they don’t have so many children that they can’t take care of them.  Even if they already have a lot of children, they don’t send the children to live with somebody they know or don’t know, because they know the best thing for a child is to live with his or her biological parents. When parents are educated, they understand their parental responsibilities.  Their mentality towards children improves, and they understand that all children are equal.  As parents are educated, there will no longer be dirty children in the street, juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy, physical and emotional abuse, frustration, or dependency.

When children are educated, they will not accept living a life with someone who never sends them to school.  They will know it’s important to have time for leisure.  They will know their right to be fed the same as other children.  They will know they deserve to have a proper place to sleep, and to go to bed on time.   They won’t choose to participate in bad things; they will choose instead to engage in healthy activities such as sports.  They will be able to eat like everyone else, drink clean water, and be able to go to the hospital when they need to.

I am confident education can help eliminate the practice of restavek in Haiti, if, and only if, all children can go to school, and all parents can be educated through trainings such as that of Restavek Freedom.

If you would like to support the work of Restavek Freedom, please visit our website at restavekfreedom.org.