By Natalie Hagan, Exhibit/Special Projects Coordinator
When you hear the word slavery, what images come to mind? You may imagine chains or bondage. When I hear the word slavery, one clear image comes to my mind. I see a young 7 year-old boy with a torn pink shirt, covered in filth, standing in front of me holding a broom. I see a little boy with no shoes to protect the sores on his feet, and nothing to cover his frail little legs. I see no expression on his face, only hopelessness in his big brown eyes.
How about freedom? What images come to your mind then? When I hear the word freedom, I see another boy with a pink shirt. However, this image is very different. This boy is wearing a pink buttoned-up shirt with navy shorts and a neatly pressed tie. He is walking to school, holding the hand of his older sister. He has an opportunity for education because he is part of Restavek Freedom’s Child Advocacy Program. He is excited to be attending school and learning new things. This boy knows he is valuable and was created on purpose, and is excited to see what he can become.
Both of these boys in pink shirts are the next generation.
If the children in our world are the next generation, and we do nothing to end child slavery now, then child slavery will be perpetuated for generations to come. There are currently children working twelve or more hours a day without food or water, living in less than satisfactory environments. Our first little boy in the pink shirt is one of these kids. He doesn’t have his own room or even his own bed, but sleeps on a tarp wrapped in a worn blanket. As other children run off to school, he is forced to stay behind to do domestic chores.
This little boy is one of approximately 300,000 child slaves in Haiti. Each number has a name, each name has a story, and each story matters. If each story matters, then what is our response? To provide freedom for these approximately 300,000 child slaves, we have to have a vision for what we desire to see.
Restavek Freedom’s vision is for children who are living in domestic slavery to be in school, and to change the mindset of the culture and of families toward domestic slavery through friendship, support and love. We believe education is the way to change a culture and influence individual families. We provide this education and support through our Child Advocacy Program. Generous, loving sponsors allow children to take part in this program and give them a brighter future. We believe the next generation of students to graduate school through our Child Advocacy Program will be the generation to stand up for their fellow Haitians.
I want to be part of a generation that doesn’t believe it’s okay for a 7 year-old boy to live in hunger and hopelessness. I want to see the potential of the next generation and believe in them.
