By Samuel Jean Baptiste, Child
Advocate
Ending the restavek system in Haiti
requires intervention both with children and adults. We have found that
engaging adults through literacy programs is a key way to help propagate
positive messages about the treatment of children.
We recently held a special event for
both the adults from our literacy class, as well as host parents of children
from our advocacy program. The theme of
this event was Children’s Rights and
Responsible Families. Our goal was
to sensitize the adults and host parents towards children’s rights and
encourage responsible families, in order to have a Haiti without restavek.
The day of the event came, and as we
engaged the adults in conversation, we encouraged them to take responsibility
as parents. This was followed by a
wonderful presentation by Jacquelin, a social worker. He presented to the adults about children’s
rights, and asked the parents questions such as, “What is a child?” and “What
does family mean for a child?” At the
end of his presentation, he encouraged the audience to repeat the following
words as a commitment: “I commit myself
to respect children’s rights in my community or wherever I am, and to help
create a Haïti where children’s rights will be respected.”
I then showed the parents a picture
of the Restavek Freedom logo, and asked them to stand up and share what they
saw in the logo. The adults began to
share: “In the Restavek Freedom logo, I see two kids…” “…They are standing up hand in hand…” “One of them has his hand raised…”
I then spoke to the adults and said,
“I am happy that you understand the Restavek Freedom logo. You have a responsibility as parents to
protect the kids, and to create a better environment for them so that they are
all treated well. If you agree, let’s
say it together: ‘Stand up for Freedom!’”
The adults then repeated in a loud
collective voice, “STAND UP FOR FREEDOOOOOOOM!”
We concluded the evening with a
wonderful performance by the Zoukoutap theatre actors. Their act centered around children’s rights
and responsible families as well. Their
performance captured the attention of the audience, and we could hear the
audience reacting to their drama, saying things like, “The host parents did not have to mistreat that child!” “Oh oh that’s not fair!” “Hey, guys! Stop giving your children to
anyone; avoid the restavek system!”
It was, all in all, a wonderfully
effective event. The adults participated
and asked questions, and were really engaged with the message to end the
restavek system!
