Keeping Angela Out of Restavek

By Osbert Victor, Child Advocate

I would like to share with you about a courageous child in our program, Angela*.  Angela joined our program two years ago, as her family’s economic situation put her at high risk of being sent into restavek.  She lives with her parents in extreme poverty and has sickle cell anemia, which causes her to be sick often.  Angela is a very courageous and intelligent child.

When her parents were able to send her to school, she often came to school on an empty stomach.  However, since she joined our Child Advocacy program, she not only has been able to go to school, but also have food to eat.  Restavek Freedom helped start a feeding program at her school, and also began sending her home with food for her family.  Not wanting her to be hungry over the summer break, she was also given food to take home and cook over the summer.

I am so proud of Angela, because she finished the 13^th grade (the final grade of school in Haiti) and was very confident taking her state exam. I feel proud of her!  She was so confident going into the state exam that she told me not to measure her for a uniform for next year, because she won’t need it! Thanks to Restavek Freedom, Angela never had to endure the horrors of living in restavek.

As her dream is to become a nurse, I pray that God will make a way for her to see her dreams come true.

If you would like to help children like Angela this holiday season, visit restavekfreedom.org/holiday2016.