Justice Training is central to our efforts to change cultural views about restavek and build a community of Haitians dedicated to standing up for children’s rights.
Restavek Freedom staff collaborate with leaders of various local churches to offer 12 lessons over the course of 6 weeks to congregants. These lessons highlight the immorality of abusing and mistreating children in restavek, and empower participants to take action to protect children by educating them about Haitian and international laws concerning the proper care and protection of minors.
Graduates of Justice Training can choose to join Child Protection Committees (CPCs), which govern the partnership between individual churches and local Restavek Freedom leadership. CPCs are established after a completed Justice Training to ensure that children in local congregations are being advocated for and protected. These committees comprise the church pastor and their representative, a church member who has completed the Justice Training, and the head of both the local Restavek Freedom Church Mobilization and Child Advocacy teams.
Port-au-Prince can be a challenging place, where safety has felt uncertain since political insecurity has exponentially increased since the summer of 2018. But for Pierre Louis, attending Restavek Freedom’s Justice Training, a program aimed at empowering individuals to protect and advocate for vulnerable children, was a courageous step of change. It was there that Pierre met André Joseph, a trainer who sparked a profound transformation in his perspective. André’s message was clear: to protect the rights of children, we must take a stand against abuse.
Pierre didn’t just listen; he acted.
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