It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men -- Frederick Douglass

Feb

2014 January Newsletter

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Greetings:

Sunday January 12, was the fourth anniversary of the earthquake that devastated Haiti. The country is slowly rising from the rubble with the construction of roads, ports and major reparation to the airport.

Our Foundation has registered fifty vulnerable children in school, helped them with their First Communion, and continues to monitor their progress. I’ve done numerous radio shows on child slavery with the assistance of prominent citizens, and received congratulatory calls from every segment of society, including government ministers.

Last month while distributing Christmas toys in a shantytown, I witnessed a woman chastising her neighbor for having kept a girl in servitude out of school. The neighbor was too ashamed to respond. In that moment I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and I could not stop smiling.

On Friday, December 20, 2013, I had the privilege of being invited to a government campaign on violence against children at a large public school for girls. When officials told the children, "Don't be afraid to report physical and sexual abuse…. because the law is on your side," I remembered a beating I had received from a Haitian soldier in the 60’s. I was perhaps ten years old, going on errands just before sunset. Crossing the street in front of the Presidential Palace, I noticed people were standing at attention with their hand on their chest and cars coming to a screeching halt. On the palace’s grounds was a military band playing the national anthem while the Haitian flag was being lowered. I continued walking, but slowly, watching the ceremony and wondering why everyone stopped. After the folding of the flag, I heard a soldier say, "Hey, you, come back here!” I turned around and approached him, my heart pounding, thinking he was going to reprimand me for being barefoot. But he grabbed my wrist and gave me a lashing that tore the ragged shirt off my back. I was too ashamed to even tell René, my best childhood friend, who would later die from a police beating.

Haiti has come a long way from the 60’s on children’s rights, but still has far to go. While people have been arrested for cruelty to children, whips are still being sold at outdoor markets. The legacy of colonial slavery is still sewn into Haiti’s national fabric. But on December 20th I felt that the threads were slowly unravelling. Perhaps Haitian authorities are beginning to understand that Haiti’s most valuable resources are its children.

This could not have happened without your support.
With all my gratitude,

Jean-Robert Cadet

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If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
One of an estimated 300,000 Haitian children enslaved in child labor.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
From an isolated, rural area of Haiti where there are no schools, no electricity, no running water and few possibilities for the future.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Living in the city with a family who is not your own -- not as a foster child, but as their servant.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Between the ages of 5 and 15, and missing out on your childhood.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Three times more likely to be a girl than a boy.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Up at dawn, before any member of the family you serve, to begin preparing for their day, and in bed well after most other children are asleep.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Responsible for preparing the household meals, fetching water from the local well, cleaning inside and outside the house, doing laundry and emptying bedpans.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Getting no pay for any of these activities.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Unable to see your family or remember where they live.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Unable to attend school consistently, if at all -- depending on your owner's financial situation and schedule.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Hungry, as you would probably not get enough to eat or food with enough nutritional value for someone who works hard all day.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely be:
Subjected to physical, emotional or sexual abuse.

If you were a restavek child, you would most likely:
Never have all of your rights as a child respected.