By Brian Stevens

Chen Kontan, Lagonav —

P arents in Haiti love their children and they want to provide the very best

for them: a safe and loving home, a good education, a chance at a better life.

But this fall, as millions of parents in the U.S. send their children back to school with the confidence that they’ll be taught by well-trained teachers at quality schools, many parents in Haiti will only dream of such an opportunity.

In fact, many will instead face tremendous pressure to send their children away to live with and work for another family, hoping they will be sent to school and cared for.

“No parent should ever have to make such a choice,” said Jean Souffrant, Beyond Borders’ new Assistant Director of Donor Relations. “Making certain that they don’t have to is what Schools Not Slavery is all about.”

A Vision of What Life Can Be Schools Not Slavery is a vision of what

life in rural communities can be: every child enrolled in a high-quality school where they are treated with respect, no child sent away to another family where they may become enslaved, every woman and child living free of domestic violence.

To realize this vision, Beyond Borders is introducing a new partnership effort as part of Schools Not Slavery, connecting donors directly with one of 35 schools and communities on the island of Lagonav.

“Partners will play a critical role in ensuring that the school they are

connected with has the means to fully implement every part of the Schools Not Slavery vision,” Souffrant said.

In each community, the vision of Schools Not Slavery is to:3 Ensure every child goes to a

high-quality school;3 Protect every child from slavery

and abuse;3 Ensure sustainable livelihoods

for even the poorest; and3 Prevent violence against every

woman and girl.

“So many rural families face a multitude of challenges,” said Souffrant who was born and raised in Haiti’s Northwest and moved to the U.S. at the age of 13.

“Schools Not Slavery recognizes that we can’t simply address one problem—the lack of access to quality education, for example. We need to help families address the range of challenges that threaten to break them apart,” he said.

Assembling the Best Approaches Available

To do this, Schools Not Slavery includes a mix of Beyond Borders-created programming and initiatives designed by innovators in the fields of education,

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Above, students from Mont des Oliviers School in the village of Chen Kontan, one of 35 schools in the Beyond Borders Schools Not Slavery network on the island of Lagonav. Left, school directors and child protection leaders from the rural communities around Chen Kontan, Lagonav met last March to discuss plans to ensure that every child is in school and no child is enslaved. As part of the Schools Not Slavery campaign, Beyond

Borders is seeking partners for 35 schools on the island of Lagonav.

Schools Not Slavery Helping Parents Keep Their Children Safe and In School

Continued on page 2

Fall 2015

LU JOHNSTON Schools Not Slavery Partner

In 2000, Lu Johnston traveled nearly 1,400 miles from her home in Delaware to the island of Lagonav.

Her life has never been the same.The people Lu met opened their

homes and their lives to her, and

economic development and human rights.

They include: the Matènwa Community Learning Center, a current Beyond Borders education partner; Fonkoze, Haiti’s leading micro-finance lender; and Raising Voices, a Ugandan organization working to prevent violence against women and girls.

Proven, Lasting ResultsWith each of the initiatives

developed by Beyond Borders and our partners, independent researchers found statistically significant, lasting results.

They include reading scores for Matènwa students that were three times higher than the national average; a 50% drop in hunger among participants in Fonkoze’s economic development programming; and a 52% decline in intimate partner violence in communities where Raising Voices works.

Three prestigious organizations – the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the journal Science , and the British medical journal The Lancet, conducted the studies.

“We are thrilled to have proven models to use as part of Schools Not Slavery,” said David Diggs, Beyond Borders’ Executive Director.

Even with accomplished organizational partners and research-proven approaches, realizing the vision of Schools Not Slavery will also require a cadre of generous and committed people willing to form partnerships with schools and communities in rural Haiti.

“This will take creativity, commitment, courage, partnership, patience and prayer,” said Beyond Borders’ Jean Souffrant. “Thank God that is what Schools Not Slavery is all about.”

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Helping Parents Keep Their ChildrenContinued from page 1

Lu (standing, back row, far left) together with friends on Lagonav, where she is a Schools Not Slavery partner.

Beyond Borders and our friends at the Matènwa Community Learning Center have invited 35 promising rural schools in nine communities on the island of Lagonav to be part of Schools Not Slavery.

When you pledge $100/month for 12 months you’ll become a Schools Not Slavery partner. Your generous pledge will help one of 35 schools and communities to:

3 Ensure every child goes to a high-quality school;

3 Protect every child from slavery and abuse;

3 Ensure sustainable livelihoods for even the poorest; and

3 Prevent violence against every woman and girl.

What You’ll ReceiveTo ensure you know exactly what your

investment accomplishes, you’ll receive a Schools Not Slavery Partnership Progress Report that includes:

3 The number of girls and boys enrolled in your school and the school director’s name;

3 A map showing the location of the school and community;

3 Photos and reports on school and community-building activities you help make possible;

3 Stories of children and families impacted by your partnership.

“Schools Not Slavery partnerships can transform communities,” said Jean Souffrant, Beyond Borders’ Assistant Director of Donor Relations.

Churches and schools can become Schools Not Slavery partners too. For those that make a commitment of a year or more, Beyond Borders can host your small group for a visit to Haiti too.

“The courage of local leaders in Haiti committed to keeping their children safe and free together with the generosity and commitment of individuals, churches and schools in the U.S. is an unstoppable force for good,” Souffrant said.

Become a Schools Not Slavery PartnerWhat You Can Do

Partner Profile

As a Schools Not Slavery partner you’ll play a critical role in ensuring that every child in the community you are partnered with is in school and no child is enslaved.

You can become a partner at www.SchoolsNotSlavery.org

or email or call Jean: j.souffrant@beyondborders.net (305) 587-7692

In Her Own Words

By Freda Catheus

Bouziyet, Lagonav —

R ural Haitian parents who make the agonizing decision to send their children

away to live with a family in the city often don’t know the dangers involved. They hope that their children will get the chance to go to school and will be well cared for.

Sadly, about half of children who are sent away end up in homes where they face exploitation, abuse and neglect, becoming trapped in a form of modern day slavery.

Mercilia Flores is a graduate of a Schools Not Slavery program that educates parents about the dangers of sending a child away and helps those who’ve already sent children away to bring them home.

Here, in her own words, Mercilia talks about sending her son Patrick away to live with others and her decision to bring him home.

BB: How old was Patrick when you sent him away?

Mercilia: He was six years old.

BB: And how old was he when you brought him home?

Mercilia: He was eight years old. And now he is 10 years old.

BB: What was it that encouraged you to bring Patrick home?

Mercilia: I took part in the Beyond Borders’ Child Rights Training. I read the books. I

saw the images of children who’d been sent away. They were doing things like fetching water and if they spilled any they would be beaten. [Their caretakers] would hit them with pots. They would burn them.

BB: How did you feel when you learned that children sent away are often abused?

Mercilia: It touched me. It hurt me deeply. I thought, in my heart, that is the kind of misery that my son could be suffering. It fired me up to go and bring Patrick home.

BB: And how did they treat Patrick?

Mercilia: They did not treat him well at all. For example, they’d send him to the market with four heavy cans full of corn to carry on his head. They sent him to fetch bread and when the bread seller didn’t give him the correct change or the right amount of bread they would beat him, call him a thief and accuse him of eating the bread.

BB: Since you brought Patrick home, how have things been?

Mercilia: I feel happy and at ease – even if I still don’t have the means to do everything I want for him. But I do what I can and I feel so very, very, very happy.

BB: Do you have any advice for other parents who sent their children away to live with others?

Mercilia: I would encourage them to take this training. I took it and learned from all the information. I’d tell them all about it. I would take them aside, sit with them and say, my friend, if your child is living with someone else, an aunt or an uncle, go get them, because I learned that it is so dangerous to send your child away.

BB: You have so much courage. Where did you find the courage to take the Child Protection Training and to bring your son home?

Mercilia: First and foremost the courage came from God. After that it was thanks to the [Child Protection] Training. It gave me the courage to go and find my child.

Mercilia Flores: A Mom Brings Her Son Home

Patrick’s classmates at Saint Yves School. Patrick is back in school now after his mom brought him home with help from Schools Not Slavery.

the experience only strengthened the commitment she already had to Haiti.

Today Lu maintains her commitment in a variety of ways – talking about and advocating for Haiti back home, seeking to live an intentionally simple life, and as a Schools Not Slavery partner.

“I am impressed and inspired by the work that Beyond Borders does in partnership with my brothers and sisters

in Haiti, especially on Lagonav,” Lu said.Last year for her birthday Lu invited her

family and friends to donate to the school she is partnered with through Schools Not Slavery instead of giving her gifts.

Lu told us: “A birthday gift which will support and empower those in a special corner of God’s creation is a true, meaningful gift to me!”

Lu raised $865 in birthday money

alone. “ I’m planning on making it an annual event,” she added.

Most won’t have the opportunity to travel to Haiti like Lu did. But you can still make a huge difference in the lives of students, their families and communities as a Schools Not Slavery partner.

And, like Lu, the people you partner with may end up making a huge difference in your life too!

VIDEO: Watch the complete interview with Mercilia at www.SchoolsNotSlavery.org

The Graduation Model A ‘Self-Help’ Model Proven to Lift up the Poorest

By Freda Catheus and Brian Stevens

Ti Palmis, Lagonav —

L ife in rural Haiti can be punishing, perhaps no more so than in the remote

corners of Lagonav, a 287-square mile island that is less than 45 miles from the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Lagonav is home to roughly 80,000 who, for the most part, make their living from subsistence farming, livestock or small-scale commerce. Many are among Haiti’s poorest, getting by on less than $1.25 U.S. a day.

Reaching The Very Poorest

“Development programs can often help a community advance and yet leave behind the very poor-est,” said David Diggs, Beyond Borders’ Executive Director. “These are precisely the people we want to reach.”

To do so, Beyond Borders is invest-ing in an approach proven to help the very poorest families lift themselves out of extreme poverty and stay out.

Known as the Graduation Model, the asset-building approach was pioneered in Bangladesh and first introduced to Haiti in 2008 by Fonkoze, Haiti’s largest micro-finance lender.

Carine Roenen, Executive Director of the Fonkoze Foundation, described the results as “quite amazing.”

Fonkoze’s implementation of the model with 150 women– 97% of whom graduated –resulted in a 50% drop in hunger among participants. The number who also reported that all or most of their children were regularly attending school increased too– from 27% to 70%.

Proven, Lasting ResultsResearchers writing in the journal

Science this May found “large and lasting impacts on the standard of living” of par-ticipants as well, after testing the model in six other countries with 21,000 people over a three-year period.

“Not only is it effective, but it repre-sents a significant return on investment,” said Kate McKee of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor in Washington, DC.

CGAP researchers found that for every dollar spent on the program in India, for example, ultra-poor households saw $4.33 in long-term benefits.

Beyond Borders will launch the

program with 80 of the most destitute families in four communities on Lagonav.

Each will have a choice of two income-generating assets – typically livestock like goats or mules.

Weekly meetings will provide ongoing training and support. Also included are free veterinary services and access to medical care.

Additional investments include basic home repairs, the construction of latrines, life-skills training, and for the first six-months, participants will receive a cash subsidy of $6 U.S. per week.

A Relational, Comprehensive Approach“What is special about the Graduation

Model is the close accompaniment, the really human relationship aspect of it,” Fonkoze’s Roenen said. “I think it is abso-lutely essential for success.”

Many of those selected are isolated from their community, in part because of their extreme poverty.

“They really feel alone,” Roenen said, “so you need the close accompaniment and relationship building. It’s not just you give someone a goat and then everything is going to be o.k.”

The emphasis on accompaniment and building relationships, Roenen said, makes Beyond Borders uniquely qualified to introduce the model.

“I think it fits well with Beyond Borders’ ethic and the way you intervene in communities,” she said.

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Beyond Borders is launching an initiative to lift the very poorest out of extreme poverty - using a model researchers writing in the journal Science found had “large and lasting impacts on the standard of living” of more than 20,000 participants in six countries.

SIX STEPS TO ‘GRADUATION’ IN 18 MONTHS

The Graduation Model includes six components proven to help people lift themselves out of extreme poverty. They are:

— Assets to make a living with, for example goats, mules or other livestock, or goods to start an informal store.

— Training on how to manage the new assets.

— Initial cash support to reduce the need to sell the new asset in an emergency.

— Weekly coaching visits to reinforce skills, build confidence and help participants handle any challenges.

— Health education and access to healthcare to stay healthy and able to work.

— A savings account to help save money to invest or use in a future emergency.

Source: Innovations for Poverty Action

By Brian Stevens

Bouziyet, Lagonav —

T he crack of a whip against a child’s back used to be an ever-present sound

in classrooms like those here at Saint Yves, a modest school with red dirt floors and walls fashioned from woven palm fronds.

Saint Yves’ use of the whip was far from unique though. Corporal punish-ment is common in Haitian classrooms and remains so, dating back to the time of French colonial rule.

But now at Saint Yves, the whip is a thing of the past, replaced with a new, nonviolent approach to teaching.

“Who would’ve thought this little school would help lead the way,” said Jean-Venel Despazin, as he gathered with others in the Saint Yves school yard one afternoon.

Encouraging Curiosity, Participation and Democracy

At Saint Yves and 34 other schools that make up the Schools Not Slavery net-work, gone is the use of physical violence to control classrooms, replaced with an approach that is nonviolent and designed to encourage curiosity, participation, and to teach students the value of democracy.

“These are the values we want to teach our children,” Despazin said, “not violence and intimidation.”

At a March gathering of Saint Yves parents, one father expressed the deep sense of regret that many of his fellow parents have for tolerating the wide-spread use of violence by teachers in the classroom.

“We owe all of our children an apol-ogy,” he said, while praising the new approach, which, in addition to nonviolent classroom management, includes five other strategies that collectively represent a fundamental departure from the tradi-tional model of education here.

Rooted in PartnershipBeyond Borders’ approach to

education is, like all of our work in Haiti, rooted in partnership with a local grass-roots organization. On the island of Lagonav we partner with the Matènewa Community Learning Center as part of the Schools Not Slavery initiative to increase access to quality education for rural, impoverished children, many of whom are among the most at risk of being trafficked to cities as household slaves.

In December 2014 the Public Radio International program The World featured a story on this distinctive approach to

education first developed at Matènwa and currently being rolled out to the entire Schools Not Slavery network on Lagonav.

The story highlighted a recent Massachusetts Institute of Technology study that examined the approach, comparing Matènwa students with students in a sample of 84 traditional Haitian schools. MIT researchers determined that the Matènwa students had reading scores nearly three times better than the national average.1

“We are proud of what’s happening here,” said Despazin. “We are creating a new model of what education can and should be in Haiti,” he added.

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“ Nonviolence, democracy, equality. These are the values we want to teach our children.” — Jean-Venel

Despazin, community member

Above, fourth grade students at Saint Yves. Right, teachers at Matènwa use a non-violent approach to classroom management designed to encourage intellectual curiosity and critical thinking. An MIT study found that reading scores at Matènwa were nearly three times higher than those at traditional Haitian schools.

“We Owe All of Our Children an Apology.”

Schools Not Slavery Takes Violence Out of the Classroom

1 http://www.pri.org/stories/20141222/villageschoolhaiti startednationalmovementteachkidslanguagetheyspeak

Learn how you can partner with a school like Saint Yves at www.SchoolsNotSlavery.org

Six elements make up the approach pioneered by our partners at the Matènwa Community Learning Center. They are now in use at all 35 schools in the Schools Not Slavery network.

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BEYOND BORDERS helps people build movements to liberate themselves from oppression and isolation. In Haiti and the United States, we are bringing people together for just and lasting change. We support movements in Haiti to:

End child slavery

Guarantee universal access to education

End violence against women and girls

Replace systems that oppress the poor with systems that support dignified work and sustainable livelihoods

Board of Directors: Serge Bellegarde, Jayne Engle, Dr. Robert Fatton, Rev. Dr. Malcolm Frazier, Britt Lake, Jake Lustig, Rachel Lustig, Thomas Mulloy, Jody Myrum, Adam Vanfossen, Aswathi Zachariah

Beyond Borders Staff: Michelyne Beaubrun, Marie Solange Beauvil, Freda Catheus, Marie Maude Charles, Adonis Daniel, Guyto Desrosiers, David Diggs, Massillon Dunois, Jean Prosper Elie, Jonathan Haggard, Coleen Hedglin, Roberts McJirony LeBlanc, Jeoaddo Mingo Prochet, Marie Isnise Romelus, Manasse Rosemond, Sara Siebert, Meagan Silencieux, Jean Souffrant, Brian Stevens

Beyond Borders U.S. headquarters is located at: 5016 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008

Contributions: PO Box 2132, Norristown, PA 19404

Toll-free: 866-424-8403 | Email: mail@BeyondBorders.net | www.BeyondBorders.net Printed on recycled paper

Beyond Borders Haiti CONNECT WITH US! BB_Haiti beyondbordershaiti

Taking Violence Out of the Classroom

Creating a New Model of Education in Haiti

Beyond Borders’ Jean

Souffrant with a student at

the Nazarene School on Lagonav.

1. Native Language Instruction An approach to learning in which students are taught in Haitian Creole the language they speak at home instead of French, a language students rarely encounter in their daily lives.

4. Education Rooted in Rural Life School gardens teach students agricultural science and mathematics, including techniques to improve yield and mitigate drought driven by climate change. Vegetables grown are used in daily school meal programs, with excess food sold in the market, helping students learn to manage money.

2. Participatory Approach to Classroom Instruction This participatory-based approach is meant to foster intellectual curiosity and critical thinking skills among students. Rather than simply copying, memorizing and parroting back lessons in French, students write their own stories in Haitian Creole about their own lives and share them with each other.

5. Accelerated Education Students who miss out on starting school at age six either because their parents were too poor to pay tuition fees OR because they were sent away to live with others can catch up on the learning they missed through an Accelerated Education program. The Accelerated Education pedagogy provides over-aged children two years of the national curriculum in a single year.

3. Non-Violent Classroom Management

A non-violent

classroom manage-ment approach

teaches students leadership and democracy. The approach gives students the

opportunity to practice democ-

racy rather than simply be responsive to

authoritarian rule.

6. Textbook Banks Textbook banks ensure every student has the textbooks they need to be a successful learner.

Previously, more than 2,300 students in 11 schools borrowed textbooks through Schools Not Slavery.