Preventive work
with Kindernothilfe

The people in the mountains of Carrefour live very secluded lives. The villages in the middle of the mountain are only accessible on foot (5-12 hours depending on the location of the village) and lack infrastructure of any kind. Government intervention rarely reaches the hard-to-reach region, leaving residents with little access to hospitals, schools or government assistance. The majority of the population lives off of small-scale subsistence farming. The everyday life of families is characterized by poverty, hunger, and hard work. Farmers struggle with difficult soil conditions due to slopes, lack of water, and harsh weather conditions. The children suffer from sickness, malnutrition, and lack of access to a proper education. Due to these harsh conditions parents often send their children to relatives in cities, acquaintances, or even foreign “host families “. The parents do this with the hope that their kids will have the proper surroundings to succeed and ultimately lead a better life.

Many of the Haitian cities suffer extreme poverty, and the hopes of a better life are often times not fulfilled. In the city, children often have an even tougher future living in a “host family”. These children are known as the Restavèk child (from the French word “rester avec“=”stay with someone“). In these homes children are often exploited as laborers. They often are tasked with chores like: cooking, cleaning, washing, and hauling heavy water canisters. Sometimes these children are forced to sleep on the ground of the host families and eat whatever little leftovers the family may leave behind.  The Restavèk practice is widespread in Haiti with some 300,000 boys and girls working away from their families.

After the 2010 earthquake, Kindernothilfe rebuilt small community schools in six mountain villages and now ensures their operation. More than 600 children between the ages of 8 and 20 currently have the opportunity to attend school in the mountains of Carrefour. They are no longer forced to leave their homes in search of a good education. Many of these children have never had the opportunity to attend an educational institution prior to enrolling in these community schools. The reason simply being because there was never a school in the immediate vicinity or their parents did not have the financial means to send them away for school. The children in the villages of Coupeau, Bois Matin, Dicou, Volant, Daveau and Bouvier now have access to a solid foundational education as well as the proper materials required for learning. Besides the fact that children can now attend school, the quality of teaching is also an important factor that Kindernothilfe supervises. Teachers have taken part in special training courses run by AMURT, a Kindernothilfe partner. AMURT’s goal is to strengthen participatory teaching methods in these schools.  It is also very important that the children have a curriculum tailored to life in these rural areas. The children must acquire practical life skills that are specifically suited for their respective situations. In addition to their education, lessons in organic farming are provided. For example, craftsmanship skills are taught to help teach the children useful tools for everyday life. Each kindernothilfe school has their own garden in which the ingredients are produced for later usage by the school’s cafeteria. Any additional food is purchased on the local market, providing an additional source of income for the surrounding small farmers. This system not only provides for the children, but also supports and strengthens the local farmers market. The operation of school cafeterias and their ability to provide a free meal to students relieves a huge burden for less fortunate families in the area.