Project Kiskeya

Project Kiskeya is the name we have given to our new work in the Dominican Republic. Roughly one million Haitians live in the Dominican Republic, which shares with Haiti the island of Hispaniola (originally called Kiskeya by its native inhabitants). Many fled Haiti in search of work but now find themselves trapped in slave-like conditions in the Dominican Republic, where they endure routine discrimination, exploitation, and violence. In collaboration with the Circles of Change program, we work to foster dialogue and collaboration between marginalized Haitian immigrants and their Dominican neighbors through the introduction of Open Space and Reflection Circles methodology.

Together with local organizations, we’re sharing these methods of participatory learning, exchange, and leadership development in order to promote a new way of leading, communicating, and learning in the most marginalized communities of the Dominican Republic. By lending a voice to both national and international calls for justice, Project Kiskeya hopes to promote increased understanding and foster peace, dialogue, empowerment and justice on the island as a whole.