I’m feeling both distressed and hopeful as I write to you now.
We keep a running list of children who we believe are enslaved in domestic servitude in Haiti. Last month colleagues added the names of 166 children from eight Port-au-Prince neighborhoods to the list. These kids all live apart from their parents and show signs of exploitation, abuse, and neglect.
This list includes:
- Millie, age 12 – barefoot, unbathed, wears rags, seen regularly by neighbors doing chores at the house where she’s kept during school hours,
- Daphney, age 13 – brutally beaten when she was caught with someone’s phone trying to call her parents who she’s lost all contact with,
- Marie, age 13 – neighbors say she is covered in scars from all the beatings she receives.
There’s no way to look at this list and not feel distressed.
It is not simple or easy to free a child from slavery, but we know how to do it. With effort we can usually find the child’s parents who rarely know what their children are enduring. When we can’t, “welcoming families” that have been trained and certified are ready to step in to receive a child.
What adds to my distress is that I know that our staff and our finances were already stretched thin before we added these children to our list.
In the midst of this distress, what gives me hope is you.
Will you help?
We need to raise at least $235,000 for our No Child a Slave campaign by December 31 to help free these and other children.
Yes, this is a lot of money, however every gift makes a difference for a child. And today your gift will be doubled by three generous donors who have collectively pledged to match gifts up to $46,000.
This means your gift will go even further to free girls like Millie, Daphney, and Marie and ensure that so many more children are spared the horrors of slavery by parents who can keep them at home, free, safe, and in school.
It all starts with YOU… making a gift today.
With deep gratitude,
David Diggs
Co-Founder & Executive Director | Beyond Borders
P.S. DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT TODAY! Give now and your gift will be matched up to $46,000 to free and reunite children with their families and prevent others from ever becoming enslaved!
*Name and identity have been changed to protect their privacy
