Photo: Graduation program participants receiving health screenings at a clinic. By addressing the deep-seated issues that affect the health and future of women, BB is building a stronger and more equitable society, one community at a time.

In communities across Haiti, BB is addressing the major challenges that undermine the health and wellbeing of women and girls: violence, exploitation, poverty, and lack of access to education. Unchecked, these challenges create lifelong mental and physical health struggles for women and girls.

BB’s Rethinking Power initiative focuses on reducing violence against women and girls, especially intimate partner violence (IPV) by working with communities to shift harmful social norms and balance power between men and women. In a four-year study, the Global Women’s Institute at The George Washington University found that BB’s approach reduced IPV rates by more than half, community-wide. This change not only keeps women safer but also improves their overall health and future opportunities.

Photo: Participants at a Rethinking Power training in a rural Haitian community.

BB also fights against a form of labor trafficking called restavèk, which affects nearly one in six girls in Haiti. Restavèk exposes children to a lifetime of trauma and vulnerability, but BB supports adult survivors with therapeutic programs that help them heal and become leaders in the fight to end this practice. By mobilizing survivors as advocates, BB created a movement that protects at-risk girls while addressing the root causes of this exploitation.

In addition to tackling violence and exploitation, BB focuses on poverty and education—two major factors that shape women’s health. Through our work to improve access to quality primary education and promote economic justice, BB helps the very poorest families in a community build stable, sustainable futures. More than 600 women-led households have graduated from our 24-month asset building program that provides them with the training and tools they need to escape generational cycles of poverty and build healthier lives.

What makes BB’s approach so successful is its focus on grassroots-driven change. Instead of relying on top-down programs that solve only part of the problem, BB uses community-led movements that address multiple challenges at once. By empowering women to take leadership roles and spreading the work across communities, these movements create lasting improvements in health, safety, and economic stability.

Photo: Graduates of the 24-month asset-building program hold their diplomas at a July 2023 ceremony for more than 100 families.

In more than 200 communities, BB’s work has led to dramatic reductions in violence, lowered risks of trafficking, better access to education, and improved economic wellbeing for Haiti’s most disadvantaged women and their families. These gains are not just temporary fixes—they are paving the way for a healthier, more resilient future.

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