Advancing the Health of Haiti’s Women and Girls
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...
Gardens and Gratitude
The School and Family Garden initiative -- created by our friends and partners at the Matènwa Community Learning Center on Lagonav Island -- gives...
The Lancet: BB Violence Prevention Work Effective Even in Areas With Armed Gangs
The British medical journal The Lancet took note of the work of our Rethinking Power Team in its November issue, explaining that the approach we use...
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Impact Report: Fall 2024
Print this report 🖨 PREVENTING ABUSE Juna and Her Daughter Are Reunited "She is blossoming at home." More than 800 children have been freed from servitude and reunited with their families. A few years ago Juna was in a very difficult situation. She had no reliable...
Family Graduation Program Ramps Up
Thanks to our Family Sponsors’ generosity, the Family Graduation Program kicked into high gear in January, providing families with animals including goats and donkeys, water filters, and access to healthcare and financial support.
Training that Teachers in Haiti Love: “I wish there was one every week!”
Students across Lagonav Island are experiencing a transformative education, where native language instruction and nonviolent teaching methods foster creativity and leadership. Teacher training programs have empowered educators to create dynamic learning environments, resulting in significant improvements in student literacy and engagement.
Grassroots Leaders Making an Impact
Amidst Haiti’s challenges, grassroots leaders and our Rethinking Power team, supported by Beyond Borders donors and the European Union, achieved remarkable milestones.
160 Families Begin Their Journey to Escape Extreme Poverty
The journey out of extreme poverty has begun for 160 families on Lagonav Island -- thanks to sponsors in Beyond Borders' Family Graduation Program. This past November work began with these families who make up the sixth and largest-ever cohort. Over the next 24 months...
Movement Building to Prevent Violence
This past December, thanks to our generous supporters and the European Union, Beyond Borders brought together leaders from more than 10 Haitian women's rights organizations to strategize about advocacy and violence-prevention plans in 2024. And in October, leaders...
Teacher Training That Sets a New Standard
Students at 90 schools on Lagonav Island are getting a high-quality education taught by well-trained teachers who care -- thanks to Beyond Borders' supporters. School directors, teachers, and parents at these schools are rethinking the traditional approach to...
Soup Joumou: A Symbol of Freedom
Every year on January 1st, Haitian Independence Day, Haitians celebrate their ancestors’ hard won freedom from slavery and French colonial rule by making soup joumou.
16 Days of Activism to End Violence
10 Local Women’s Rights Groups Strategize Advocacy and Prevention Tactics for 2024
Seeing Santa
Executive Director, David Diggs reflects on the real person of Santa Claus who was particularly moved by children in dire need.
“In the most reliable story of St. Nicholas’s generosity, he’s discovered throwing a bag of coins into the window of a poor family. The coins land in a stocking hanging by the fire to dry. As I lie on the cot, I know nothing of the historical St. Nick. I am drowsy when I hear…”
Impact Report: Fall 2023
There is good news coming from Haiti where local leaders are preventing violence and abuse every day. Read more in our latest Impact Report which we share with deepest gratitude to everyone who is a part of this work.
Sharing gratitude for you from the Family Graduation ceremony.
You may have heard that I was privileged to attend the Family Graduation ceremony this summer and to hand out diplomas to each family. It was a deeply moving experience and -- as someone who played a key role in making it possible -- I wish that you could've been...