
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 income and her children were hungry. When a family member offered to provide a better life for her daughter Rose, Juna agreed to let Rose go to live with them.
But at her new home, things didn’t go well for Rose. She woke up early to carry water and spent the days caring for the other children in the house with no time to study or play. Rose’s new guardians only let her eat the leftovers of the food that she herself had cooked. Rose was forced to wear the same rags every day and deliver gifts of clothes and shoes to other children in the neighborhood.
She was miserable. “Rose has never told me everything that happened there,” lamented Juna.
One day, Juna received a call from a different family member telling her that Rose was being abused.
Because Juna had recently joined one of Beyond Borders’ sixmonth Child Rights Trainings, she had somewhere to turn for help. Members of the Child Protection Brigade provided funds so that Juna could travel and bring her daughter home.
“Rose was always an outgoing child. She would sing at the top of her voice and dance. But when I brought her home, she was quiet and shy,” Juna recalled. “Now a year later she is opening up again and I see her beginning to blossom.”
Not long after she brought Rose home, Juna joined Beyond Borders’ Family Graduation Program. In 24 months the program equips parents like Juna with the skills and resources they need to begin earning their own money so that they can lift themselves out of extreme poverty. Juna graduated from the program last year and now things are looking up for her and her children.
Rose says her favorite things to do at home are watch funny videos while lying on the bed with her mom or play cards with her siblings.
She is hyper focused on school. Rose plans
on being the first person in her family to
complete high school.

Her favorite subjects are physics and algebra. She is also learning how to sew clothes by hand.
“Even when things get rough, I know my mom will always be there, giving it her all to look after us. And when I’m older, I’ll make sure I’ve got what it takes to support my family,” Rose told us. Thank you for your generosity and your solidarity with parents like Juna. Your support empowers parents to protect their children and break the generational cycle of extreme poverty.
Survivors Healing
Recently Beyond Borders began facilitating group therapy sessions for women and men in our Adult Survivors of Child Servitude Network – now 1,500 members strong. Survivors come together both to find healing for the trauma they experienced and to end the practice of child servitude in Haiti.
The experience has been transformative for survivors like Gertrude, the treasurer of her local network chapter. As an 8-year-old child, Gertrude’s mother sent her to live with an uncle in Port-au-Prince. He sexually abused Gertrude and beat her. Today she is healing along with other survivors.
“The group therapy sessions are helping me grow as a person. I am learning how to deal with my emotions. I am becoming a new person – experiencing a rebirth. My spirit is no longer enslaved.

“I would love for all survivors of
restavèk to have this experience, too.”
Movement Building Continues During Crisis
Beyond Borders staffers share openly about the challenges they face and how they adapt.
Your generosity and solidarity help us confront today’s unique challenges – thank you!

Over the past five years, we’ve encountered our fair share of challenges: navigating through COVID-19, contending with gang activities and kidnappings, grappling with rising living costs, and facing the fluctuating fuel prices. As rapid inflation marches on, our budget struggles to keep up, making planned initiatives out of reach almost overnight. Meanwhile, the needs of those we serve are more acute, and we can’t help but lament the departure of talented activists fleeing Haiti to go to the United States.
While the safety of Lagonav offers a reassuring refuge, travel to and from the island presents its own set of risks, occasionally leaving our colleagues stranded.
Freda Catheus, Program Coordinator on Lagonav Island
Despite these trials, our teams remain steadfast, extending their assignments to new communities to minimize travel expenses and risks.
Crises like this make things even worse for women and girls, so we can’t stop. We’ve found ways to keep going—using phones and WhatsApp to provide support to volunteers and partner organizations all over the country. Sometimes we gather online to avoid risky travel. When we do travel, we stay in one place for days at a time.
It’s not easy. Staying on-site can be exhausting and disrupt home life.
What we really need are funds to bring in interns who can provide ongoing in-person support by staying in remote locations longer. And good communication equipment would be a gamechanger—it would help us keep up with everything going on and stay connected when it matters most.
Emanuela Paul, Program Coordinator for Rethinking Power based in Jacmel ->


With many areas of Port-au-Prince controlled by armed groups, it’s been very difficult to continue all of our activities in the capital. We seek justice and reparations for victims via a justice system that’s barely functioning. Activists, including myself, have been displaced from neighborhoods that have been taken over by gangs. Meanwhile, unchecked inflation makes feeding children and paying school fees even more difficult for parents these days. We’ve shifted our activities from Port-au-Prince to Lagonav Island’s biggest city, Ansagale.
We’re engaging with local government officials whose offices are actually functioning better than the national offices in Port-au-Prince.
What we need right now are ways to reduce travel throughout the country. We
need funding and technical assistance to adapt our training modules for virtual
learning.
Guyto Desrosiers, Program Coordinator for Child Rights Training
OVERCOMING POVERTY
Jilande’s Impact: Lifting Up Her Neighbors

Case workers are the backbone of the Family Graduation Program, offering crucial support to guide families out of extreme poverty. Your steadfast solidarity enables them to walk alongside these families throughout their journey.
On Lagonav Island, where 160 families are working to overcome extreme poverty as members of the Family Graduation Program’s sixth cohort, Jilande Joseph takes the lead in accompanying them. Her days are purposeful and dynamic.
Every morning, Jilande sets out on her dirt bike, equipped with her tablet, to visit families across the eastern tip of the island. She organizes her visits by location, to maximize efficiency. At each home, she engages in heartfelt conversations with families.
“I make it a priority to visit every family weekly to build trust.”
“We sit together, discussing all aspects of their lives. I record their responses on my tablet, which makes it possible to track each family’s progress toward graduation,” Jilande explained. A native of Lagonav Island and mother of two, Jilande taught school for five years and co-led Child Rights Training in her community before joining Beyond Borders’ Family Graduation Program.
A native of Lagonav Island and mother of two, Jilande taught school for five years and co-led Child Rights Training in her community before joining Beyond Borders’ Family Graduation Program.
“I’m available around the clock to support families in need, whether arranging medical care or teaching water treatment methods,” Jilande said.
Two criteria families must meet before graduating is to have three reliable sources of income and a savings account. Jilande helps families manage their income-generating assets and encourages them to join local savings and loans organized by Beyond Borders.
“I take pride in empowering my neighbors. My goal is to see them thrive and live with dignity and independence,” Jilande said.
Thank you for helping to make Jilande’s work possible!
