“According to the data available by The International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 2 million people have been displaced. And among them, there are approximately 751,000 children who have been displaced from gang occupied territory.”
Watch Guyto’s full update here
Beyond Borders Program Coordinator Guyto Desrosiers shares how the security situation is causing massive internal displacement across the country, increasing children's vulnerability, and forcing receiving families to adapt under immense pressure.
Beyond Borders, as an organization that believes in community-based work, focuses on efforts that reach the smallest elements of society. This means going to the roots—inside the communities—to work alongside the people and build awareness around child abuse and exploitation.
We mobilize activists into Child Protection Brigades directly embedded within the communities. Instead of relying on top-down decisions, these brigades act on the ground at the grassroots level to monitor the movement of children in the community, identify unaccompanied minors, and implement necessary follow-up systems.
Most importantly, this effort draws its strength from survivors of the restavèk system, who bring their lived experiences to support the cause.
By transforming themselves from victims of exploitation into child advocates, these survivors help guide community conversations. They can easily spot the warning signs of a child at risk of—or currently experiencing—restavèk, ensuring an authentic response built on deep empathy and mutual trust.
While the current security crisis inevitably impacts our ongoing community work, our advantage lies in the structures we had already mobilized and established, such as Child Protection Brigades and Neighborhood Survivor Groups. These structures give us a ready network of organizations prepared to combat child abuse and exploitation.
Our work relies on several key strategies: engaging stakeholders, building capacity, creating networks, and providing care for children separated from their families. In our target area on the island of Lagonav, these existing community structures have helped prevent a potentially worsening situation.
However, there are still spikes in the movement of people and children to the island. When armed groups take control of surrounding areas, they launch attacks that drive large groups of people to flee to the island. This puts immense pressure on local structures and community safety nets, as the influx of people increases the demand for food, medical care, and schooling.
At Beyond Borders, we have been collaborating with all local authorities to address this issue and ensure arriving children are properly identified. We worked with the mayor's office to create a child displacement tracking form. This form monitors children's movements to prevent child trafficking—specifically, the relocation of children away from their biological families.
Through a municipal decree passed by the mayor's office in 2022, this tracking form enables us to together monitor children moving in and out of their jurisdictions. Together, the structures mobilized by Beyond Borders ensure a coordinated response to the displacement and security challenges facing the country.
These communities are joining forces to stand up and protect themselves. By combining the authority of local leaders, the dedication of volunteer activists, and the courage of restavèk survivors, they have built a strong shield on the island of Lagonav.
Despite the heavy strain of the security crisis and mass displacement, this decentralized model proves that a community equipped with the right tools and deep-rooted trust can weather the greatest crises to protect the safety and future of its children.
By Guyto Desrosiers , Program Coordinator - Beyond Borders