Beyond Borders work focused on children:

Beyond Borders has been working for the last 10 years to address the problem of child servitude in Haiti. (An estimated 1 in 10 Haitian children live in domestic servitude.) Through our partner in Haiti, Fondasyon Limyè Lavi, we've mobilized grassroots groups working on this issue and brought them together in networks to strengthen and improve their initiatives. We've also begun more comprehensive and intensive community-wide intervention to prevent the flow of children into servitude, equip parents to rescue children they've sent away, and improve the treatment of children who cannot be reunited with their families.

In the wake of this unbelievable disaster, we know that the risks for vulnerable children in Haiti will be immense.  The number of children separated or orphaned from their parents will be large.  These children will be especially vulnerable to trafficking, exploitation, and sexual violence.  While some other international organizations  have more experience in post-disaster child protection, we have a unique understanding of and capacity for mobilizing grassroots groups to effectively work to protect children separated from their parents. The women we work with are well known to the communities they work with and have a tremendous possibility for truly meeting the needs of children, when equipped with support, resources, and training/information.

Drawing upon the recommendations of agencies who have worked in post-disaster child protection (UNICEF, ECPAT International) as well as our 15 years of working in Haiti, 10 of which have involved work to end child servitude, we are developing the mechanisms, supports, and services to address the needs of vulnerable children. In the short term we are paying particular attention to tracing and finding families of children who have been separated or orphaned, raising awareness and vigilance among relief workers and the general population about the risks for trafficking and exploitation among vulnerable children, strengthening authorities' (local leaders, police) sense of duty and ability to protect these children, and supporting grassroots organizations' capacity to provide necessary and safe services to these children.

In order to achieve this, we are now assessing the fallout of this situation, the location and numbers of children as well as their situations.  Knowing the UNICEF and Save the Children are working to develop national strategies, we will intensify our collaboration with them to learn and draw from the resources they develop (PSAs, guidelines for relief workers, etc). 

Our greatest asset and what we can offer these larger international agencies is our connenction with over 60 grassroots organizations in Port-au-Prince and outlying towns situated near the epicenter. We have a history of working with these local organizations and will collaborate with them to ensure that our interventions are grounded in their local reality and that we are helping them reach the children who might otherwise go unnoticed by entities who are less familiar with their neighborhoods and communities.



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