Summary

Louis lives in one of the poorest slums in Haiti. She has four children, two of whom are living as indentured servants with other families. She is sick, her children don

Background

Louis Vilia, mother, age 23 Husband: Lucson Jean Charles, age 26. Children: Jean Benson, age 4. Claude Jean, age 7. Ricadine Pierre, age 12. RESTAVEK Jean Dieuna, age 9, RESTAVEK.

How the partnership will function

Louis is very gentle. She was born in Tiburon, and has been here in Cite Soleil for five years. She came by bus.

How to participate

Louis lives in City Soleil, a notoriously poor slum in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. She lives in a particularly poor area of City Soleil called Mangue. A few feet from her shanty is a large area of garbage. It is literally a river a garbage, because during the rains it flows down from richer areas of Port-au-Prince higher up, and sometimes reaches a height of five feet or more. There are no police in Mangue, but Louis says there area is now not too dangerous (it has been known for kidnappings and gang fighting). There are no holidays, celebrations, or parties.

Summary

Gabriel is eleven years old, and a restavek (indentured servant or child slave). His mother had no way to take care of him, so she gave him to another family. He eats white rice, one time per day, and has festering sores on his limbs. Sponsorship level: $12 per month.

Background

Gabriel

How the partnership will function

Gabriel has a nice smile, and is relaxed and sweet. He lives with a family that uses him to do household work. He buys water, washes dishes, and scrubs the floor. There is not enough rest. And Gabriel doesn

How to participate

He lives in the neighborhood of Peeblay, in Delmas 75, which is in the heart of one of the poorer neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. A local organization called AMACHU is seeking help for him. AMACHU, the Association Moderne Appplique por le Combat Humanitaire (Modern Association for Humanitarian Struggle), is a non-political association which seeks to help children in need. This organization tries to find help for school and food, and works with 400 children, including restaveks, orphans, and poor children.

Summary

Falant is a restavek (an indentured servant or child slave). He washes dishes, scrubs floors, and gets water. His mother would like him back, but her husband died recently, she doesn

Background

The mother is Madame Marie Labuer. (She

How the partnership will function

Falant is sixteen years old. The name of the family he is staying with now is Livya. He works for them, washing dishes, scrubbing the floor, going to the market, getting the water. Falant does not go to school. When he was living at home he did go to school. He said (in a public interview) that the family where he is staying is friendly. Most of the time, he eats one time per day. Sometimes he doesn

How to participate

A local organization called AMACHU is seeking help for him. AMACHU, the Association Moderne Appplique por le Combat Humanitaire (Modern Association for Humanitarian Struggle), is a non-political association which seeks to help children in need. This organization tries to find help for school and food, and works with 400 children, including restaveks, orphans, and poor children.

Summary

Bordron is fourteen years old. She stopped going to school in the second grade.

Background

Bordron was born and lives in Cite Soleil, a slum in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Her mother's name is Samedi Rolange, and her father's name is Bordron Manius. They have been living Cite Soleil since 1990. Bordron lives with her parents. Her father is a builder, and her mother doesn't work, Her parents have eight children.

How the partnership will function

How to participate

Summary

Background

How the partnership will function

I was born in Cite Soleil, but my family comes from Cayes (in South Haiti). My mother is sick. She suffers from diabetes, and now she cannot move her body. She cannot walk, or even go to the toilet. She cannot go to the hospital because we don't have any money to buy medicine. Once she tried to commit suicide because life is so difficult for her. When we are hungry, we ask somebody on the streets. Sometimes they give us something, sometimes they don't.

There are many good things in me. I am loving, generous, peaceful. I have some things bad, too. For example my religion. Voodoo is not good, it is something that can make you a criminal. I cannot explain more, because it is something personal.

How to participate

Summary

Rose is a restavek (an indentured servant or child slave), does not go to school, and often misses meals because there is not enough food. She lives in one of the worst slums in Haiti.

Background

Rose Carline was born in Cite Soleil. She's eight years old. Her mother's name is Silvida Pierre, and her father's name is Lessivio Belizaire. She is a restavek child

How the partnership will function

General economic situation Marlene Lamour, the mother of the family Rose is staying with, is a saleswoman. She sells hot dogs in front of her house, two times a week. She earns about $10 Haitian dollars (US $1.42) a week. Sometimes she loses money when she doesn't sell. She doesn't like this kind of work because she doesn

How to participate

Summary

Berloune is twelve years old, and is not going to school. She is a restavek (slave) child. She says she is very unlucky. She works hard, washing the dishes, scrubbing the floor, and fetching ten large buckets of water a day. Sponsorship level: $12 per month.

Background

Berloune is twelve years old. She was born in Desermite, near Jalousie. She stopped going to school in the first grade. She is a restavek (slave) child. Her mother's name is Vita Eneus and father's name is Jean Robert Dorcena. Berloune is living with her Godmother. She is treated like a slave. She works hard, she wakes up in the morning at 5:00 am, washes the dishes, scrubs the floor, and fetches ten buckets of water every day. Her mother was also a restavek. Berloune loves school but says she is very unlucky. She doesn't have the chance to go to school. Her parents aren't alive and she doesn't have any family living nearby. Her mother, Vita, is living with her sister at Delmas 2 (also in Port-au-Prince), and has three children. She doesn't do anything to make a living.

How the partnership will function

General economic situation Berloune

How to participate

Everyone drinks dirty water because there is no pure water available. The water comes from far away: In the village of the Cite Soleil you have to walk one hour to get water. Education system and opportunities The closest school is Action Chretian School for Children. There are no schools for parents, so the parents don't think about going to study. Health care situation There is a public clinic and it's very far, about two kilometers. You can go on foot and the visit cost $10 Haitian dollars (US $1.50) to do a check. Legal and political

Summary

Melissa is a six year old girl living in one of the poorest slums in the Western Hemisphere. She does not go to school. Her family can

Background

Melissa was born in Cite Soleil, Port-au-Prince, one of the poorest slums in Haiti. She's six years old. She is living with her mother, and her father is dead. She stopped going to school last year. Her mother's name is Guerline Charles. Guerline has three children, but she doesn't have money to take care of them. Melissa likes to go to school. She wants to finish high school at 18 years old.

How the partnership will function

Living conditions General economic situation Melissa

How to participate

Summary

Seliane is fifteen years old, and does not go to school. She has little to eat, and an unsafe place to live. Her mother is dead, she does not see her father, and she has few opportunities.

Background

Seliane Lestin was born in Cite Soleil 4. She is fifteen years old. Her mother has been dead for eleven years. Seliane is living with her grand sister. She says,

How the partnership will function

How to participate

Summary

Marlene Cherie is 36 years old, the mother of 11 children and a widow. Since her husband died her family is miserable.

Background

Marlene was born in Port Salut. She is 36 years old. She gave birth to 11 children but 9 of them alive. There are the names of the living ones above. Miland Benoit is 25 years old. She is in second grade school, and she's been stopped going to school for 2 years ago. Julaine Benoit is 12 years old. She should be in 3rd grade. Fayimi Benoit is 8 years old. she should be in 1st grade. givenson Benoit is 4 years old. Not yet going to school. Snider Benoit is 6 years old. 1st grade school. Onelove Benoit is 5 years old. Not yet going to school. Mislove Benoit is 3 years old. Not yet going to school. Rishenadine Benoit is 2 years old. Not yet going to school. Now none of them are going to school, because their father died mother, Marlene does not have money to send them.

How the partnership will function

Marlene Cherie is 36 years old, the mother of 11 children. She was born in Port Salut and is 36 years old. She has been living in Cite Soleil for 12 years. She the one to provide for the children, because her husband passed away a year ago. Even since, she has been living a miserable life. She says,

How to participate

There is a cistern of water nearby, but I don't find water everyday in it. When there is water, I can buy a bucket for 3 gourdes [9 cents US]. When there is no water in the cistern, I can buy a bucket for 7 gourdes. There is a hospital,

Summary

Italene Sainfils is 13 years old, and lives in a very poor part of a slum in Haiti, without her parents. She would be in the 2nd grade, but hasn

Background

She was born in Peredo (in the south of Haiti, near Jacmel). Her mother

How the partnership will function

ECONOMIC SITUATION

How to participate

COMMUNITY INFORMATION In a zone like Cite Feguier, we drink any kind of water because drinking water is not easy to find and it is expensive. There is a cistern over here about 20 minutes walking. A bucket cost 7 gourde. EDUCATION SYSTEM AND OPPORTUNITIES There are two schools nearby.

Summary

Dapheca is 7 years old. She was born Port au Prince, and lives in one of its poorest slums. She stopped going to school in 2006.

Background

Dapheca is talking:

How the partnership will function

GENERAL ECONOMIC SITUATION Mother Ifania is talking.

How to participate

COMMUNITY INFORMATION Mother Ifania.

Summary

"When it rains, filthy water and garbage fill our room. The house is leaking. There are a lot of big rats and mosquitoes. My children and I are sick. We caught cold, we have headache, and fever. Almost all of the people in the neighborhood are sick. I think it is because of the bad smell of the ravine, the dust, and the garbage in the ravine. We eat once a day and three or four days a week."

Background

Casimir Marie Mika was born in June, 1977, in Jeremie, Haiti. She is 31 years old. She

How the partnership will function

How to participate

Summary

Natasha is a courageous but terribly poor mother of three. Her children are forced to sleep on the dirt floor.

Background

Natasha Michel was born Cayes south of Haiti. She is 24 years old. She has been living in Cite Soleil for 6 years ago. She has three children, two boys and one girl. The names are below: Jameson Pierre. He is 8 years old. Erickson Pierre. He is 5 years old. Vanessa Anevil. She is 9 months.

How the partnership will function

Natasha says,

How to participate

"In my locality, there is only one public cistern of water, for the whole population. But in other places they install running water, where everyone can buy water easier. They are giving the water for one week, and sometimes, it comes one day a week. I still pay 5 gourdes (US 15 cents) for a bucket of water, and I am using 4 buckets a day. When I am washing my clothes, I use 5 buckets every Saturday. When the public water is not coming, I buy a bucket for 7 gourdes in a private tank. The water which is from in the private tank is not safe to drink. But I obliged to use it even so I know it is not good for my health. There is a school close. Children don

Summary

"I am a peacemaker. I love to smile. But I have headaches all the time, because during the political upheaval in Cite Soleil, a bad boy beat me severely

Background

Desir Roseline says,

How the partnership will function

Roseline Desir says:

How to participate

I buy a bucket of water for 5 gourdes [US 72 cents] from a basin nearby, but the water is not drinking water. We use this water for one day. Because, the next day, we find worms in it. Probably it