Child Literacy Program

Literacy and Basic Education for Haiti's Most Disadvantaged Children

It is almost impossible to get a good education in Haiti. For the poorest children it is very difficult to get any education at all. Of the world’s 104 poorest countries surveyed by Oxfam International in 1998, only three countries ranked lower than Haiti for the availability of basic education. Only about half of Haiti’s children ever attend school. Most who do never graduate from primary school; and only 38 of every thousand students complete high school.

Although education is technically compulsory, public schools are few and far between and terribly overcrowded, sometimes with over a hundred students in a single class. As a result, about 80% of all students attend private schools. Poor families will go without food or other necessities to pay tuition for a child to attend a school that is also often overcrowded and where the quality of education is usually quite poor. Still, the tuition and fees these schools charge put them out of reach for poorer families.

The children least likely to receive any education are those who have been sent away by their families to work as domestic servants in the homes of Haitian families that are somewhat better off. These children--called restavèks or stay with's--are often abused, neglected, and worked mercilessly. The families who exploit these children rarely give thought to their schooling. Although the treatment of restavèk children varies, many live in virtual slavery.

Through our Child Literacy Program, Beyond Borders provides some of Haiti's most vulnerable children with a solid basic education that is designed to help them improve their own lives and the life of their communities. 

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