“I saw her working tirelessly almost every day on the road that I pass four or five times a day. Iris never had a chance to wave at me because she was always carrying something. I remember inviting her to our youth program once, but she said she was busy. I thought to myself that she was just giving me excuses. One day I found her really early on the road carrying a huge gallon of water that, unfortunately, she dropped and the plastic container cracked as it hit the rocks on the road. She started to cry uncontrollably. I offered her to let her borrow a bucket from my house and to take her home. She left the place running without saying a word. One day, out of the blue she came to visit me and she confided in me her situation. She lived in the house of her older sister’s husband. She had to do all types of chores around the house for food and a place to sleep. Despite all of this, Iris goes to school on Saturdays. She is trying to finish high school. From time to time, when her brother-in-law is upset, he threatens to kick her out of the house. He has left her without food for a few days when she doesn’t obey his commands or makes mistakes like breaking something. The streets are tough and they are especially ruthless if you are a young and female. Although no one talks about it, prostitution is very common at Vilaj Tramkil. This is how you make some money to survive. I feared the worst for these young women.”

Our idea of creating a home to rescue girls like Iris from abuse and slavery did not come out of nowhere. Fr. Hugo, describing how he met Iris, played a major role. He had been living and ministering in Haiti since 2016, and created the Sant Pastoral Pasyonis (SPP) as a place for reflection and action. He began a youth volunteer program called Little Stones. On Saturdays they would go into the local communities and spend the day helping.

“The deep vision of our project, Sant Pastoral Pasyonis, as our motto says (Anpil Menm Yon Sèl Kè/ Many hands only one heart) is to create community, in other words to enter into friendship with one another,” Father Hugo said. “In our small organization we know we may not be able to change Haiti or the world, but we can sure share friendship with another person and change their world or at best have them change ours.”

That is how he also met Lily -- another young women who had been living in restavek situation and needed a way out.

Lily* was kicked out of the house where she worked in exchange for food and a roof over her head. She had few options. Father Hugo met Lily through the Little Stones Program. He explains:

“I used to see her every morning carrying water on her head. Lily told me that her dream is to be a nurse. Later I learned that she became an orphan in her early teens. She lived with different families throughout the years. She worked in exchange for food and shelter. She also told me she sold and washed clothes in order to put herself through school. She was 21 when I met her and she was still trying to finish high school. One day, there was gossip going around Vilaj Trankil about Lily and that the wife of the family where she was staying decided to kick her out overnight.”

Fr. Hugo was able to get some friends to donate money so that he could rent a room for the girls. But since that was only a temporarily solution, he turned to Kids Connection Haiti to see if KCH could offer them a safe place and the means to finish high school and learn a trade.

And that’s exactly what we did. That was also exactly the moment we decided to do anything in our power to help young adults escape child slavery.

This is just two of the many stories Kids Connection Haiti has heard over the past ten years.

The newly opened girls’ house is the beginning of a new era. Whereas our other students live independently all around town, these most vulnerable young women now have a group home where they are safe, where they have access to running water, a kitchen, electricity, even internet and a spacious outdoor area for relaxing and reflecting. They will finish school and learn a trade. In their new community they are surrounded by mentors and friends to help them heal and become empowered. Ultimately, they will be able to create stable and peaceful futures for themselves.

Dear friend, we would like to invite to become part of their new network of people who care. Let them know they are not forgotten. Let them know they are valuable and they are loved. Please consider supporting our young women with a tax deductible year-end gift.

https://www.kidsconnectionhaiti.org/donation-page

Lily, Iris and Fr. Hugo – their stories