Restavek Freedom

Restavek Freedom are advocates, community leaders, reporters, volunteers, students and parents. Most of all, they are people that love Haiti. Restavek Freedom was founded in 2007 and they now have over 30 employees in two main locations in Haiti – Port-au-Prince and South Haiti – and a small support staff in the US in Cincinnati, Ohio. Their mission is simple: They plan to end child slavery in Haiti in their lifetimes. Every action they take — whether it be caring for restavek children, conversing with families about the harsh realities of the practice, or spurring community leaders to effect permanent change — is done with this goal in mind. You can’t end child slavery in the future unless you’re working on behalf of child slaves in the present. That’s why they've instituted programs to ADVOCATE on the behalf of restavek children. Change in action requires change in attitudes. And changes in attitudes take time. With that in mind, they're devoted to engaging with cultural norms that contribute to restavek, exerting INFLUENCE over the way the practice is viewed. Influence and advocacy can only go so far. Real change requires action. It requires courage and determination, a willingness to MOBILIZE for justice. It requires the government to pass laws and officers to enforce them. It requires religious and community leaders to stand up for justice, building a Haiti in which the word restavek is obsolete. That’s the Haiti they’re working toward.