Twelve-year old Roselyn's brightest moments come during the three hours per day she spends in a special school funded by Cross International. There, she finds friends and peers -- and has an escape from the harsh realities of her daily life.
That is because Roselyn is a restavek, a child domestic servant. Restavek children are common in southern Haiti and are often treated as slaves, kept from school and forced to do backbreaking work. When these children reach adulthood, they often run away or are "discarded" and become homeless. Without education, such restaveks would have few options for long-term survival, other than prostitution.
Cross International developed these flexible schools to give restavek children an education. Restaveks are typically not sent to school, so this is their only chance to become literate and receive training that will serve them later in life. The Christian care provided by the teachers is also a source of hope and unconditional love -- two things these children desperately crave.
The school provides them with the basic skills needed to find better work and to lead a more normal life. It is a ministry outreach that meets both material and spiritual needs. Please join us to give these children an education and break the cycle of servitude. Together we can give them hope and a future.
