Exploited

Although this story appears in our newsletter, I believe the subject to be too important to lock it in a temporary PDF document. It is being presented here so that a broader audience can understand the need and can join us in finding a solution.

This month's newsletter was truly difficult for me to write. I have just returned from a four-day research trip to Haiti. In addition to my role as the director of The GodMan ministry at Book of Hope, I am also responsible for directing the ministry work in Haiti. That includes both books and The GodMan. While this research trip was very productive, it was also very heartbreaking.

In my time in Haiti, I was able to interview government officials, school directors and staff, and church and community leaders. I also had an opportunity to talk with some schoolchildren about their life experiences. Some of the meetings were one-one-one with leading officials. The other meetings were focus groups with multiple participants. My goal was to identify the leading social issues affecting Haitian children and youth and to determine the significant heartfelt needs for these children and young people.

As the meetings progressed, a few themes began to emerge. Poverty in Haiti is extreme. This extreme poverty causes people to resort to desperate measures to satisfy their basic needs. In the face of this economic situation, a very desperate social situation coexists: children and youth in Haiti are sometimes seen more as property than as family. At a frequency too high to comprehend, parents are making a decision to give away or sell their children to other Haitian families. Their belief is that their children will have better opportunities to receive an education and a better life with families of greater means. However, in many cases, these children are simply exploited for free labor and then abandoned to the streets when they reach the age of 15. As a result, these young people are being turned into virtual slaves. They must live a life of forced service to others, denied the opportunity for education and skills training. They are living a life absent of any hope for their future.

As bad as this forced labor situation may be, its impact pales in comparison to the other reoccurring theme, the sexual exploitation of young girls. Government, school, and church leaders all repeated stories of how young girls are being forced to exchange their bodies for the smallest of financial or material gain. They described this as the most significant issue affecting youth in Haiti today. Some of these girls are slave labor outcasts. Once they turn 15, they have legal protection as workers; however, younger than 15 and there is no one protecting them. As a result, at the age of 15, those who were simply being exploited are forced to the streets with no other skills. Believing that there is no hope, these girls feel compelled to continue selling their young bodies. Then there were the stories of families who would force their young daughters to prostitute themselves or sell their daughters to pimps or brothels in order to bring in the money they needed to survive for another day.

My heart is breaking for these children. I had to fight back a mix of tears and anger as I listened to these stories and recalled the nearly 20 years that we poured love and hope into the lives of children. How could anyone treat a child in such a way? However, that raised the question; what could I do to address this problem? God has clearly called our family to bring the gospel message to the children and youth of Haiti and that is what we will do. We will ensure that our presentation of the gospel in Haiti touches the lives of these children and their families. Nevertheless, so much more is needed. God has specifically called someone to rescue these young girls from this desperation and to minister true love and hope to their parents. Please join us in prayer for Haiti. Pray that God’s specific call for laborers will be magnified a thousand times over so that the ones He is calling to Haiti will hear him today. Pray that those who hear His call will have the courage to respond immediately.