Group holds children’s rights event in Haiti for World Children’s Day 

PORT-AU-PRINCE — About a dozen children gathered in a festive, relaxing atmosphere at The Maurice Sixto Foundation  (FMAS) last week for lively, educational activities to observe World Children’s Day. The event aimed to entertain, educate and acquaint children with their fundamental rights, particularly those safeguarding a nurturing and supportive environment.

“Wherever there are children, there are 52 articles of the United Nations Convention that guarantee their rights,” said Gertrude Cousseillant Séjour, director of the FMAS. 

During the Nov. 25 gathering in Pétion-Ville, held five days after the global event due to bad weather in Haiti, the children engaged in various activities focused on learning, including sessions on creating cartoons. They took part in a storytelling session led by author Stephania Dugazon, whose story, “Caramelle,” aims to instill hope in children, particularly those in domestic service.

“We gather on World Children’s Day to share Caramelle’s story, which inspires us to believe in achieving our dreams and reaffirms our right to education regardless of our social background,” Dugazon said to the attentive children.

FMAS event aligned with this year’s World Children’s Day theme, ‘Pour chaque enfant, tous ses droits’ –  “For every child, all their rights.” The day is commemorated on November 20 every year since 1989, when the United Nations adopted it. 

Cultural giant saw Haitian children’s plight

Named after the Haitian cultural icon Maurice Alfredo Sixto, FMAS advocates for the rights of children, particularly those in domestic service. Sixto, a Gonaïves native, was a pioneer of a Haitian oral literary genre known as “lodyans.” He was a radio host, translator and literature professor who became blind in 1969. 

While teaching in Africa, he got the idea to create audiences on the realities of the daily life of Haitians. Among his works is “Ti Sentaniz,” a show about a child in domestic service, a restavek, deprived of all fundamental rights. The famous satire left a deep impact on society, and inspired Dugazon’s tale. 

Sixto died in New York in a fire on May 12, 1984.

The organization carrying his name deemed it necessary to raise awareness of children’s rights as Haiti’s conditions deteriorate with increased gang violence. The UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that over half of the people displaced in Haiti this month, about 72,000, were children. Many children have died or been killed as a result of gang activities, which impact families day and night. Thousands sleep in the open air alongside relatives or are unable to attend school. 

Orgs pledges to protect Haitian children

During a two-day visit to Haiti on Nov. 20 and 21, Dennis Francis, the President of the UN General Assembly, urged the international community to secure a safe environment for children.

“As the international community, we must ensure that these children continue to have secure access to education, as it will pave the way for a better future for Haiti,” Francis wrote on X. “Children and youth are paying the highest price from the impact of increasing gang violence in Haiti.”

Organizations like the FMAS vow to protect and defend children’s rights, providing moments of leisure to help alleviate the weight of the country’s crises. One, Organisation des Cœurs pour le Changement des Enfants Démunis d’Haïti (OCCED’H), echoed similar sentiments on Nov. 20. 

“It is by investing in our children that we invest in the future of our nation,” said Chrislie Luca, the president of OCCEDH. “We call on the authorities to take concrete measures to create a more just and equitable society, where every child has the opportunity to realize their potential and contribute positively to the development of the country.”

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