Project Launch:

The Dominican Republic has a long history of allowing Haitians who are willing to work in the sugar cane industry to cross the border between the two countries; however, the benefits Haitians receive and the rights they are afforded once they settle in bateyes, communities originally founded to provide residence for sugar cane workers, are very limited. Most children born in the bateyes have limited access to education and resources, and a remarkably high number of them remain undocumented, or without any rights to citizenship, primarily because of a lack of knowledge and understanding of the legal process, fear of talking with government officials, and fees that are prohibitive. This project is designed to educate batey residents about their rights and how to access the services that they’re entitled. The project builds on the successful implementation of a World Connect project from 2012 that succeeded in putting 15 individuals on the path to documentation. This time around, the goal is to not only document a minimum of 80 children, but to establish a sustainable network of documentation promoters working actively in 10 different batey communities.

 

Project Update:

Community members are actively participating in Declaro Mis Derechos (I Declare My Rights), a community promoter-training course focused on human rights and documentation. The course consists of two three-day conferences and a series of follow-up activities and homework assignments. The trainees are required to conduct community diagnostics surveying the document status of families in their respective communities, and facilitate community talks and other tasks that engage both youth and adults of the region. Currently, the trainees have completed the first conference and are finalizing preparations for the second and last conference.

 

Testimonials

“I feel very good participating in the course because I like to help others and give back to my community. I also have the opportunity to meet people from other communities and get to know them “ – José, Project Participant
“This project is very important because many people are not documented and cannot advance themselves in life. They don’t know anything about the process. I have completed all the necessary tasks for the course so far because I like to work for the benefit of my community. I know that to make a big change I will have to start small.” – Andrea, Project Participant