{"id":1298,"date":"2026-01-03T20:23:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T20:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1298"},"modified":"2026-01-17T21:07:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T21:07:44","slug":"do-not-give-up-on-children-displaced-by-violence-a-haitian-girl-finds-hope-at-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1298","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Do Not Give Up on Children\u2019: Displaced by Violence, a Haitian Girl Finds Hope at School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Forced to flee her home due to gang violence in Haiti\u2019s capital, <strong>13-year-old Dieussika<\/strong> has a simple but powerful message for adults and leaders: <strong>\u201cDo not give up on children.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dieussika was living peacefully with her family in <strong>Port-au-Prince<\/strong> when escalating insecurity forced them to flee. During the chaos, her sister nearly died after suffering a severe asthma attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cWe had to leave our home,\u201d she said. \u201cBut despite everything, I wanted to continue going to school.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A country in crisis<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Haiti remains gripped by a severe security crisis, with armed gangs battling for territorial control across the capital and beyond. The violence has displaced <strong>hundreds of thousands of people<\/strong>, worsening an already fragile humanitarian and economic situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For children, the impact has been devastating. During the <strong>2024\u20132025 school year<\/strong>, more than <strong>1,600 schools<\/strong> were closed, while dozens were damaged or occupied by armed groups. In displacement sites and overcrowded shelters, children often lack <strong>textbooks, learning materials, and trained teachers<\/strong>, making education nearly impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Life in displacement<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Dieussika and her family moved between multiple temporary shelters, facing poor sanitation, insects, and illness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThere are diseases and insects that bite,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I still wanted to go to school.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>At one displacement site, she was finally able to resume learning through <strong>catch-up classes organised by the United Nations Children&#8217;s Fund (UNICEF)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One night, heavy rain soaked her belongings, destroying her books and clothes. Dieussika spent the entire night drying them\u2014determined not to miss school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cSchool means so much to me. Without education, my dream would be lost.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>School as a lifeline<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>With five months of accelerated learning supported by <strong>Education Cannot Wait<\/strong>, the UN\u2019s global fund for education in emergencies, Dieussika was able to sit for her exams and return to formal schooling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alongside academic lessons, she also received <strong>vocational training<\/strong> in crochet, leatherwork, and cosmetology\u2014skills that helped rebuild her confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cI had lost hope,\u201d she said. \u201cBut these classes gave me confidence again.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Her favourite subjects are <strong>French and mathematics<\/strong>, and she says she feels proud each time she brings good grades home to her parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Dreams rebuilt through learning<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now back in school, Dieussika actively participates in class and dreams of becoming someone who can <strong>help children and raise awareness about rejecting armed violence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cWithout school, we cannot achieve our dreams,\u201d she said. \u201cI want to become someone important to help people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Her message to decision-makers is heartfelt and direct:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>\u201cDo not give up on children. Love them even more and give them opportunities to learn and dream.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Education under threat\u2014but hope remains<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Across Haiti, many adolescent girls drop out of school due to <strong>safety risks, caregiving responsibilities, or lack of menstrual hygiene supplies<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite these challenges, UN agencies and partners, working with Haitian authorities, have provided <strong>educational and psychosocial support to more than 17,500 children<\/strong>, including <strong>10,500 girls<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Dieussika\u2014and thousands like her\u2014education is more than learning. It is <strong>protection, hope, and a pathway out of fear<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Forced to flee her home due to gang violence in Haiti\u2019s capital, 13-year-old Dieussika has a simple but powerful message for adults and leaders: \u201cDo not give up on children.\u201d Dieussika was living peacefully with her family in Port-au-Prince when escalating insecurity forced them to flee. During the chaos, her sister nearly died after suffering [&hellip;]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1296,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-topics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Do Not Give Up on Children\u2019: Displaced by Violence, a Haitian Girl Finds Hope at School - Brussels for Human Rights and development<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1298\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Do Not Give Up on Children\u2019: Displaced by Violence, a Haitian Girl Finds Hope at School - Brussels for Human Rights and development\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Forced to flee her home due to gang violence in Haiti\u2019s capital, 13-year-old Dieussika has a simple but powerful message for adults and leaders: \u201cDo not give up on children.\u201d Dieussika was living peacefully with her family in Port-au-Prince when escalating insecurity forced them to flee. 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