Child Development Program
by Bold Hope
Our child and youth sponsorship programs are created to meet the daily needs of community children, to provide necessary job and life skills to old...
Empowering Orphans & Families in Haiti.
Our child and youth sponsorship programs are created to meet the daily needs of community children, to provide necessary job and life skills to older youth, and to provide spiritual support to the children, youth and families of the community.
Child Development Program
A desire to keep families together and support the community bore the child development program, which is designed to provide a safe, developmentally appropriate environment for dozens of local children to learn and grow. Many of Haiti’s orphans are considered “economic orphans” – meaning they have at least one living parent, but that parent cannot afford to keep the child. Our program allows the parent to work while their kids are being cared for.
The first stage of the program will be childcare – providing an experience that promotes every child’s social, cognitive, emotional, physical, and spiritual development. Many of Haiti’s children are left unattended during the day and, as a result, are lacking in some areas of development; their parents do not have the time or resources to devote to them since their primary concern is being able to provide the basic necessities to sustain life. Children will be fed and cared for and, as the children grow, an education will be provided as well. We also plan to implement monthly home visits by our staff in order to foster involvement in the life of the entire family.
Youth Development Program
The Youth Development Program is housed in our Orphan & Family Care Center which is our most recent and largest project to date.
Understanding the ProblemMany young Haitian men find themselves without a job or a means of self-support. Orphanages will often release them by the age of 18. They have no marketable skills, no place to live and, often, no one to help them grow into responsible, mature adults. Ultimately, these young men will continue in a cycle of poverty and hopelessness unless provided a way to transition between orphanage care and independent living.
We believe that personal mentoring, job training, and basic education in business and general life skills can provide hope and a way to support oneself for young men between 16 and 24 years old. This is the foundation for our Youth Development Program. The program will support up to 24 young men—providing housing, meals, vocational skills training, English language instruction, education in basic business and personal finance, and, ultimately, a microfinance loan for them to start their own business and transition to a fully independent life. We will also provide mentorship and a support system designed to connect participants with their community for business networking opportunities and for opportunities to give back once they are more established.
Instruction areas might include the following:
- Small engine repair (for motorcycles/motorbikes)
- Barber skills
- Greenhouse (gardening/farming)
- Welding
- Sewing/tailoring
- Carpentry
- Computers
- Masonry
- Culinary
Young men accepted to the Youth Development Program will have the opportunity to live as part of the community for a period of between 1 and 6 years, depending on individual goals, personal growth and maturity, and their readiness for independent living and ability to provide for themselves and their family.
