House of Hope
Ecumenical Committee for Peace and Justice (COPJ) The Ecumenical Committee for Peace and Justice (COPJ) is a non-profit, ecumenical, Christian committee that sponsors the House of Hope in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. House of Hope is a program for children laboring as domestic servants (“restaveks”), and also assists young moms, single girls, and elderly women who have been abandoned, by providing them with a safe place where they can learn social skills such as conflict resolution and a professional trade. House of Hope also has a broader program to promote peaceful resolution of conflict within the community through leadership development for community leaders and former gang members. Since 2007, COPJ had been operating House of Hope I in the area of Carrefour-Feuilles and House of Hope II in Lasaline, two shanty communities of extreme poverty within Port-au-Prince. Many children of these communities are subject to a modern form of slavery and live in constant danger and threat of rampant violence. Impoverished girls go into prostitution or domestic slavery; impoverished boys beg and steal; youth give in to violence and hostage-taking to garner money on which to live. COPJ believes that the grave economic and social circumstances of these communities necessitate the urgency of immediate intervention to assist these children through actions such as the work of House of Hope. In the weeks after the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, House of Hope was in emergency mode. The primary focus of their work was to provide meals to area children and families. They used temporary locations, providing food for up to 600 people daily, and also providing some recreation and singing for children. Former street gang members from Cité Soleil who had been part of the conflict transformation program were provided with rice to take home to their families. The buildings that House of Hope had been renting before the quake were very heavily damaged and could no longer be used. House of Hope was able to find a building which met their needs, had minimal damage, and would allow them to continue to serve people in the same area of Port-au-Prince. House of Hope moved from its emergency mode and back toward its regular programming as quickly as possible. While they wanted to see basic needs provided for, they did not want to foster a sense of dependence by continuing to provide community meals for too long. The House of Hope today addresses the needs of 200+ children and adolescents. Most of the children live in shantytowns within Port-au-Prince. While many economic resources have been provided by the international community to Haiti in its reconstruction, a great deal of these funds have not reached the shanty communities where many continue to live in hunger, misery, and inhuman conditions. Life in Haiti is marked by either opulence or poverty, where those who have the wealthy lifestyle are in the minority and control and utilize the poor. House of Hope endeavors to provide support and a means of escaping the dangers poor children face daily. One House of Hope method is to provide the means for children and adolescents to attend school. Courses also are offered to help them learn peaceful conflict resolution in the hope of giving them some tools for improving their lives. The program has 22 collaborators. They teach reading, writing, and faith development, as well as life-skills, and children’s rights. In an effort to provide income-generating skills, sewing, meal preparation, craft-making, folk dancing, and embroidery are offered. The program runs for a period of three years for adolescents, at which time it is hoped they have learned enough to continue on their own. The program also assists in the establishment of a sense of personal dignity in the participants, and offers faith and support, believing in the ability of each participant. Each of the activities is carefully monitored by the Administrative Council and is evaluated by the collaborators for productivity and development. Each collaborator shares the difficulties and challenges faced and reports on the progress of each child. In addition, a coordinator is assigned to each program area and is responsible for monitoring the collaborators, assuring compliance with the directives of the program. All report to COPJ on a monthly basis. The program relies on contributions from its partners in mission. Given the target audience, it does not receive any funds from the communities it serves. It is hoped that COPJ can receive the funds to continue ministries at House of Hope. Examples of how gifts to the House of Hope may be used:
To read how congregations and groups have raised money for House of Hope, click here: House of Hope Donor Story |
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