Ecumenical Committee for Peace and Justice (COPJ)
Haiti

The Ecumenical Committee for Peace and Justice (COPJ) is a non-profit, ecumenical, Christian committee that sponsors House of Hope in the capital city of Port-au-Prince.  House of Hope is a program that benefits children laboring as domestic servants, assists young moms, single girls, and a few 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. To date House of Hope also has a broader program to promote peaceful resolution of conflict within the community through leadership development for community leaders.

House of Hope has started House of Hope II in the areas of Carrefour-Feuilles and Lasaline, two shanty communities of extreme poverty within Port-au-Prince.  Children of these communities are subject to a modern form of slavery and live in constant danger and threat of rampant violence.  It is believed that the grave economic and social circumstances of these communities necessitate the urgency of immediate intervention to assist these children. 

The project plans to address the needs of 236 children and adolescents of which 106 are from Carrefour-Feuilles, a shantytown of approximately 30,000 people southwest of the capital, and 130 from Lasaline and other shanties that house approximately 25,000 in central Port-au-Prince.  While many economic resources have been provided by the international community to Haiti, most of these funds have not reached the shanty communities where many lie in hunger, misery, and inhuman conditions.

Life in Haiti is marked by either opulence or poverty, where those who have the opulent lifestyle are in the minority and control and utilize the poor.  Impoverished girls go into prostitution or domestic slavery; impoverished boys beg and steal; youth give in to violence and hostage-taking to earn some living.  Each day erodes the hope and trust placed on governmental agencies.  House of Hope endeavors to make strides in the abolishment of slavery as well as to provide support and a means of escaping the dangers these children face daily.  One method is to provide means for 60 children and 30 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 currently has 22 collaborators; they work in teams of five per week with each of the groups.  They teach reading, writing, and faith development, as well as life-skills, and children's rights.  In an effort to provide income-producing skills, sewing, meal preparation, artisan crafts, 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 aids in the establishing of personal dignity and gives 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 that coordinator is responsible for monitoring the collaborators and 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 House of Hope I and develop House of Hope II.