country programs
About Youth Crime Watch of Haiti
Haiti's Youth Crime Watch program (Jeunes Contra la Criminalité - JCC) helps schools and communities start and sustain their YCW programs. Services include:
- Background information about Youth Crime Watch
- YCW awareness presentations
- YCW implementation training for your site
- Technical assistance getting your site started
- Technical assistance once your site is up and running
If you are in Haiti and are interested in Youth Crime Watch, please contact the address at the right.
News from Haiti
June 2010: YCWA CEO visits Haiti
Youth Crime Watch of America CEO Chris DiCarlo had the opportunity to visit with the tremendous young adults and youth leaders associated with the YCW program in Haiti. Upon his return DiCarlo was quoted “clearly there is a need for YCW in Haiti and I will do everything in my power to help it move forward” and immediately announced the awarding of a grant that will assist the group to participate in United Nations sponsored meetings and will allow YCW to work with leading NGOs like the Red Cross, CARE and UNICEF.
Active in the tent cities that have sprang up due to the destruction caused by the devastating earthquake in January, the YCW program assists youth with associated trauma and helps them think positively about the future. It brings music, artistic and sports programs to those who lost the homes and families.
Above all the YCW program has the power to combat a prevailing problem in the developing world – “brain drain”. Brain drain is common in Africa, Asia and South America, where many of the brightest and talented young stars of a particular country often leave home for greater opportunity in North America and Europe. YCW engages these talent youth, challenging them by giving them the opportunity to make a difference in their home community. YCW Haiti members like rising musical star Piery Gerbier or popular artists like Jerry Rosembert now will stay in Haiti to help rebuild their capital city.
YCWA wishes all of Haiti all the best as they move forward.
March 2010: In wake of earthquake the rains come
Marjorie Dumornay of the YCW program in Haiti reports that many of their young members in the Port-au-Prince area have been forced to relocate to be closer to schools. The rains have come, turning the earthquake rubble to mud and making conditions in the makeshift camps very difficult. YCW members have been active in reaching out to youth in the camps where the temptation to reach for drink and drugs is so strong. Scarcity of supplies, compounded with lack of effective shelter, has driven many to resettle but the urge to remain with one's displaced neighbors remains strong. YCW Haiti is confident that the power of youth can help to rebuild this island.
We will keep you posted.
January 2010:
Haiti Devastated by Earthquake, Struggles to Rise from the Rubble
Marjorie Dumornay, leader of Youth Crime Watch /Jeunes Contre la Criminalité of Haiti, has succeeded in making contact with friends in the YCW network across the globe. Offers of help and support came in from sister programs such as those in Jamaica, Brazil and the US. Haiti's international liaison, Daphnee Bertrand, based in New York state, is actively in touch with the program as well and has been instrumental in maintaining contact.
I want to help
We encourage everyone to contribute to established relief funds helping survivors of the earthquake in Haiti. An official and reliable register of relief funds is maintained by the Center for International Disaster Information. Please visit their website to learn how you can help.
Marjorie's home was completely destroyed in the quake but she and her family all survived and are living in a nearby park with friends and neighbors. The community there has really come together and Marjorie reports that neighbors share meals and other essentials and try their best to help one another. On the other hand, she sees the desperation in the camps, where the erratic distribution of inadequate relief sometimes just exacerbates the suffering - forcing survivors to fight amongst themselves just for a drink of water. Banks are still closed. Internet and phone lines are overloaded. Yet YCW members have begun to come together, as they have in past disasters in this tiny island nation, to be a force for good.
"With life there is always hope," reads Dumornay's email, "Life is restarting in Haiti even [though] many people are trying to leave the country... We're still there, keeping fighting." She reports that YCW members have been striving to get in touch with others and that many youth, particularly those in the hard-hit Cite Soleil, have sought help and support. The need is great; for food, for medicine and medical treatment, for water, clothes, and shelter. People are pitted against one another for the desperately inadequate relief supplies being distributed in camps and communities. Marjorie implores international aid organizations to respect the dignity of survivors, to avoid situations which set them against each other. She also points out that relief workers must attempt to help those in the greatest need first.
"Our motto for all our youth is: Haitians have to rebuild Haiti, because Haiti is for Haitians," she says, "Even though people around the world are sympathizing, no one will stay or come to Haiti if it's not safe. But Haitians will still have to stay there to live or die. Sharing is what we're trying to teach now.... We're not going to punch or kick our brothers and sisters for help."
Haiti's YCW group has resolved to help all that they can. They plan to contribute to support the captain of the team that won their last Domino Tournament at Cité Soleil and hope that others will be able to find help as well. The group mourns the loss of Victoria, "not only a partner, but also a friend, mother, and sister for all the young people in Cité Soleil, she changed their lives... just by trusting." Group members continue to act in the community to encourage youth to come together in this time of need.
Our thoughts and prayers are with them.
December 2009:
Dominoes tournament cements youth-police bonds
In a follow-up to the Cité Soleil conflict resolution training organized by Youth Crime Watch of Hait, police and young people in that troubled neighborhood met for a series of cooperative events culminating in a dominoes tournament. The tournament was made possible with the help of the U.S. Embassy in Port Au Prince. There is a full story on the embassy website. "Embassy supported dominoes tournament..."
October 2009:
Youth and police from Cité Soleil brought together to reduce violence
For two days, October 22 and 23 (Thursday and Friday) 45 youth and 10 Police officers from Cité Soleil met on neutral ground for an intensive conflict resolution training organized by the Youth Crime Watch Haiti/ Jeunes contre violence et Criminalité.
The event was part of the implementation of the YCWH Programme for the Reduction of Violence in the Cities.
The training allowed Youth Crime Watch Haiti to initiate a constructive dialogue between Youth and Police in the area of Cité Soleil. We would like to thank the Public Affairs of the US Embassy, the West Departemental Direction of the HNPF and the Sous Commissariat of Cité Soleil for their true collaboration. Special thanks to the youth of Cité Soleil. Even though most of them were afraid about meeting face to face with the Police officers, they agreed to attend the training after having understood that dialogue is the key of any process of safer community building.
The training was held at the Youth Crime watch Haiti conference room. Strategically we did not want to have that first meeting in Cité Soleil, due to all problems Police and youth are facing there. We offered another place for this first dialogue, to avoid any stress and nervousness. We thank all Youth Crime Watch members who came to support the initiative and help out!
Youth Crime Watch Haiti is really proud of its accomplishments and is pleased to share this report documenting in detail the themes developed over the course of the 2-day training as well as the different ideas exchanged by both stakeholders: Police officers and civil youths.
- Read the detailed report! Violence Reduction in Urban Area / Cité Soleil Pilot Project for Police-Youth Dialogue
The following events are planned for November:
November 19, 2009 (Thursday): Certification ceremony.- Place: Commissariat de Cité Soleil; Time: 9 h 30 a.m to 11 h 00 a.m
November 18, 2009 (Wednesday): Help out Day: Clean up in the area of the Commissariat de Cité Soleil, from 7 to 12.
November 19 - 20, 2009 (Thursday - Friday): Opened door at the “Commissariat de Cité Soleil”, from 9 a.m to 12. Youths and Police officers who attended the Conflict resolution training will explain to the other Police officers, Youths and children from Cite Soleil, the Youth and Police dialogue and its importance in building safer communities.
November 20 - 22, 2009 (Friday - Sunday): Domino Tournament: Place Fierte, in front of the Commissariat of Cité Soleil.
August 2009: Haiti Youth Crime Watch enters partnership with educational group, sets up new headquarters
Youth Crime Watch of Haiti has entered a partnership with a non-profit organization called OREI, (Organization for the Strenghtening of Instruction and Education) which works to overcome inequalities in the Haitian educational system. The partnership owes much to Mr. Claude Deschamps, a Haitian Entrepreneur who is deeply involved in the cause of education and supporting youth and children in Haiti.
Public schools are generally overcrowded and face many barriers to quality education, including day-to-day violence, teacher lock-outs, and interschool fighting. Private schools are outpriced for the majority of students, OREI helps the community and public schools by providing continued training to the teachers and logistic supports to create a safer place for the students. In partnership with Youth Crime Watch Haiti/Jeunes contre Violence et Crimalité, OREI has included conflict resolution and mediation as well as citizenship education in its curriculum. For the coming academic year Youth Crime Watch sites will be hosted by the schools supported by OREI.
Please take note that Youth Crime Watch of Haiti is now in new offices at:
Youth Crime Watch of Haiti
Delmas 71
Etage Complexe Lafayette
Port-au-Prince
Haiti
August 2009: A busy summer for YCW in Haiti
Jeunes Contre la Criminalite in Haiti has laid out a busy summer for the children it serves, combining fun and learning to promote crime prevention. There will be a series of movie nights using popular movies as a basis for considering problems of crime and responsibility. This one kicks of with Spiderman and a discussion of the central theme of the movie, "With great power, comes great responsibility." The movies program will be a welcome diversion for many children (and adults). The group also planned a domino tournament putting together police and children from dangerous areas of Port-au-Prince. Also planned was a new program on youth and the cities (Jeunes et villes) for International Youth Day on August 12.
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