Shoes for Haitian Girls

In our last update, we shared stories of survival from young girls who attend KOFAVIV’s Saturday workshops. Every Saturday, Espas Timoun (Children’s Space) continues to host day-long workshops for young women between the ages of 15 and 22, many of whom are survivors of sexual violence. At the workshops, the girls continue to receive trauma counseling and engage in rehabilitation activities.

The KOFAVIV Center is open to the young girls six days a week and has become a haven where they can socialize, speak with peer educators and build their self-esteem as well as develop new interests, friendships and marketable skills. The program provides the girls with a hot meal and a stipend to cover their transportation to and from the Center. The girls also have access to the Center’s nurse and are accompanied to a health center when they need medical attention. More importantly, in addition to the immediate help provided through the workshop, the girls build friendships and support systems with each other that keep them pushing forward.

Every third Saturday of the month, the girls, divided into four groups of seven or eight, take part in counseling sessions with KOFAVIV’s in-house therapist. These sessions are crucial in helping the girls deal with the traumatic experiences they’ve faced, build back their self-esteem and trust in others, and most importantly, heal. In addition to sharing their stories, the girls engage in trust exercises like the one pictured here so that they can learn to lean on each other for support. The exercises remind the girls that they are not alone. With the help of KOFAVIV and each other they are reminded that there is hope—that they can change their lives for the better.

Thank you for supporting this crucial work!