Lidè

PROJECT TYPE:
social justice; art & social change; human rights; women’s rights

PARTNERS:
Lidè; Mona Foundation

VISION:
art-based education as a path to creative self-expression, empowerment, and resilience for the young women of Haiti

MOTTI:
“Tell your story—write it, paint it, photograph it, act it!”

Photo Credits: Lidè

Why Haiti? Why Girls?

Haiti is the poorest country in the Americas and one of the poorest in the world. Over half of its population of 10 million lives on less than US$1 per day; 80% live on less than US$2. And typically, it is Haitian women who struggle the most.

These women work hard—really hard—cooking, cleaning, raising families, washing clothes, and working the streets and markets to sell their goods day after day.

For many of these bright, beautiful women, surviving is all consuming, education an unimaginable luxury. In part, these harsh realities explain why over half a million Haitian children are not in school. Yet, sadly studies show that educating girls can break cycles of poverty in just one generation. Consider:

A girl has a one in four chance of being born into poverty.
School is not free in over 50 countries.
14 million girls under 18 will be married this year; 38 thousand today; 13 girls in the last 30 seconds.
Girls with eight years of education are four times less likely to be married as children.
A child born to a literate mother is 50% more likely to survive past the age of 5.
Educated mothers are more than twice as likely to send their children to school.
A girl with an extra year of education can earn 20% more as an adult.
If India enrolled 1% more girls in secondary school, their GDP would rise by $5.5 billion.

Enter Lidè… Catalyzing Leaders in Haiti

Haiti’s 2010 earthquake killed an estimated 300,000 people and displaced 1.5 million in a matter of seconds. Travelling to Haiti shortly after the earthquake was a life-changing experience for actor Rainn Wilson and author Holiday Reinhorn. Feeling the devastation first-hand, inspired a deep commitment to make a difference; to do something to stop the suffering, even if that something was small. What Holiday and Rainn dreamed up was far from small—and is still growing.

Lidè was born out of their personal knowledge of the healing power of art and a vision for tapping into the force of the expressive arts to empower at-risk girls and young women, and create leaders and community in the process. Lidè is an educational initiative that partners with “schools and organizations in Haiti to develop programs that offer girls the chance to learn photography/film, creative writing, fine art, and drama, and then apply these skills to ways that advance self-understanding and self-worth.”

The Power of Lidè: A Story from the Classroom

Lidè’s in-country director Kathyrn Adams confides that she is often asked, “Why is Lidè doing this work?” and “Why just girls?” Sharing this, she quickly adds, “And today demonstrated yet another reason why we are here and why girls.”

The story she goes on to tell conveys the full importance and power of Lidè in a world where far too many girls are neglected and abused—their unique power and potential lost forever.

“Today,” Kathryn says, “Jieunie joined the group for the first time. She is the height and weight of a ten-year-old, but is in fact more likely fourteen or fifteen. Kathryn tells us, “I had to estimate Jieunie’s age, not because I didn’t ask, but because she doesn’t know her age…none of the girls do.”

Kathryn goes on to describe Jieunie bright-yellow shirt, her clean white skirt, a smile so wide it seems to stretch from ear-to-ear. “A smile we sadly rarely see,” she adds.

She tells us how in the intake interview, Jieunie was asked where she lives. She didn’t know. Abel, the Lidè teacher who invited Jieunie to the program, informs Kathryn that Jieunie’s mom was 16 when she gave birth to her. About three years later, the mom left and Jieunie went to live with extended family; her father wanting nothing to do with her.

The family is large—11 people living in one shanty-like dwelling—and is a family of welders. Jieunie works hard for them—getting coal and keeping the fires burning while they work. Kathryn asked Abel if there was someone in the family who seemed to take care of her. He shook his head and said, “Not really. They feed her one meal a day and the uncle now sends her to school, but no, I have not seen love shown to her.”

One of the activities the girls engage in that day is designed to help them learn trust. A game called ”M’ ap tombe” (I am falling). The girls walk randomly about the small classroom. They are instructed to look in the eyes of everyone they pass. As the game unfolds, one of the girls unexpectedly shouts out, “M’ ap tombe” and falls backwards. The rest of the girls rush to catch her so she doesn’t fall.

Kathryn describes Jieunie cautiously walking with the other girls but on the outer-most edge of the circle, “like furthest planet in a solar system.” After watching girls fall and be caught, one by one, Jieunie almost inaudibly calls out, “M’ ap tombe” and falls backwards into the arms of the girls who race to catch her. Kathryn tells us how Jieuni laughed and smiled when caught and then began actively encouraging the girls who had not yet had the courage to fall to take the leap of faith. In the follow-up group discussion, Jieuni shared that she felt “trust today because all of the girls treated her like a friend.”

“So,” Kathryn says beaming, “we are here because Jieunie is here. Lidè is here because Jieunie and others like her need to know that people are here for them. They need to know they will be caught.”

For more information, click here.

Naturalia & The Northern Jaguar Project