LIDE

In Gonaive, a city located in the Northern part of Haiti, lies the Lide Program. In Creol Lide means leader or idea.  Lide is a program that takes place after school for many girls who have never had the chance to even attend school.  Many of the girls who take part in Lide are country girls who come to the city of Gonaive to work domestically in a house. These girls are basically kept as slaves working for the family all hours of the day. Lide is an educational initiative using the arts to empower adolescent girls and create community.  Lide gives these girls a voice of their own that they never even knew was possible for themselves. Teaching programs at Lide are broken into themes like compassion, courage, and gratitude and are taught to the girls through various forms like photography, theatre, or writing.

The girls at Lide are the most susceptible girls in Gonaive. Currently there are 36 girls in the program that takes place on the grounds of a local Catholic School after school hours. Most of these girls wait outside of the school grounds from early on in the morning and wait all day for their program to start because it is the only safe place they know.  Lide also helps the girls gain the capacity to enter school at their age level since most schools in Haiti do not provide support to students who are behind. Lide gives the girls a sense of confidence and empowers them to be the agents of change in their own lives.