IBBY-Yamada 2023: Haiti

Reading programmes for displaced children

In the last three years, Haiti has endured the worst case of gang violence the country in its history. Constant fights among rival gangs terrorize the population and often lead to the obstructions of roads and the sequestration of whole neighbourhoods. In many cases, children cannot attend school.
The programme was designed to offer reading activities to children who, as a result of the violence, have been displaced to camps and orphanages, or sometimes just to parks. IBBY Haiti (AyBBY) trained and appointed monitors to bring books to relocated children and offer bibliotherapy activities. The schools accepting children from fled areas also received books specially selected for the bibliotherapy sessions.
Over a thousand children aged 3–15 living in the area of Port au Prince and Plaine du Nord, in the Northern end of the island, received bibliotherapy workshops. The long-term benefits are also important—through the training of 20 educators in bibliotherapy, Ayibby has been able to secure partnerships with a dozen of schools and orphanages across the country, paving the way for future actions.

^{Keywords: Reading promotion; Storytelling; Target audience: children - refugees}