Crossing the border to go to school
	A UNESCO project helps fight exclusion of Haitian children in Dominican schools

Carrizal School is located in the Dominican Republic just a few hundred meters from the border with Haiti. 70 per cent of the students are of Haitian descent, either refugees or children who must cross the border each day to go to school. In addition to high rates of unemployment, illiteracy and malnutrition, many suffer discrimination within this community because they are Haitians living in the Dominican Republic. Linguistic and cultural differences between Haitians and Dominicans also create problems at school. Haitians speak French and many of the children struggle with Spanish, which is the official language of the Dominican Republic, and thus the language of instruction at the school. Dominican parents are not always tolerant of these students. One Dominican mother complains, “My children go to school and then come home speaking like Haitians,” she says. UNESCO has taken action to create greater tolerance within the two communities. Carrizal and five other schools in the region are taking part in the UNESCO project, “Children affected by Armed Conflict in Haiti: Assuring their Right to Education, Non-Discrimination and Participation in the Dominican Republic”, a two-year $200,000 project run by UNESCO’s regional office for education in Santiago. The project is funded by the extra-budgetary Programme for the Education of Children in Need, which has collected $29 million to support 292 human rights projects in eighty-five countries since 1992. Close and yet so different The project started in 2004 by identifying the problems that Haitian children faced. The first step was to send a technical support person to each school to organize teams consisting of principals, teachers, parents and community members that could diagnose the schools. The members of the teams were helped by a guidebook containing best practices from inclusive schools in countries throughout the world. Based on an initial diagnosis, activities were implemented in the six participating schools. “Parents and teachers meet regularly with members of the technical team,” says Yuki Takemoto of UNESCO Kingston, “In this setting, parents feel free to express their concerns.” The meetings and capacity-building sessions have led to tangible results. Several workshops were organized and participants were exposed to the concept of “attention to diversity and development of inclusive schools.” There is increased communication between schools and communities and Parents’ Associations are now active in each school. UNESCO also helped out with practical matters as needed. Infrastructure improvements were made in certain schools, such as the purchase of new furniture. In others, textbooks and materials for recreational purposes have been delivered. In one school, capacity-building activities targeting rural women were developed at the request of parents. In another school, an adult literacy programme was formed. “The project is successful because of the personal relationships that are formed,” says Françoise Pinzon-Gil, coordinator of the Programme for the Education of Children in Need. “The collaboration of local authorities is also key,” she adds. Including everyone Originally, the project was envisioned to benefit Haitian children. But it soon became clear that the myriad of factors present in the communities required that a more comprehensive approach be taken. The project was reconceptualized so that the rights of all children were recognized. “This means certainly the Haitian children, but also children with physical and mental disabilities,” says Takemoto. UNESCO is working to raise awareness among teachers and community about the importance of inclusion in education. “Inclusive approaches in education mean that we have to change school systems – administrators, teachers, parents and students to meet the needs of all learners,” says Roselyn Wabuge-Mwangi of UNESCO Paris. “We must recognize that providing education to all children regardless of their difference is no longer an issue of simple charity, but a matter of ensuring their rights,” she adds. In the Dominican Republic the first step is to secure that every child is integrated without discrimination. Contact: Françoise Pinzon-Gil, UNESCO Paris E-mail: f.pinzon-gil@unesco.org One island, two countries Haiti and the Dominican Republic both lie on the island of Hispaniola. But while the Dominican Republic is a middle-income country, Haiti is one of the world’s poorest countries (80 per cent of the population lives below the absolute poverty threshold of $150 per year). Dominican Republic Total Population: 8.6 million Life expectancy at birth: 67 Adult literacy rate: 88% Youth literacy rate: 94% --------------------------------- Haiti Total Population: 8.2 million Life expectancy at birth: 50 Adult literacy rate: 52% Youth literacy rate: 66%