Haiti

In January 2014 the Move Forward dance- and basketball program was launched in Kenscoff, a community on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Thanks to the crowd-funding campaign and a staff who was willing to work on a voluntary base, we were able to set up our first program. Move Forward partnered with the Haitian organization AJVPH and had the support of the staff of Worldwide Orphans Foundation (WWO).

The kick-off program ran 10 days from January 10th – 19th and was facilitated at EFACAP, a local public school. 100 Teenagers were recruited from 3 public schools by our local partner organization. The train-the-trainer sessions took place during the weekend of January 6th-9th, 2014. The Move Forward project consisted of 6 international MFH members, 5 local coaches, 25 local volunteers and 1 international filmmaker.

Goals and Objectives

The Goals and Objectives of the program included the following:

To provide the highest quality of training experience in dance and basketball.
To provide a program that is able to build positive self-esteem, learn life skills, and to make friends in a safe, disciplined and fun environment.
To promote an increased sense of resilience, hope, and confidence for participants through an emphasis on self expression and teamwork.
To partner with the local organization (AJPVH) in a manner that builds their capacity and fosters sustainability for the continuation of future programs.
To support and build the capacity of local coaches to be able to implement creative, and safe programming for the local teenagers.
To find other Haitian initiatives who share the same vision and are willing to support the continuation of the Move Forward program in Haiti.
To create efficient systems that highlight best practices, policies, and procedures to be used as a reference guide in future programs.

Outcomes

88 Teenagers completed our entire program out of 100 who were invited to attend. The others were not able to show up every day of the program.
5 Local coaches and 2 Dutch coaches participated in the train-the-trainers program.
A solid foundation was built between AJVPH and the international team which means AJPVH was able to continue the Move Forward dance and basketball program.

Conclusion

Move Forward Haiti’s kick-off program in January 2014 was a success. The training environment fostered the values of teamwork, discipline and talent development. With this programmatic concentration and an overall focus on community building, empowerment, learning and fun, all participants were provided with a variety of experiences they will not soon forget.

In response to the follow up questionnaire distributed one month after the program, teens reported feeling proud of their accomplishments, feeling they had a better understanding of the discipline they received training in, and had developed a desire to continue dance or basketball.