Who are we ?

FOUNDATION ZANMI TIMOUN

Presentation of the FZT

The “Zanmi Timoun” Foundation was created on February 13, 2001 after a reflection organized by young people from Port-Au-Prince, Belladère, Savanette and Lascahobas. This group accompanied around a hundred children from working-class neighborhoods, including: Cité Marc, Tichéri and Solino. Three (3) popular neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince.

The “Zanmi Timoun”Foundation is an organization that promotes and defends the rights of children in Haiti. Its mission is to contribute to social and economic change in the country by supporting disadvantaged children and young people, to promote Children’s Rights, to work towards the eradication of domesticity “Restavèk”in Haiti, to advocate for the care of street children in the capital, the country’s major cities and border points. Indeed, it is made up of a varied team, containing: lawyers, social workers, psychologists and social communicators who work in its various actions. Considering that the problems of children in working-class neighborhoods are closely linked to those in rural areas, one (1) year later, the “Zanmi Timoun” Foundation was represented in Savanette, Lascahobas, Belladère, three (3) border towns in the Center department of Haiti. Also, it concentrates its efforts in the two (2) departments of the country (West and Center).

Objective

The “Zanmi Timoun” Foundation has set itself a main objective which is to: defend the rights of deprived children, then we also find specific objectives which are:

  • Combat the “restavèk” phenomenon in Haiti;
  • Promote the rights of the child through socio-educational and cultural activities;
  • Supervise disadvantaged children in working-class neighborhoods;
  • Support host and original families through socio-economic activities.

The “Zanmi Timoun” Foundation carries out its various interventions through well-defined values ​​relating to its predefined objective, concretized in the actions of employees, local organizations and partners who work in collaboration.

The FZT’s policy reflects its commitment to preventing child abuse and contributing to their protection as well. Thus, these measures concern all volunteers, staff, partners, contract workers and any other person who works within the organization. Furthermore, she believes that one of the key elements to safeguarding the well-being of children is found in the promotion of their rights.

Indeed, staff, partners and contract workers have a formal obligation to commit to the prevention of child abuse and the protection of their rights. These values, principles and beliefs that it adopts are taken from the Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed and ratified by Haiti. Depending on the status of the FZT, we find:

  • Any child abuse involves the violation of the rights of all children;
  • All children have equal rights to protection from abuse and exploitation;
  • The situation of all children must be improved by promoting their rights as prescribed in the UN Convention on the Rights to Liberty of the Child. This includes the right to liberty and protection from abuse and exploitation;
  • Child abuse is not acceptable under any circumstances;
  • We are committed to protecting the children we work with;
  • The partners we work with have a responsibility to meet nominal child protection standards through their programs;

These values ​​presented above are part of a series of precise visions that the FZT has adopted in order to make them effective. The “Zanmi Timoun” Foundation will honor its commitment to protect children by the following means:

  • Awareness: ensure that all staff and others are aware of the problem of child abuse and the associated risks;
  • Prevention: ensure through awareness and good practice that all staff and others minimize risks to children;
  • Reporting: Ensuring that all staff and others are clear on what steps to take when concerns about child safety arise;
  • Answers: ensure steps are taken to support and protect children when concerns arise about potential abuse;