We wanted to do something positive here in Jacmel and we came up with the idea of having a beauty contest. But it was more than a beauty contest - we were looking for the inner beauty; we were searching, we were digging for that. Within the beauty contest we seek to build self-esteem and to develop leadership skills and public speaking skills. After the show we found out that the girls were very satisfied and they changed, they changed a lot. So we decided to continue with this type of work and we transformed it into a foundation.
- transcribed from an interview with Jocelyne Firmin
Unfortunately, in Haiti we live in a very macho society where men think they’re better than women and it’s a daily fight to change that perception through your behavior, through your status in the community and through your relationship with men and in your family. For instance, a 10 year old boy might think that he is already a man and that he is better than a 32 year old woman because that is what society has been feeding him. That’s what we’re trying to change in the foundation, not to put the girls against men but to let them know their rights and what they are capable of so that they will know that as a woman you can be anything that you want to be. Your gender doesn’t limit you.
- transcribed from an interview with Jocelyne Firmin
In our weekly meetings we talk about current world issues and particularly Haiti’s current political, social and cultural issues. We also discuss personal problems that the members are going through and we talk about literature, poetry and music so the girls can develop their artistic talents. We try to encourage them and give them the tools necessary to survive in such a world. Aside from our weekly meetings, we also run monthly outreach activities in the tent camps. Right after the earthquake we felt the need to help and so, with very limited resources, we started going into the camps and holding educational session with the children there, using art as a therapeutic means to help them go through post-traumatic stress. We also teach them about drug abuse prevention, how to avoid unwanted pregnancy and, recently we’ve been doing cholera prevention trainings.
- transcribed from an interview with Jocelyne Firmin
Before joining the foundation some of the girls were having an identity crisis because they were not proud of the fact that they are Haitian. They all wanted to be American, Canadian or French. They wanted to be Miley Cyrus or Britney Spears. So we try to help them regain their confidence and accept themselves and love their community. That's also why we do community service, so they feel that they are important to the community, that they are giving back and that the solution is not coming from outside of Haiti, but from themselves.
- transcribed from an interview with Jocelyne Firmin
Having the foundation gives me a sense of achievement in life. When I’m working with the girls I feel like I am doing something positive for Haiti and I am contributing to the reconstruction of this country.I want the girls to feel the same way. I am so proud to hear their parents say that they have seen their daughters change. To watch them grow gives me such a feeling of pride.
- transcribed from an interview with Jocelyne Firmin
