In July 2018, Greef Bouloge Petion came to train at the Lumos UK office after winning a human rights competition in Haiti. 

My name is Greef Bouloge Petion and I am 29 years old. I studied sociology, anthropology, legal science, journalism, development and project management. I am interested in scientific research, analysis and the explanation of social phenomena, human rights (particularly the rights of children and people with disabilities) and social justice. I am also interested in art, music and poetry, which I use to advocate on the behalf of vulnerable groups, such as children and people with disabilities.

I trained with Lumos for three weeks in July 2018 after winning a human rights competition in Haiti. This competition was organised by the Haitian Office for the Protection of Citizens (OPC), the main state-run institution working on human rights in the country. As the first-ever winner of this competition, I am also now employed by OPC as a Legal Adviser.

The reason I wanted to do this training is because I want to contribute to the implementation of human rights in Haiti. I want to do this by prioritizing the most vulnerable groups: children and people with disabilities. The training has taught me the best methods and strategies to support child protection in Haiti. I also have a better understanding of the foundations of institutionalisation and the many ways to fight it. I believe that there is an opportunity for OPC to strengthen its partnership with Lumos and achieve this common objective, which is to ensure the rights of all children to live with their families.

The training was well-coordinated. I attended several meetings with different members of the Lumos team. The exchanges were fruitful, and the Lumos employees I met are all civilised and kind people. In summary, I believe Lumos is a great organisation, with big and ambitious - but also realistic - goals. I want to congratulate and thank Lumos for welcoming me to London, and as a young intellectual, I am ready and available to collaborate to their mission of ending the institutionalisation of children for good.