Real lives Many families who live in the countryside send their children to live with relatives in the city. They hope this will give their children a better life, but many of them are badly treated and have to work very hard. ActionAid helps run St Martin Community School for children who have to work in other people's houses. The school is only open in the afternoons so that the children can still do their work in the mornings. This means that children who are not normally allowed to go to school get the chance to learn. St Martin has about 90 pupils, the youngest is 8 and the oldest is 15. Jonal is 15 and has been going to St Martin school for two years. He used to live in the countryside but his parents died when he was 12. He worked for a rich family in the countryside for a year until his aunt took him to Port au Prince. "It is better for me to live with my aunt but there are some problems. I have to get up at five o'clock every day and collect water and clean the house. I have coffee and bread at about 11 o'clock and then I go to school. When I get back from school I walk up the big hill for an hour to get more water because we have none left in the house. I do not like to do all this work but there is no choice for me. When I am tired and my arms ache I still have to work or I will be beaten. I can't get angry or I will be beaten more. School is good for me because I use this time to learn instead of working and I play football at break time. I feel freer at school - there is no-one there who shouts at me and I don't feel threatened." Nadine is 11 and has been going to St Martin for nearly two years. She lives with her aunt and four cousins. Her mother lives in the city and her father still lives in the countryside. "I used to live with my mum but she could no longer afford to keep me so she sent me to live with my aunt. I clean for my aunt and wash the dishes, then I collect water, which is about an hour's walk away. After I come back from school I go again to collect water. I also do this work at the weekends. My aunt beats me if I do something wrong, which I do not like. Now I come to this school and I enjoy it. I like being able to play in the grounds. The teachers here are kind to me, they don't beat me like my aunt does. They say I'm a good student and this makes me happy. When I was at school before they did not want me there because they said I was no good and could not do the work. The teachers here take care of my education and I can learn lots of things. Now I feel I have an opportunity to be better, and that I will be able to be a dressmaker when I grow up."