This week at WeCanBuildanOrphanage we were faced with a case of “necessity being the mother of invention.” Our school teacher called in sick, so we decided to give our triplets (Youseline, Estania, and Melinda…these are our three oldest girls not real triplets) a different form of education.
Estania
How do you teach three eager girls with no teacher for the day? You teach them in laundry land. Melinda, Estania and Youseline spent the morning with our three laundry ladies to learn how to wash their own clothes, they even washed their own underwear. As you can imagine, the girls had a blast. They had such a good time that we decided to have them do this on a regular basis.
Name: Kettia
In our care since: October 10, 2007
Birthday: November 19, 2006
Status: No sign of HIV
Well now that you have met our three oldest children it’s time to meet the little ones. Our first little one is Kettia.
Kettia was the second child to come live with us at the orphanage, born on November 19th, 2006 up in the mountains of Macary, Marigot. Her mother passed away from a mysterious illness that was never identified. Unfortunately like many of our children Kettia’s father was not present in her life and she was left in the care of her grandfather.
On Tuesday Bill Clinton was named United Nations envoy to Haiti by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Bill Clinton
We at WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com hope that this will bring new attention to Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere. As you may know Haiti suffered from 4 debilitating storms last year that has caused an increased strain on a community that was already struggling to get by. Bill Clinton’s involvement with the Haitian community has the potential to bring money and much needed exposure to an area just outside the the US that is suffering.
So now that you have met our three oldest girls I’d like to tell you about a wonderful program we started in April.
Showing off their cameras: Youseline
On April 1st my friend Deb Jones and I, arrived in Haiti. We were armed with all kinds of donations that our local community gathered together, including 3 small digital cameras. Deb and I spoke about her joining me on a trip to Haiti so that she could photograph our orphans. After Deb and I put some additional thought into the idea we came up with the plan to start a photography class for Youseline, Melinda , and Estania while we were there. Our goal for the class was to have the girls learn an art form that in turn would help our followers see Haiti through the eyes of our kids.
One of our latest volunteers to visit the Haiti and lend a hand was Deb. We were so grateful to have Deb travel down to Haiti. Deb is a fabulous photographer and she not only gave photography lessons to the kids but she also took some magnificent shots while she was down there.
This week our lives were made much easier by an awesome volunteer. Chester, a sophomore at a local high school was nice enough to help Gala our resident Rock Star import over 500 new photos onto our Flickr page. As many of you know Gala just returned form Haiti with some magnificent photos. We wanted to ensure that everyone had access to these photos of our kids in action.
Chester and Gala hard at work
Limited resources sometimes means we can’t get a task like this achieved but thanks to our volunteer the pictures are now live. An organization like WeCanBuildanOrphanage.com depends on the kindness of volunteers like Chester. Thanks Chester!
Estania was born on July 30th, 2000, in the town of Cyvadier just east of the coast of Jacmel. After her mother tragically passed away from AIDS, Estania was left in the care of her 21 year old sister.
Estania
While in the care of her sister Estania became very ill. She was having a terrible time breathing and began to cough up blood. Her sister took her to Hospital St. Michel for a diagnosis. Estania had tuberculosis (TB) and was HIV+. Due to the fear surrounding these diseases when Estania’s sister heard this news, she cast her aside claiming she was dirty and wanted nothing to do with her.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the site the past couple of days — I am really moved by the faces of the children on the site. I found the video showing the children eating dirt to be particularly impactful.
WeCanBuildAnOrphanage.com strikes me as a great tool for children learning to participate in charitable giving. My children save their money over the year and we take 10% of those savings to donate to charity. We spend quite a bit of time talking about where to donate the money, what issues we are concerned about and how it will help the most.
As many of you know, last month Gala from our office went to Haiti to visit our kids. Thanks to so many donors Gala did not go empty handed.
Gala in the Topanga office
When Gala arrived in Haiti she had four extremely large bags filled with everything from medical equipment, to toys, to clothing. People were showing up at our office for weeks with items any kid would be excited about. After Gala spent many hours sorting through everything we received she was off to Haiti to put a few more smiles on the faces of our children.
Today we are going to meet Melinda Marceline, Melinda was born on April 28, 2002 in Jacmel, Haiti. She was raised by her mother and her grandmother (her father’s mother) in Zoranje, half way up the mountains to Cape Rouge just north of Jacmel.
Youseline and Melinda
Like many HIV+children, Melinda’s mother was HIV+ and when Melinda was very young she passed away as a result of the virus. Melinda’s circumstances were made even more challenging as a result of her father’s unwillingness to be tested himself, insisting it was only Melinda’s mother who had a problem. He seemed to be more interested in his wondering eye than giving Melinda the care she deserved.
Zael and Sophie tested negative on their HIV test…yea! This means that Zael has tested negative three times in a row at 6months, 9months, and now at 12months. Not only does this mean that he is HIV negative but it also means he does not need to come back for his monthly check-ups at Hospital St Michel. The only thing Zael has left is one more test at 18months, then he is scot free.
Meet Little Martin. On a routine visit to a hospital we noticed a little disabled boy in one of the hospital cribs. The boy had been left to fend for himself, he had no identification and his birthday is a mystery. He had been in the hospital for a few days and had been severely neglected: his diapers were soiled and he was covered in lice. No one had taken any notice of this little boy in a few days and we were left with no choice but to bring the little boy home. In honor of one the Kay Angel founders we named the boy “Little” Martin. Read more about Martin →
Our Mission is to provide a home and education for abandoned children in Jacmel, Haiti. And as our resources allow, to provide emergency aid to the community of Jacmel. Learn more about Kay Angel Orphanage in Jacmel, Haiti
Rather Send A Check?
Please make your check payable to S.E.E., our non-profit 501(c)(3) umbrella organization.
Our Administrative Address is: Kay Angel
1291 Will Geer Road
Topanga, California 90290
Our EIN (tax ID number) is 95-4116679. All contributions are tax-deductible.
Estania
Friday, May 29, 2009
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