News

Haiti has been the hot topic around this area for the last week because several people we know have gone over to serve there in whatever capacity is needed. I love that! It seems that Haiti has struggled so much since the devastating blow it received. There is little that can be done but to serve. I am grateful to be surrounded by compassionate people who choose to give of their time and money so freely to help the poorest of the poor. In regard to adoption from Haiti, a fraud threat has surfaced. Recently, a church who served in Haiti found that much of what they were in the form of food and clothing to a particular orphanage was disappearing before it… [more]

I have been meaning to update you all on how my little friend 'Grace' has been. She, if you remember correctly, is one of the children who was air-lifted out of Haiti very soon after the devastating earthquake. Her adoptive family had been working tirelessly to bring her home at the time of the earthquake and the governmental officials approved her (and several other) pending adoptions. How amazing it was to watch that plane touch down and the children unloaded. I have had the joy of connecting with her aunt on a weekly basis and receiving updates on her growth and development. It has been a neat experience. It has been almost two years since Grace's arrival to her adoptive family and if you remember… [more]

Haiti is an amazing country with a strength and resilience that has made the national news repeatedly. It is a poor area with great need. The children have suffered the loss of family and continue to need help in order to survive. Many people have expressed an interest in adopting from this country since the earthquake that devastated Port Au Prince and surrounding areas. As I stated in earlier posts, Haiti has re-opened their intercountry adoption program. In January 2011, a notice was released stating that they were accepting applications for adoption. I checked into many sources to see how the adoption program is working and found that though they have re-opened, there are many hardships that must be overcome. So if you are interested in adopting from Haiti, expect… [more]

From the information that I have gathered, Haiti is still open for adoption. This country has suffered tragedy that devastated it in many ways. They have used intercountry adoption to help the children who are orphaned by this devastation and previous poverty and disease. The stories of need coming from this country are undeniable. We have family who returned from a mission trip to Haiti last week. They came bearing tales of need and devastation that are difficult to comprehend. Before they left, we gave a little money in hope of meeting even the smallest need. No matter how big the problem is, it can only be dealt with bit by bit. Armed with that knowledge, we felt confident that the money we… [more]

When I post in the next few weeks about Haiti I will have a more personal view of what is happening in this country. We have family that will spend the next two weeks ministering in this area. I am hoping to meet with them soon after they return and bring a report to you. For now the information regarding adoption in Haiti is fairly similar to what was reported in the last post. The need continues and adoption is open. A recent post (January 31, 2011) on the Joint Council's website said: Haiti's adoption authority, the Institut du Bie-etre Social et de Recherches(IBESR), has informed the U.S. Government that they are accepting new adoption applications for Haitian children who are either documented as… [more]

The anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti has passed in January and the focus of the news media has been the after effects and lingering issues that Haiti faces. The faces of children and homeless people flash across the screen with startling clarity. The hungry and worn faces look out from major magazines. Headlines proclaim about the amount of deaths that have occurred and the diseases that are rampaging this land. It is all truth. It is all heartbreak. Yet, deep in the heart of all of the pictures, stories and statistics, is the other story. The story of a people group that is overcoming, lives that have been altered but not given up on and hearts that continue to love though… [more]

Haiti has long been known  for being the poorest country in the western hemisphere. The country itself has offered a tropic island vacation get away for the wealthy and middle class for years. Though it does struggle financially, the artist trade and lush island life offer an appeal for the tourists from abroad. It is not unheard of on the streets of Port-au-Prince (capital city), to see children begging. Most of these children are street children. They are the truest indicator of the needs this country faces... Vivid in my mind, when I think of Haiti, are the shocking pictures of the aftermath of the large earthquake that rocked this country almost a year ago. Sheer devastation at its worst. Yet, good things have sprung up from the devastation of… [more]

Adoption.com has published a release regarding the recent tragedy in Haiti and the response from the adoption community that has followed. For more information on how you can help the children affected by the earthquake in Haiti, please take a look at A Note Regarding the Children of Haiti. The people of Haiti are in our thoughts and prayers during this devastating time…

I found this interesting article about the street kids in Haiti in The Christian Science Monitor: CAP-HAÏTIEN, HAITI - They are derisively called "sangine," which in Creole means "one without soul." Sleeping in alleys and living in the shadows, the street children of Haiti spend their days skipping school, hustling to get enough food to survive, often running afoul of the law, and getting high on paint thinner to try to forget their lot. Their communities and families, if they have them, are too poor to help. The children are among the most visible signs of Haiti's poverty, even more apparent than the nation's 65 percent unemployment rate. Foreigners visiting the nation are often overwhelmed by the sight of them. But not American Douglas Perlitz. About 10 years ago, Mr. Perlitz visited… [more]

News article from The Boston Globe, continued from Part Two... Cheryl Little, a lawyer and executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, said that deportees are often mislabeled when they arrive in Haiti because authorities often look at their arrest records, which show charges but not convictions. Many Haitians see the deportees as Americans, with their Haitian citizenship a mere technicality. By some estimates, the average deportee left Haiti before age 8 and was returned at least 20 years later. Many speak little Haitian Creole and have minimal familial, cultural, or emotional connection to the country. These differences make adapting more difficult, and worse: they make deportees quickly identifiable. Harry Desiré, 36, called the recent inflammatory rhetoric about deportees not only misleading but also "very, very dangerous." Desiré was deported to… [more]