Off to Northwest Haiti Christian Mission where Orphan’s Promise is partnering to build an orphanage for the special needs orphans of Haiti called Miriam Center. Already in existence, Miriam Center is a unique project of NWHCM housing 32 children with mild to severe developmental and/or congenital disabilities. Once at the mission, we were introduced to several beautiful children living at Miriam Center. There was John, Den-den, Owens, Walden, Jimson, Belle and Kem, just to name a few. At this time, the Center is over capacity. With the new Miriam Center, over 100 disabled orphans will be helped. Working together with a team from Orphan’s Promise, Northwest Haiti Christian Mission, Shepherd’s Crook Ministries and Kimmey’s House, we are in the midst of developing a building plan as well as a program plan to address the complex needs of these children. Also, future mission trips are taking shape involving physical, occupational and speech therapists. How exciting!
New to Miriam Center was a 6 month old baby named Cindy. She was brought to the center by her parents who knew there was something wrong with her and felt they were unable to help her and to adequately feed and care for her. Cindy presented with contractures in both of her knees and hips. She appeared to have club feet as well. She was severely underdeveloped for her age and was malnourished. But, Cindy was absolutely beautiful! I held her whenever I got the chance and worked stretching her legs to increase her knee and hip range of motion. She was so sweet, her big brown eyes staring intently into mine, as she managed an occasional smile. I was so thankful she was at Miriam Center where she could receive proper care and nutrition, knowing that if Miriam Center did not exist, Cindy probably would not exist either. There is a magnificent number of children in Haiti just like Cindy and many with greater limitations. These children have significantly less of a chance of survival than a “healthy” child in Haiti, which means that without organizations like Orphan’s Promise and Miriam Center, there is no hope for a future for these precious disabled children.
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