Imagine..... you have no one to teach you that you are VALUABLE to God and to others. You have no one to help you with homework, encourage you when you do something well, or scold you (in a healthy way) when you do wrong.
Imagine.... your biological parent is too tired, poor, or feels unable to care for you so instead has taken you to an orphanage where you become one of many and have to figure a way to get what you need- attention, affection...
Imagine.... the adults around you are so busy caring for the physical (food, cleaning, washing clothes, etc.) that they have no time to play with you, to smile, to laugh.
Imagine.... having to hide your personal belongings from the bullies OR feeling you must become a bully yourself so your things are not taken by others.
Imagine... as you mature and your body/emotions begin to change that there is no one to explain that what you are experiencing is normal and so are you!
Unfortunately, this is reality for many of the children at the orphanage in Port au Prince that we partner with (and for many other children in Haiti that find themselves in orphanages) though the pastor and his family have tried their best to fill those needs.
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| (one of our translators comforting a child at the orphanage) |
As many of you know our organization is passionate about keeping nuclear families together and we feel this is God's calling for the ministry- to work with families and help them find ways to keep their children out of orphanages in Haiti. However, He has also led us to walk alongside a Haitian orphanage in Port au Prince which we continue to do after 2.5 years. During that time we have certainly had our share of frustrations and moments where we have felt (and actually been told by others) that pulling out of the orphanage and starting our own somewhere else would be so much easier. Then we would have control over how things were run and could monitor the children more closely. But then we think about this: "When did God call us to EASY?" He didn't! In fact, much of what He calls us to is difficult if not impossible WITHOUT Him. God needs to be directing our steps. God needs to be leading our ministry- no matter if it is working with the orphanage or with families. And, for now we firmly believe that He is calling us to remain in partnership with this Haitian orphanage and these children. We believe that should we just move the existing children from the orphanage it solves the stress, frustration, etc. for these children and ourselves, but the orphanage would continue and other children would replace them. The facility would remain as simply a housing location for children- just ones we do not know. So, we asked God how to proceed and He has given us a vision. That vision involves the following:
-Together with the pastor of the orphanage we hire "Mommies" to care for the children daily, to teach them and to nurture them as a biological mommy would.
-These women would be trained through a variety of classes to work together and to minister to the children emotionally, spiritually and physically.
-The current staff would also be trained as would the pastor, his wife, and some others.
-Once trained, the women would begin work with regular schedules and duties, but basically to assume the role of mommies to the children. The idea is to target some of the negative behaviors that have been identified by the pastor and the social worker we hired to do assessments at the orphanage.
We realize it will take specialized caregivers to assume these roles and will be soon conducting interviews. The ideal plan is to hire eight women- three for the morning/day shift, three for the afternoon/evening shift and two at night. This will be expensive but we have had to ask ourselves what is BEST for the children and what does God say? We feel that this is His plan for us moving forward. But, we can not do so until we have a financial commitment from people to support these women we will hire. We anticipate that each will be paid approximately $150 per month and are asking that you (or your group/church/Bible Study/etc) will consider sponsoring a "Mommy" for the orphans. You can also go together with others and share sponsorship (ie: two groups commit to $75/month).
Hiring and training is set to begin in the next few weeks. Once we know the name(s) of the women we can give you names and a biography about each woman so you can pray for her and the job she will have with the children. We do anticipate that this will be difficult initially and the children will not like having rules, appropriate discipline, etc. so prayers will truly be needed as we transition to this new system. BUT, we feel confident this will ultimately benefit the children in more ways than we can count here on earth.
More info. as we progress, but PLEASE consider helping fund this new program for the orphans in Haiti that God has called us to care for in James 1:27.
**contact us at heartsunitedwithhaiti@gmail.com if YOU or your group can sponsor a "mommy" at the orphanage monthly. This is truly an investment in the future of many children (and provides a job for a woman in need as well).
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