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FOUNDATION FOR THE CHILDREN OF HAITI
ANNUAL REPORT 2008

       A new year has emerged, and the Foundation for the Children of Haiti (Fondation Pour les Enfants d’Haiti, FEH) wants to tackle it with new energy and determination in order to continue the vision of bringing hope, giving love, and restoring life to children and families in the country where progress tends to go backward. There is reason for discouragement with the ongoing atmosphere that engulfs Haiti’s poor; but God is good and faithful, and what FEH is doing does make a difference…one child at a time.

    The year 2008 was another difficult one for Haiti. In the spring life was in such a desperate state with people barely able to eat and food prices rising that the population took to the streets to protest such inhumane conditions. In anger and hunger, they destroyed all that was in their way. In the summer the hurricane season started, and with it came the worst storms and destruction that caused deaths and despair on the island.

    Before we could recover from one disaster another one appeared with the collapse of several schools causing the needless death of children and teachers. At the site of the collapsed school, it would have been so easy to just throw our hands up in the air and give up. Many people in Haiti have done just that. In desperation, many young people have given up and committed suicide. Two children were miraculously rescued when their father was about to kill them and then himself. He could no longer tolerate watching the children die from hunger.

    In Many parts of Haiti children were dying of starvation. Others were making dirt cookies to eat. Almost everything became too unattainable for the poor, and they were just giving up. Unfortunately, such hard times facilitate more corruption. The poor people in need despair as they watch the insensitivity of the authorities that do not really care about them.

    These are some of the saddest situations that we witnessed this past year, and we were happy to see the year end. Through it all, the Lord saw to it that the children of FEH were all kept safe and away from all the hardship that others experienced.

    In 2008 FEH was home for 128 children. Among them 26 are profoundly challenged. The children range in age from 7 months to 18 years. One young lady, however, is 23. She has no family and started school late, yet she is excelling academically. She is a responsible young woman who helps a lot with the children. Six children were able to be reintegrated with their families, with FEH continuing to help with their school tuitions. Thirty employees work in various functions to care for the children.

    Our children live in two different locations until, as planned, they will all live on a common campus. To date we label our locations "HHC and School," the original site located on the far side of Port-au-Prince, and "The Village" where the younger children and the disabled youth reside. Construction at the Village in 2008 was less than in prior years. Of significance was the drilling of a new well and installation of increased water capacity for the Village. We are blessed to have a good source of water on our property. With proper treatment it is quite good.

    FEH assures regular spiritual, physical, and emotional activities for the youngsters in our care. While not all the children respond in the same way, we can say that the home setting of FEH has been beneficial to all the children, past and present.

    Upgrading and training of staff is a must in order to insure the continuity of loving care provided by FEH for the children. Finding good staff is rarely easy; and with the socio-economic problems that we deal with all the time, we are more and more realizing that the Haitian people are losing their motivation and courage to fight the oppressive poverty.

    Some families no longer want to take care of their children. Among the families that absolutely cannot care for their children, there are increased incidents of abandonment. Sometimes I wonder if in their deep despair, these people are interested in working even if they are offered a job. We must, as always, trust God to be in control as we investigate stories of children who are brought to the orphanage. Determining true need is sometimes difficult as desperation pushes many families to come to us with lies designed to play on our compassion so that we will take their children. The challenge is discerning what is in the best interest of the child and not being swayed by a story that will simply allow a parent or family member to be free of their responsibilities.

    All the children except the disabled ones attend school. The ones in primary school attend the school of FEH, School of the Good Sower. Eight older children are in the secondary level, and they attend private schools in the area with FEH paying their tuitions. FEH has plans to integrate these young people into vocational training at the end of their secondary educations.

    The children in the primary level are doing well. Some children do experience learning difficulties, and we have determined that some of the new children experienced great trauma from the hurricanes. These children who are also recovering from the effects of malnutrition are receiving special tutoring and are being monitored.

    In November 2008 School of the Good Sower II was opened at the Village to provide education for the children at the Village. Thirty children were transferred from the school at Haiti Home and were joined by 19 others to bring the total number of children attending the school to 49. The school started with three classes, one each for kindergarten plus first and second grades. Three teachers run the school, and it is going very well. The move of this group of children and the opening of the new school starts the transition of the children from Haiti Home to the Village.

    FEH employs a total of 15 teachers and has 222 children in our schools.

    The children at Haiti Home were generally quite healthy this year; very few were hospitalized. To the contrary, more of the children at Hope Home for Disabled Children had to be admitted to the hospital for a few days. Sadly, of those children we lost two to heaven. The health problems we had to treat this year were for the most part colds, fevers, and skin problems that were mostly caused by the arrival of new children. We also treated some malnutrition in the new children.

    Two of the children are in care for TB and are doing fine. Two babies are also in care for HIV. These babies are doing well. One additional baby was cleared of the HIV virus and was adopted. One older child living with HIV is able to handle the regime of his care very well. He goes to the clinic himself, participates in HIV/AIDS programs, and knows all about his medication.

    We are happy to say that work needed to complete the addition to the back of the hospital is practically done. Unfortunately, that work seems to have taken steps forward very slowly this year. Progress on completing construction projects seems to drag. This is all a reflection of the population’s inability to afford healthcare. On the brighter side, the hospital is where life was restored to many this year. Babies, children, and adults are grateful to be alive thanks to God and Hopital Espoir (Hope Hospital). For this reason we want to continue to offer care as long as we can continue to sustain the operation of the hospital.

    The hospital has an outpatient clinic that operates Monday to Saturday. Patient care for those admitted is seven days a week, 24 hours a day. A staff of 36 people operates the hospital. During 2008, 4,677 patients visited the hospital; and 67 babies were born.

    Hopital Espoir hosted a group of cardiologist from Gift of Life for the screening of over ninety children who had been pre-selected by our staff. Nineteen children were found to be in need of heart surgeries. Gift of Life in New York is handling their care, and they will travel either to the United States or the Dominican Republic for heart surgery.

    FEH has renewed its license to continue doing adoptions; however, the program continues to be troubled with governmental bureaucratic problems, and it is impossible to predict whether positive changes will ever occur . A new law is awaiting approval, and if it passes maybe the adoption procedure will go more easily. For now, corruption within adoptions done in Haiti is shameful. FEH continues its policy of not participating in unlawful and immoral practices and is holding back doing any adoption unless it is a good case that fits the law in every detail. Prospective families are warned that they must be prepared to wait of almost three years. Needless to say, this is a burdensome situation for all involved.

    Despite the morass of procedural difficulties, adoption procedures were successfully completed for 14 children during 2008. Four children went to Germany, one to the U.S.A., eight to France, and one child was adopted within Haiti. Six children at Rainbow of Love Nursery await placement with their new families, and there are several others who are eligible for adoption.

    The children are sponsored through the United States Foundation for the Children of Haiti (USFCH), Canadian Foundation for the Children of Haiti (CFCH), and a group in France. The programs in Canada and France are going well; however, a volunteer sponsorship co-coordinator is needed in the United States.

    Forty-three children currently have sponsors, and others are eagerly hoping that one day they, too, will have a person or family caring for them. Most of children in the sponsorship program attend primary school.

    Through a family sponsorship program, FEH sponsors 14 families. These families receive funds from specific sponsors. Support also comes through FEH for a nutrition center in Kenscoff and a privately run orphanage in Port-au-Prince. Most of the money for these programs comes through CFCH, a church in Cleveland, Ohio, and a group from Atlanta, GA.

    We started the year with a group from Canada that helped with the repair of the first building at the Village so that it would be ready and inviting for the young children who moved there from Haiti Home. After years of housing many children, many items were in need of attention. These included: doors, doorknobs, toilets, and interior painting on the first floor of the building where the handicapped children had lived.

    Each year a group from Chico, California, comes to Haiti to organize the June festival for all the children, a celebration to close the school year. Karla Shelley, an adoptive parent, heads the group. Our children look forward to the arrival of this group as they know there will be fun, games, and prizes. The festival ends with the graduation festivities along with the traditional birthday party. Next to Christmas, this is the best part of the year as far as the children are concerned. The Chico group also finished repairs at Building 1 at the Village, particularly focusing on interior painting. This year Karla’s adopted daughter painted a beautiful mural at the Village. What a beautiful gift, an emblem representing the work of adoptees returning and leaving an imprint with the children in Haiti. We look forward to the return of the Chico work team in June and the excitement they bring with them for the birthday feast and festival.

    Rebecca Hackworth, President of United States Foundation for the Children of Haiti and also an adoptive mother of two Haitian daughters, lead a group of families and adoptees to Haiti last November. Several of the children were able to meet with their biological families. The reunions were quite emotional and rewarding. They reinforce in us the desire to continue to provide children in need with loving homes. We pray the situation in the government of Haiti changes to allow adoption to take place in a way that is more compassionate to the children as well as their new families.

    In 2008 I was able to travel to Michigan where I visited the First Reformed Christian Church, one of our long-time, faithful supporting organizations. I also visited donors in Canada and attended Haiti Camp with adoptive families.

    In February, FEH was invited by Cross International (www.crossinternational.org) to be part of a project that oversees vulnerable children affected and infected by HIV/AIDS. It was felt that through FEH this project would help more children, and at the same time funds provided would help to relieve some of the financial burdens that have kept us from doing some needed projects. Many of the children in our care come within the scope of the project. This is a three-year project with a renewable extension. We are happy to say that FEH has been accepted into the project, and it will begin in May 2009.

    Over thirty children were able to spend time with their families last summer and over forty others were moved to the Village where there was more space and fresh air for them to have a good time. The older ones helped with the younger children and were compensated with a small allowance. Not only did they appreciate this recognition of their effort, but it is also an exercise in learning to manage their own money.

    Unfortunately, funds received by FEH in 2008 were less than in 2007. Despite the higher cost of food, we were still able to sustain our food supply thanks to a number of gift-in-kind donations that were a great help. Cross International provided FEH with a stock of "Vitameal." This is a major source of our meals for the handicapped children as it is easy for them to eat and has high nutritional value. In October we received a large gift of food donated by American Airlines for which we are very grateful. In November the Canadian group sent a forty-foot container to Haiti that included nonperishable food as well as other items. We have been fortunate to be able to distribute a lot of the food toother groups in need and still have a good supply of dried vegetables, flour, beans, oil, dried fruit, and other foods still available for our children. Not only are these gifts feeding many in Haiti, they have enabled us to keep our expenses down.

    There were no major changes in our administrative expenses last year, and with tight management we were able to decrease it from the previous year. With fewer adoptions being completed we are caring for these children for longer periods of time, thus increasing expenses while at the same time decreasing income. It is important, therefore, that the sponsorship program be reinforced to insure financial stability for the operation of the Foundation.

    With the implementation of the OVC project FEH is carefully analyzing ways to use project money for the benefit of as many children as possible while at the same time keeping other expenses down with the hope of creating a savings to be available at the end of the project contract. In addition, the project will allow us to do intensive staff training which is much needed at this time of discouragement in the population of Haiti.

    We would like to enlarge the present playground at the Village to provide a better, safe play area for the growing number of children living there. We would also welcome support that would allow us to start construction of a volunteer apartment on the grounds at the Village.

A young Dutch couple has offered their services in nursing, administration, and maintenance at the Village. They seem to be very motivated and enthusiastic about working with the children. They come to us with their own support system for funding.

    A group of eight older children plan to go to camp retreats with the church during Carnival and, hopefully, will continue with the youth activities from the church. Also, we plan to involve these more mature young people in the many social activities and projects that will be planned for the children in the next three years as part of the ORV project.

    This is always a good time to thank all of our board members, friends, and supporters for their encouragement, support, and mostly their prayers. The year may not have been a great one in some ways, but we are grateful for all the ways FEH was able to still help a great number of children and families. We trust God will always be faithful toward this work in Haiti and will raise up people to encourage, love, teach, and prepare souls for the future of Haiti and the Kingdom of heaven.

    FEH closed the year having cared for, sheltered, educated, and provided jobs for roughly 5000 people. They are God’s children and we thank Him for using us in His service.

    Our motto keeps us focused!!!