February 24, 2010

Rickety wooden shacks and massive piles of garbage break a barren, dry landscape. Thick smoke from burning trash consumes the air. Hundreds gather at the shores of the Massacre River to bathe, wash clothes, and gather water for cooking and cleaning. Over 80 percent of the people who live in the Haitian border town of Ouanaminthe live in abject poverty. It is desperately poor, unsanitary, and in great need.

Ten years ago, Danita Estrella, a Puerto Rican living in Orlando, Florida, had a vision to help the orphaned and poor children in Haiti. She and two other ladies began feeding the hungry and needy children in Ouanaminthe. Today, Hope for Haiti Children’s Center is a large, guarded complex that cares for hundreds of orphaned children.

But as a Haitian proverb says, “Behind the mountains . . . are more mountains.”

The earthquake that hit Haiti in January caused several hospitals to collapse, killing hundreds inside and leaving many more severely injured . . . many of them children. There are only two sterile operating rooms in the entire country and even Port-au-Prince will not have hospitals for months, if not years.

Danita made two separate trips into Port-au-Prince after the quake and brought newly orphaned children, desperately in need of medical care, to her children’s center. They emptied the church building of pews and installed medical beds with mosquito nets. When I walked in and saw the beds with the cross behind them on the wall, I knew this was the “Church being the Church.”

I met Danita and her volunteers as they were working in makeshift rooms with what few supplies and equipment they have . . . attempting to do everything they can for these children. But it’s not enough!

We want to provide a permanent medical clinic for these Haitian children. It will be a fully functional, equipped clinic that is able to do surgeries and save hundreds, even thousands, of lives. We can do this for $139,000.

This clinic will see as many as 18,000 children a year. If you break that down, it is less than $8 per child—just in the first year alone. This clinic will help many of the new orphans who have lost their parents and families as a result of the earthquake.

But, that is just the beginning.

Additionally, this clinic will not only serve those children impacted by the earthquake, but thousands of innocent babies and children in that area who are malnourished and suffer needlessly from disease.

Will you help us provide this medical clinic?

Your gift today of $50, $100, $500, or more will help us provide a medical clinic for these children. No matter the amount . . . please don’t underestimate the impact of your gift.

You will be giving more than just help . . . You will be giving hope!