Stories

Haiti always has so many stories. Stories that just pull at your heart. I met Billy last year. He had only been at Bill and Jennifer’s for a few days. He was a child slave that had never really been given a name. His mother’s story was horrible as well. It was so good to get to see a year later Billy. The one with smiles and playful laughter. Last year, not only did he not speak, he didn’t smile or play. This year we got to love on his mom too. We did fun crafts with her (because she never got to experience a childhood) and we even pulled ALL of her teeth. They were ALL broken and bad, and it was her request. She smiled when it was over!

I just had to share Sonja enjoying a little painful salon time. She had her game face on!

This is baby Samella. She looks so tiny but was about 15 months old. Bill and Jennifer had been helping her family. She was on the feeding program and her mother is diabetic. Jen was getting her the meds she needed (and helping with proper food because a diabetic does not need to eat the standard rice and beans they usually hand out)

This is baby Julie. We met her on our very first trip to Haiti. She was a part of the home visits and was born with a cleft palate and lip. Our big guy Steve was able to work with them and schedule for them to be visited by the Smile Train for much needed repair. It was a HUGE deal because Julie’s family had never been out of their little village community. They had to go to Port for the surgery. Julie is doing well. She was scared to death of us. They claimed that she had hit her head recently and her eyes were a bit gunky like she was struggling with an infection. It was so good to see the improvements she had made.