Never Easy

I find myself saying that every time we lose a little one. How can it get any "easier"? Just because its a very sad reality in Haiti? We are in Haiti to improve the lives of these babies and their families. It is the sad reality that we faced this past week as we lost two babies in one day. One was extra hard as it was completely unexpected and sudden.

Sabina was with us for just over 2 months, along with her twin sister Sabine. Their father died in the earthquake almost a year ago and their mother struggled to care for the twins and their older siblings being unable to work. The twins came to us malnourished and sickly. They were going to stay with us a few months so their mother could find work and help. Sabina got sick so we took her to the local hospital. She seemed to go down hill very fast and the next thing we know she has passed away. Please pray for Sabina's mother as its very difficult for her to loose one of her babies. She loved the girls dearly and they will never be the same without her. Its going to be hard for her mother to explain to Sabine that she had a twin sister who did not make it. Please also pray for our staff at this sudden loss.

Unfortunatly, the same day Sabina passed away we lost little Arly. Arly was only with us for only a few days and most of that time was spent in the hospital. Arly was brought to us by his mother who clearly loved hiim more than anything. He was born with spina bifida and leg deformities. We were working hard to get Arly a medical visa to the states, but it just wasn't meant to be. Arly contracted menegitis and could not fight it off. His mother called numerous times a day to check on him. Please pray as his parents mourn the loss of their baby.

It is a sad reality when these babies pass away, but there is always the excitment of little ones rejoining their biological families. We were also able to see two of our little ones go home.

Djolande was picked up by her mother. She was living with us for 3 months and has done phenominally well. We are excited about her growth and development. We pray and hope that her mother is capable in caring for her and has the help of her community who has agreed to support her.

Our little Sammy has also gone home to be with his mother. Sammy has been with us almost 6 months and has done well. It took him a while to gain some weight, but in the last few months he has really made great progress. We really hope and pray that Sammy's mom is able to care for him and meet all his needs. He will be in our formula program for a while to continue receiving his food.

Calendars for Sale

In case you missed our pre-order, we still have some 2011 calendars available for a $20 donation. Please email Marcia if you would like to order some. cotp_marcia@yahoo.com.

Babies

Once again, its been a while since our last update. We have a few changes in our baby census.

Discharges:

Gaelle has returned home with her parents. She weighed 15 pounds 2.4 ounces when she left. She’ll be part of our formula program for some time in hopes that’ll help the transition home.

Wednaldy returned home with his cousin on December 3rd. Wednaldy had been admitted to COTP in September when he was very weak and malnourished. He’s done very well here and his personality has begun to shine through. Wednaldy weighed 20# 6.8 oz when he left.


Admitted Children:

Givens was born on February 13th of this year. His mother brought him two days ago because she's been struggling to care for him. She said he hadn't eaten for days. Givens' family live under a tarp and his mother collects cardboard boxes to try and put around their home to keep the family warmer. His father died last year, while the mother was pregnant, and since Givens has been born she hasn't been able to find work. Givens was sick recently and spent a month at the hospital; he was on oxygen for a while so the mother stopped breast feeding. He was also treated for malnutrition, vommiting and diarrhea. Givens has slightly swollen feet now. He had been on a feeding program in town but the mother explained that he eats in the morning and then cries all evening and all night. Givens weighs 10 pounds 3 ounces. He can sit up but isn't crawling. He's been drinking a little but mostly just wants to sleep.

Christ Arly (Arly) is a little boy who was born on Saturday with spina bifida. Arly was born at Milot via c-section (his mom has one other child who is 2 and was born by c-section so the doctors wanted her to have a c-section with this baby too). Arly is a beautiful little boy. His mother had 2 ultrasounds while pregnant but the doctors had no idea that Arly would have any complications. He's been drinking well and we are working hard to keep his sac clean. Please pray we are able to find him care soon. His parents love him very very much and call several times a day to check on him.

Marie was admitted into our care after we heard about her from the local hospital. She was born on December 1st and her mother died during child birth from eclampsia. While she was at the hospital a Haitian couple fell in love with her and wanted to adopt her. As the hospital doesn't do adoptions the baby was released into our care and the couple was told to contact us. The adoptive family is very eager to bring Marie home and seem very sweet. The husband is an engineer and his wife worked as a lab technician, they've been married for 10 years but don't have any kids. When I asked if they wanted to hold the baby yesterday they got so excited and then put on hand sanitizer before taking her from me. She's a beautiful little girl and weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces when we admitted her. She's drinking well and hopefully will be able to go to her forever family as soon as they have all their paperwork ready.


Rosar (pronounced Rose-A) was admitted on November 24th. She is almost 11 months old and
weighed 12# 2.6 oz on admission. Rosar was brought here by her uncle because her mother died
of cholera. Rosar does not have anyone to care for her at this time so she’ll stay with us for a few months while her uncle figures things out. Rosar is eating and drinking well.

Love-Mica was brought here by her grandfather on November 25th. She was born on July 13th and weighed 11#11.2oz when admitted. Love-Mica’s mom has died from cholera and her dad was sick with cholera when she was admitted. Love-Mica will stay with us for 3 months and then will be admitted to our formula program and be cared for by other family members. Love-Mica has been drinking well.

Alexis (pronounced Alex-E), was admitted on December 7th. Alexis was born on August 24 and weighed 14# 5.8 oz on admission. His father had passed away while his mother was pregnant. Alexis mother just passed away on November 27th. His uncle has asked us to care for him for a few months while he’ll figures out the best way to care for him. Alexis appears to be a very healthy baby.

Davideson had gone home with his family a while back, but his parents have realized they just can not care for him. They live in one of the poorest places we have seen yet. During his short stay at home he had lost 2 pounds. Please pray for Davideson's parents as they continue to figure out what is best for their son. For now, Davideson is back in our care.

Cholera Update and more

Its been a long time since we have updated this blog and we apologize. Our main person who updates the blog has had a baby and been busy with that along side of everyone in Haiti being extra busy with children coming and going and the issues with the new cholera outbreaks.

Cholera Update:

The cholera epidemic has spread to northern Haiti and cases have been confirmed in Cap Haitien and some of the surrounding areas. Reports have stated that over 1000 people have died from this disease so far. Many people are being treated at hospitals and clinics in the surrounding areas but cholera has not reached Lagossette, the village where we are located, and none of our nannies or their families have been effected by it yet.

Here at COTP our nannies are being extra vigilant about washing their hands, using hand sanitizer, covering food and water and using extra clorox to kill off any infection. We've also put up posters donated by the Community Health department from Milot hospital and cholera information sheets. Our nurse Amy has been teaching the nannies how to make rehydration fluids in their homes with sugar, salt, fruit and clean drinking water.

On Monday morning riots started in Cap-Haitien. These are different than what we have experienced in the past, (bottles being thrown, tires burning and things calming down after a few hours) this time it's much worse. We have heard that there were gun shots in town and at least three protestors have been killed, there were a lot of blockades too and people were throwing bottles/rocks and burning tires. Many Haitians want the UN to get out so they are trying to attack them and we have heard that these manifestations won't stop until the UN are gone.

Many of our nannies come from the Cap Haitien area and some of them couldn't make it to work and those that did had to pay extra money to get here. Tap-taps and motos are not running in town today. Schools are all closed and we've heard,there are no stores or banks open in town either. We've encouraged our nannies from Cap Haitien to stay at home over the next few days until it is safe for them to travel again.

We have enough supplies for a few day and we've been able to have some of our Haitian staff get some extra things in small quantities because stores in town where we can buy in bulk aren't open.

Fortunately, Children of the Promise has been relatively unaffected by the events in Cap. We have not had any cases of Cholera in our immediate area up to this point. We are pretty well stocked with medical supplies, in the event that we should need them. Most of all, we feel well supported by the people around us and trust that they will watch out for the well-being of our staff and kids. The number one thing all of you can do is pray. Pray for those affected by the riots and cholera, and pray for the people of Haiti.


Children Who Have Left:

Erickson's father has finally gotten to a point where he is able to bring Erickson back home with him. We are thrilled that Erickson has done well enough to be able to rejoin his family. He now weighs over 20 pounds and is a happy, active healthy baby. Please pray that he is able to transition back to his fathers care smooth.
Guerlande returned home with her mother on October 27th. Guerlande had been in our care since July after her mother’s home had burned down. While Guerlande lived with us her mother was able to find a new home for their family and she was excited to be able to take Guerlande back again.
On Wednesday Chelie returned home with her mother. Chelie has been doing well here and was 9 pounds 12 ounces when she went home (she weighed just 1lbs 13oz at admission). She'll be part of our formula program so we'll be able to help her for a while and see how she's doing at home.
Ashka passed away peacefully, but very unexpectedly on October 30th. Ashka had many medical problems and often had trouble keeping her oxygen saturation levels up but had not been sick before she passed. Ashka’s mother has already buried Ashka’s father and 4 siblings. Her nannies were wonderful with her and loved her dearly.
Children Who Have Come:

Moise was abandoned at our facility on October 18th. He appears to be about 2 years old and healthy. He's a very sweet little boy but unfortunately we don't know anything about his past history. We're grateful that who ever left him here knew that he would be safe,loved and cared for if he was here.
Fleurickson was admitted on October 25th. He’s 4 months old and his father brought him here because Fleurickson’s mother had passed away the week before. Fleurickson’s mother had been part of our prenatal program and Fluerickson appears to be a very healthy and well cared for. His father would like us to keep Fluerickson for 3 months while he tries to find more family members and friends that can help him with Fleurickson.
Sabine and Sabyna are 8 month old twin girls that we admitted on October 27th . The girls are under weight, had been sick and had scabies when their mother brought them here. Their father died in the earthquake and the girls’ mother has been struggling to provide for them and her older 3 children. She would like us to care for the girls for 3 months so she can find work and hopefully find someone to help her watch the girls while she’s working.


Manno was abandoned at a clinic in Cap Haitien and then transferred to Justinian Hospital over a month ago. Manno is approximately two years old; the hospital did not have any details about his family background or past. Manno is malnourished and weak; hopefully he'll gain weight, stay healthy and thrive here. He was discharged into our care on Friday November 5th.


Christine had been at COTP for 8 months this year; her mother took her home in September. Christine was readmitted into our care on November 8th. Christine’s mother is sick and has realized that she can not provide for Christine; she had noticed that Christine was loosing weight at home. She doesn’t want Christine to suffer and has asked that we care for her.


We admitted another new baby on November 9th; Lousiana (pronounced Lucy-Anna). She was born on October 10th of this year but her mother passed away on October 27th. Louisana’s father brought her here; this is their first child and he is devastated by the death of his wife and isn’t sure how to care for a baby. He’s asked us to keep Lousiana for a few months until she is a little bigger. Louisana’s mother had been healthy all throughout her pregnancy but became ill one week after giving birth. She was having trouble breathing and went to a local clinic with her husband where she was given some medicine but she died suddenly at home. Louisana appears to be healthy; she weighed 9 pounds 3.4 ounces when she was admitted. Lousiana is beautiful; she seems to be right on target too, she likes to look around a lot and drinks pretty well.

Calendars and Cookbooks

We are happy to announce that we now have Cookbooks and Calendars for sale.

Our 2011 Calendars are up for pre-orders for a suggested donation of $20/each + shipping. Please have all your pre-orders in by Nov. 29th. You can email Robin Knight at cotp_robin@yahoo.com with your order. Please include name, how many you want, and a shipping address. The calendars must be paid for before they are shipped to you.

Calendar Cover

We are also pleased to announce we have cookbooks for sale this year! Each of our cookbooks has 150 recipies in them and 100% of the proceeds goes towards COTP and the babies. You can order your cookbooks now and receive them after you have paid for shipping. Please email Jamie Groen at: cotpdirector@yahoo.com for a cookbook order. They are a suggested donation of $10/each +shipping.

Cookbook Cover

More baby changes

Once again, several children have gone home to be with their biological families and a few more children have been admitted into our care.

Mack has gone home to be with his family. He came to live with us just after the earthquake in January and lived with us for a few months. He has done very well in our care and gained over 10lbs. We are excited he was able to rejoin his family at home.
Wadney has rejoined his mother after only a short stay at our place. He only lived with us for a few weeks, but came with a bad facial abscess. His abscess has healed up wonderfully and he and his mother are thrilled to be back home with each other.
Christella’s aunt brought her here because her mother passed away 1.5 months ago and her aunt doesn’t have the means to care for her. Christella is underweight; but is a very interactive little girl. She has been cooing and smiling a lot since she got here. She can also sit up. She is almost 7 months old and weighs 8lbs 13oz.

Jenniflore's mother is from Pomme Gracia and had been attending our prenatal program. Jenniflore’s mother is paralyzed on one side of her body and has had seizures in the past. She had been having seizures at nighttime since giving birth and these have made her act out. Jenniflore is this lady’s second baby and she came to us with her grandmother who was afraid something would happen to Jenniflore if she stayed in their home. Jenniflore has an older sibling that the grandmother helps to take care of. Jenniflore is a beautiful little girl. She is drinking well and seems to be healthy. She is 12 days old and weighs 6lbs.

Many happenings

Its been awhile since we updated this blog. Many changes have happened with the census of our children.

Two of our children have gone home to be with their biological families.

Guerlin has gone home to live with his mom while we continue to work on his medical visa. His mother is doing wonderfully caring for him and loves him very much. We feel it is best for him to be with his mother at this time while we work on the paperwork. We continue to help with formula on a weekly basis to make sure he stays healthy and strong. Please pray that we are able to find a donating doctor/hospital for this little guy so that he can get healthy and return back to his mother.

Christine has gone back home as well. She was in our care since early January and had made great improvements in her health and development. She had learned to crawl, is nearly walking, and has gained over 9lbs. Her mother was very happy to take her back home healthy. We have also admitted several new children.

Asmessi was admitted on September 21st. He was born on September 5th and weighed 3 pounds 3 ounces at the time of admission. Asmessi’s mother is sick at this time so his father brought him to COTP and has asked us to care for him for a few months. Asmessi has been doing well; he drinks small amounts and his feedings are supplimented through his NG tube. He’s gained half a pound in his first week.

Gaelle Rene was also recently admittedinto our care. She is a 15 month old little girl who only weighs 11 pounds. Gaelle has some developmental delays and could not suck when she was admitted. Her family are originally from PAP but moved here after they lost their home in the earthquake. Gaelle never breast fed as she didn’t have a strong suck and her family have asked us to care for her for a few months in the hope that she will gain weight and start to do better. We’ve already noticed great changes in Gaelle; she is sucking from a bottle now, cries to be fed, and has started to babble a
little. She has been doing so well that she has been moved to the baby house recently.

Kalansy OFAAH, whom we have nicknamed Isaiah was admitted on September 30th. Isaiah was referred to us by a Haitian missionary who had been caring for him for two weeks. Isaiah was found in a house by himself in very bad conditions three days after his mother had abandoned him there. Nothing is known about Isaiah’s history and a local official has estimated that he is 12 months old. He has been adjusting well; he eats a little but does not drink much.

On Monday we admitted Djolande Riviere who was referred to us by an adoptive
parent who volunteers at nearby Terrier Rouge (between Cap and the DR boarder). Djolande is 17.5 months old but is extremely malnourished; she only weighs 12 pounds 1 ounce. Her mother does not have the resources to care for her and she has been sick for the past few months. Djolande will be stay with us for 3 months to gain weight and then her mother and the community in Terrier Rouge will care for her.

Two of our children are currently in the hospital. Please pray for both Eventz and Lou to get over what they are fighting quickly so they are able to return home with us.

Eventz

Lou