They're Here!!

After three long days of waiting, Nick finally called me and said that the container which held our solar panels had arrived and to send the yard guys in with the truck to pick them up!  Each day Nick would return home and say with confidence, "They're coming tomorrow, for sure this time."  As you all know, this is Haiti and so nothing is ever for sure!  The fact that it only took three days is actually kind of a miracle in itself.

We were worried that some of them may be broken but they were all delivered here, carried up two flights of stairs, and are now on our roof in one piece waiting to be installed.  The team of electricians arrive on the 5th of May to install them and we are very excited about this!  The trip has been delayed twice, but it appears that was for the best as our panels just now arrived!

Our yard guys and a few men from the community were all so excited yesterday as they hauled them up to the roof.  They were all smiles the entire time and kept saying "Dousman, Dousman." Slow, Slow.  I think they were all just as scared as Nick was to drop one!

Thanks to everyone who helped make this project possible!  

Annella

We are once again sadden to write that one of our sweet babies have passed away.  Annella and her twin sister Annelle were admitted in December 2010.  At the time they were admitted they were 11 months old and Annella weighed only 7 lbs 15 oz.  Annella stayed in the volunteer house for nearly three months to receive extra attention and a special diet to help her gain weight.  Even with all of this, she was still very small and gained very little.  She did catch up developmentally while she was here.  She learned how to sit, army crawl, clap, and babble.

About a month ago Annella went out to the baby but began to loose weight.  We brought her back to the volunteer house to try and help her get better.  After several tests over the months, we thought we were finally getting close to finding out what was making her so sick.  We took her to the hospital on Tuesday night to do more advanced tests and have closer monitoring.  Annella unfortunately passed away Wednesday afternoon.

Please pray for her family as they mourn the lost of their little girl as well as all the volunteers who fell in love with her while they were here.  Annella has a special place in all of our hearts and will never be forgotten.

We have not had any new admits, discharges, or birthdays!

Needs:

-Size 3 diapers

-Rice Cereal

-Baby Shampoo/lotion

-Baby wipes

More new kids

Admits 2:

Ester is three months old and weighs 6 lbs 7oz.  Her mother is very young and doesn't have a place to live. She is unable to care for her baby at the moment and has asked that we keep her daughter for the time being.  Her Mother is unable to breastfeed and can't afford formula.  Ester has spent some time in the hospital recently.  Since being admitted she is doing great in our care.  She is drinking well and already staying in the baby house.

Ester and Her Mom

Deborah came to COTP yesterday with her Aunt and Grandma.  When she came she had bad diarrhea and vomiting.  Deborah is already doing much better and both of these have stopped.   She is very malnourished weighing 10 lbs 8 oz.  She slept most of the day yesterday, but is already beginning to look better.  Deborah is drinking well but still refuses to eat.  We are treating her for worms.  She will be staying with us for two months until she is healthy enough to return to her family.

Discharge 0:

Birthdays 1:

Theo turned 2

Visits:

Jackson (who was reunited with his father a few months ago) came back last week to visit.  He had a fever, but besides for that he seems to be doing really well.  He was a little unsure of us and didn't know how to interact.  Jackson appears to have really bonded with his father which is great.  The other children, nannies, and us staff were all very excited to see him and know that he is doing well!

Needs:

Our three biggest needs right now are

-Rice Cereal

-Size three diapers

-Baby wipes.

Thanks for your continued support and prayers!

Prayers Needed

There has been a pretty bad bug going around here at COTP over the past week and a half.  Many of our children have had bad diahrrea and vomiting that has lasted days.  We have had to put a few children on IV's because they have been so dehydrated.  Most of the children who have been sick with this have recovered.  

This morning our nurses were woke up because Marie, one of our little girls in the Giraffe room wasn't doing well.  Marie had been sick for a few days, but appeared to be doing well last night at bed time.  Tori and Amy tried all morning to put an IV in her, but were unable to find a vein.  Unfortunately Marie passed away this morning.  Marie's biological mother passed away during child birth at a local hospital.  While there a lab technician and her husband fell in love with Marie and decided to adopt her.  Although they wanted to bring their new daughter home immeadiately, they had to fill out the adoption paperwork first, so Marie was admitted to COTP while this happened.  They visited often and were eager to take their little girl home.  They were only about a week away from finishing the paper work.

Please pray for her adoptive parents who loved her so much.  Pray for our nannies and volunteers who have fallen in love with her as well.  And most importantly pray that this bug passes soon and that no other children become ill.

Admits 7: 

After nearly two months of no new admits, we are making up for lost time!  We have admitted seven new babies recently.

Rosar was originally admitted to COTP in November after her parents passed away from Cholera.  Her uncle was the one who brought her to us.  Rosar was reunited with her Uncle last month, however after a few weeks at home, he realized he was not able to care for her and Rosar was readmitted to COTP.  Our first goal is to see families reunited, but appreciate when a family truly can't care for a child, they are comfortable enough to ask us for help again.  Rosar has readjusted to life here well and is enjoying spending time with her old friends.

Adlin is a two year old boy from Milot, a town next to us.  His mother passed away last June and since then he has been living with his Grandmother.  Adlin weighs 14 lbs 14 oz.  He can sit by himself but can not stand or walk.  He is very malnourished, but we are confident he will do well here.  Adlin loves to eat, which is unusual for malnourished children.  He is already comfortable enough her to smile and show us his beautiful white teeth!  Adlin loves to be tickled!

Rose Guerda was admitted to COTP on March 29th.  She is 5 months old and weighs 6 lbs 11.8 oz.  She is very tiny for her age but is very adorable.  Her Mother is not able to produce enough breast milk because of her older age.  Amy, one of our nurse met her family at the hospital recently while Rose Guerda was admitted there.  She will stay at COTP for a few months until she is healthy enough to return home.  Please pray that she gains weight quickly and that her health improves so that she can be reunited with her family.

Joseph is a 6 month old boy who weighs 7 lbs 8 oz.  His mother passed away and he has become very malnourished.  His Father and Grandmother have been caring for him since.  He has recently spent over a month in the hospital.  Joseph has a few health concerns that we are hoping to help with while he is in our care.  Please pray that he gains weight and that we are able to find doctors to preform his needed surgeries.

Ederly and Edly are one year old twin boys that weigh 10 lbs 8 oz and 13 lbs 3 oz.  We recently met their Mother at the local hospital where the boys were admitted for malnutrition.  The Mom was not able to breastfeed and could not keep up with their nutritional needs.  Their Father does visit them every now and then, but does not play a large role in their lives or help financially. Their Mother loves them very much and will be taking them home in a few months when they are healthier.

Adleyson is a three month old little boy and weighs 8 lbs 6 oz.  His Mom was orphaned as a child and never went to school.  She doesn't have any where to live with the baby and spends most of her day walking around begging for food because she knows she needs this in order to continue to breast feed.  She does not want her baby to continue to live like this, so has asked us for help.  Please pray that there is something we can do to help this Mom be able to provide for her baby and that Adleyson does well in our care for the time being.

Discharges 3:

Love Mika was brought to COTP by her Grandfather on November 25th 2010 after her Mother passed away from Cholera.  At the time her father was also sick with Cholera but is much better now.  Her Grandfather came to visit her often.  On March 28 2011,  he came back with his wife and with Love Mika's other Grandma to take her home.  Love Mika's father is very young and unable to care for her, so she will live with her grandparents.  This little girl is very well loved and we are sure she will have a smooth transition home.  While at COTP, Love Mika learned how to sit up and also gained a lot of weight.  She will be missed here but we are excited she was able to return home!  She weighs 14 lbs 2 oz at discharge (admit weight 11 lbs 11 oz).

Lovenson and Livenson were admitted to COTP on Christmas Eve when they were only 8 days old.  Their Mother passed away a few hours after they were born and the hospital referred their Father and two Aunts to us.  When they first came both boys were tiny, weighing 4 lbs and 7lbs.  Livenson was feed through an NG tube for 2 days when he first arrived because he refused to drink on his own, but since then both boys have been doing fairly well.  They lived in the volunteer house for almost two months in order to gain weight before moving to the Giraffe room.  Livenson recently spent two weeks in the hospital and was only discharged the day before he went home.  Please pray that both boys do amazing in their aunts care and continue to gain weight.

 

Birthdays 5:

We have celebrated three very special peoples birthdays recently.

Wedly turned 2 on March 11th.

Nickensly also turned 2 on March 19th.

Christella celebrated her first birthday on March 29th.

Robert and Rodney also celebrated their first birthdays on April 5th.

Each child enjoyed celebrating their birthdays under the mango tree with their friends.  Each birthday is a big deal here, and we are excited to be able to spend these important milestones with our precious children!

Projects

We have had some amazing groups volunteer at COTP over the past few months!  These groups have all been busy and have completed several projects that have needed to be done for a while!  We are very appreciative of all they have accomplished in their time here.  Take a look at some of their work!

Solar Panel Projects

Stairs to the roof where the panels will be installed.

Building where the batteries & Inverters will be housed.

Digging Trenches to run the new wiring.

Preschool:

First these two walls had to finish being built...

And then they were all painted.

Baby House:

Shelves for the Giraffe room.

Shelves in the Alligator Room.

Cubbies for the Lions Room.

Thanks to every one who has been involved in each of these projects!  We are very excited to have all of these done!


In Regards to Babies, We have only had one discharge and no admits!

Discharge:

Alexis came to COTP on December 7th 2010 with his Uncle.  Both his Mom and his Dad had passed away.  Three months later, on March 8th, he was able to be reunited with his Uncle.  Please continue to pray for this family as they adjust to living together.

Alexis

Birthdays:

Annelle and Annella celebrated their first birthday last week.  The girls Mom, sister, Aunt, and cousin were all able to attend their party which made it extra special.

The twins with their Mom and Sister.

March 3 2011 Update

As always, things here in Haiti are changing.  We have decided to postpone the installation of our solar panels until April to give more time for shipping.  We would hate for our team to arrive to install them only to find out that the panels had not arrived in time.  It's important that everything goes as smoothly as possible, and this will help us ensure that this happens!  Once again thanks for all the support to help make this dream become a reality!

Admits: 1

Kenlove recently went home to his aunt, however after about a week and a half she brought Kenlove back to our care.  He has done amazing readjusting to life here and is enjoying being in the Zandolit room now with the bigger kids!  Please pray that he continues to do well at COTP.

Discharges: 2

Asmessi was brought to COTP a few days after he was born, weighing only 3 pounds.  He spent a long time in the volunteer house so that we could ensure that he gained weight.  His father visited often and is very much in love with his son.  He was very excited when we informed him that his son was now big and healthy enough to return home.  Asmessi is in the formula program so that we can continue to monitor his weight gain.  We have already had the privilege of seeing him come back and he is doing great in his parents care!



Rosar was brought to us in November by her Uncle after her Mother passed away from Cholera.  While Rosar lived with us she celebrated her first birthday, began to walk, and gained a lot of weight.  Recently Rosar was able to return home to her biological family who missed her dearly!

Birthdays:

We recently had the privilege of celebrating Anita's, one of our nannies form the Zandolit room's, 50th birthday!  Anita loved wearing the birthday crown and the children enjoyed signing to her and most importantly eating her cake!  Anita is a great employee and is amazing with the children!  We feel so blessed to be able to work with such an amazing lady!

Note: Our internet is too slow today to upload pictures.  Sorry for the inconvenience!

Solar Project Construction

As many of you know we have been fundraising for several months for solar panels.  We are proud to say that the construction has begun and will continue until the end of March!

The panels will be installed on top of our guest house, so one of the first tasks was to build a stair case to get on top of the roof.  Once that was finished we also built a small room to house our batteries and many of the electrical components of our power system.

In March we have two teams coming down to continue to work on this project.  The first one will be a group from Arizona helping with all of the electrical prep work.  The second group is a team of electricians from Florida who will be installing the panels.

We can not say enough how appreciative we are of everyone who helped make this dream a reality financially, and all of those who have or will help with the installation of this project!  This is something COTP has been wanting to do for a very long time and feel blessed that we now have the resources and support to complete this project.

In regards to the babies, we have only had a few changes since our last post.  We have not admitted any new children, however we have had two babies return home to their biological Families.

Discharges:

Kenlove came to COTP in June of 2010 because he was very malnourished and his Mother couldn't take care of him.  Kenlove was very sick at the time he was admitted and spent a lot of time in the hospital.  He however has turned completely around these past few months and is doing amazing.  He went from a very tiny 10 lbs 8 month old baby, to a very large 22 pound toddler!  Kenlove was starting to take a few steps on his own right before he left.  Please pray that he does amazing in his aunt's care and that she is able to provide for all of his needs.

Kenlove w/ his Aunt and Cousin

Daniella came to COTP when she was 8 days old, weighing 2 lbs 8 oz.  She was a tiny baby in need of so much care that her father couldn't provide her at the time.  Her father visited often over the course of her 7 months here and was very excited when told she was finally healthy enough to be able to go home with him!  We are confident that he will do amazing with her.  She will be on the formula program for a few months so that we can continue to monitor her weight gain and ensure that she has a smooth transition home!  When she left COTP she weighed 11 pounds 12.8 oz/ 5.35 kg.

Daniella and her Father

Birthdays:

We have celebrated several birthdays here so far this month!  Givens, Lou, and Sabine all turned one and we felt beyond blessed to be able to celebrate their special days with them!  Each of them were so cute in their fancy clothes and made a mess with their cake!

Lou

Sabina

Givens Enjoyed his cake!

Staff and Volunteers:

Our new nurse, Tori, arrived last week and is learning quickly what all of her roles will be.  She is picking up Creole fast and doing a great job with all the tasks she has been giving so far!  We feel blessed to have two long term nurses here and are blessed to have these two women working with our babies and community!  Please continue to pray that Tori adjusts well and feels at home here!

At one point last week we had 22 volunteers working at COTP.  This is one of the biggest groups we have ever had, but are very thankful for all the work that they were able to get done and the attention they gave to our children!

We have several more groups and individuals coming in within the next few months!  Please pray for all these groups and the work they will do here at COTP!