Children's Respite Home & Outreach Project, Haiti

Alongside the daily care that takes place at the Maison de Benediction, our team also work closely with the families of the kids to ensure the needs of the children are being met at home as well as at the Maison. Part of this process is regular home visits. These happen primarily to support families, but they are also an opportunity to identify issues that need addressing.

Wilmanise has been attending the Maison for many years, and until recently remained with her biological family. When our Disability Coordinator, Brooke, did an initial home visit for them last year, she found only her brother and auntie taking care of her, but they loved her and cared for her very well.

Unfortunately, Wilmanise's auntie passed away a few months ago, leaving only her brother to take care of her. He has had to take a job in the neighbouring country of the Dominican Republic to enable him to earn income, and he cannot take Wilmanise with him.

So, after some searching, the manager of the Maison thankfully found a lady called Joselyn to be Wilmanise's foster mother. Brooke did a home accessibility visit earlier this week and was able to bring a first round of home adaptations to prepare her house for Wilmanise's special needs. This included a waterproof mattress, pillows, sheets, and a large basin for bathing. Brooke has several more adaptations planned and is working on sourcing the materials.

Wilmanise's new foster mum, Joselyn, is wonderful and has previous experience with children with special needs. They have already started bonding with each other. Despite the difficult family situation for Wilmanise, we're confident that, thanks to Joselyn, she will remain in a loving family environment while continuing to receive the regular care of the Maison staff. 

Thank you for supporting this work.

Links:

• Maison de Benediction Project Page

We had the extraordinary privilege to host the second ever Night to Shine event in northern Haiti!

Night to Shine, sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation, is an annual global prom experience centred on God’s love for people with special needs. On 10th February, we witnessed 81 honoured guests crowned kings and queens, each called by name and cheered on as they made their way down the red carpet – including the children of Maison de Benediction, our children’s respite home.  

Additionally, 115 parents and caregivers were honoured and encouraged. In Haiti, people with disabilities are often stigmatised and rarely, if ever, celebrated. One parent shared this testimony… “In Haiti, you don’t see kids with disabilities ever leave their houses. I didn’t know the party would have so many people in it. I loved how everyone was accepting of the children, and everyone danced together. Everyone was so happy, and there was no judgement! We felt that all the kids were safe and we weren’t worried about anyone being mean to them or staring at them because of their disabilities.”

Brooke, our Disability Coordinator in Haiti, did an amazing job coordinating this entire event. She shared, “Hope Health Action works hard to teach the importance of inclusion in our community, and events such as Night to Shine do this in such a beautiful way. To have each child be specially crowned, called by name down the red carpet, and get to enjoy a party just for them is such a blessing. The smiles on everyone’s faces show just how meaningful the event was to them.”

In total, 342 people attended Night to Shine 2023 in Cap Haitien, Haiti. What a grand display of inclusion and God’s love for all! Here’s to Night to Shine 2024!

We want to express our thanks to those who partnered with us for this event: Tim Tebow Foundation, Hopital De La Convention Baptiste D'Haiti (HCBH), YWAM Cap Haitien, Emmaus House, Streethearts, Helping Haitian Angels, Footprints of the Son, Children of the Promise, and our very own HHA volunteers!

Links:

• Night to Shine 2023 film