Children's Respite Home & Outreach Project, Haiti

We wanted to introduce you to one of the boys we work with. He’s called Sandley, 5 years old, and must be the cheekiest boy at the Maison de Benediction, our respite home for disabled children in Haiti. Sandley is a very lively character. He loves to greet visitors with a huge hug and lots of smiles. He has the most infectious giggle.

Sandley was first brought to the Maison when he was 18 months old by his mum. He was severely malnourished, weighing only 6kgs. He could not walk of talk. Since that day he was left at the Maison by his mum, neither Sandley nor staff at the Maison, have seen or heard from her since. He attends the Maison during the week and at weekends, he is cared for by his foster mother, who was carefully selected by the Maison to take care of Sandley. 

Today, Sandley has developed into a healthy lively little boy and is full of energy and mischief. He receives regular physiotherapy and does his exercises to strengthen his legs and body. He was at first encouraged to start walking with the aid of equipment such crutches and a walking frame. He mastered these very well and was soon able to stand on his own.

Sandley however, was determined to walk all by himself. Now, with continued care, support and confidence that the Maison staff have given to him, Sandley is able to walk all by himself, completely unaided. This is a tremendous achievement and a great testimony to the dedicated staff who work at the hospital and the Maison de Benediction.
Sandley is making really good progress. The difference that the Maison de Benediction and his foster mum has made to Sandley’s life is quite amazing. From a skinny malnourished kid with very little hope and prospects, he is now a happy and delightful boy, walking unaided and participating in school. Despite his disabilities, Sandley is just like any other kid of his age. He has recently been fitted with spectacles and looks more cute than ever. He loves playing football and he will spend hours playing on the handbikes which is one of his favourite toys at the moment along with the cars and the telephone.

Sandley, through the help and care given by the Maison and his foster family, is a very lucky little boy. Sadly, there are many many more kids like Sandley who are not so fortunate. The Maison is at full capacity and regularly has to turn children away, as they simply do not have room or resources to care for more. We have plans to extend the Maison and to open the Maison 7 days a week instead of just 4 so we can touch many more young lives like Sandley. But we’ll need more sponsors to fund this kind of expansion. Thank you for supporting the project.