Children's Respite Home & Outreach Project, Haiti

Shinaica is one of the regular kids at the respite home (Maison). She was abandoned as a young child and now lives with her foster family who care for her very well. Shinaica is the only child in the family and there are 4 people in total living at the home. Her foster mother works at the Maison.

The community where Schinaica lives has very pleasant surroundings. There are many trees there and the home where she lives is clean and tidy. Shinaica lives quite close to the Maison.

The staff at the Maison are very excited because Shinaica has been given a new wheelchair by our partners at Walkabout Foundation, which means that her head is supported a lot better than in her last chair, and she can sit up more and see her surroundings. A physiotherapist also encouraged the staff to put a toy between her knees, thus helping her legs stay in a better position, and providing something fun to look at! The staff are excited to see the changes this will bring to her happiness and quality of life.

Shinaica is growing bigger and stronger which the staff at the Maison are very happy about. She used to bite her hands and hurt herself when she was distressed, but since her adult teeth have come in she has not been biting as much, and when she does it doesn’t hurt her as much as the teeth are less sharp.

She can understand a lot, and responds positively to music and being pushed around in her wheelchair. She enjoys noise, so if she is in a quiet room she cries so she can be taken to where the action is! She also doesn’t love heat, so when there is a breeze she gets excited and smiles a lot.

Shinaica was also part of a filming project whose aim is raising more funds for the Maison. We will share this film with you when it is finished. One thing we found out in the filming was that one of Shinaica’s favourite people is her foster mother’s mother, who is over 90 years old. They like to take naps together when Shinaica is home at the weekend.

This is the kind of progress that makes all the work worthwhile. A girl who we first met, abandoned with sever disabilities, now enjoying a loving family and developing well under the care of the Maison staff and her family. She now has a bright future.

Thank you for supporting the respite home and making these stories possible!