Children

So much is still going on in Haiti it is hard to decide which part to talk about. Today we will talk about the children.

The orphanage sits mostly empty. All the US, Canadian, and Netherlands children have gone to live with their adoptive families until the process is finished. They came home on Humanitarian Visas. The French children are still there waiting.

GLA has had a few new children come in but only a few. Their rooms sit empty. Their nannies sit with no little hands to hold and love through this tragedy. Their trained medical staff sit with only one or two babies to help. Why? In one word UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund). UNICEF is largely responsible for how long adoptions have taken to get completed in Haiti. Since they have gotten involved with adoptions in Haiti the process has gone from around 14 months that the children are in the orphanages to over 2 years..

Back to GLA. UNICEF has decided to place all the children into 'tent cities' rather than to place them into IBESR (Haiti's Social Services) approved orphanages with trained staff and medical care. This just blows us away. First, why is UNICEF controlling Haitian children. Second, these poor children. They have seen so much trauma and have so much scaring emotionally from it. They need these scars healed quickly before they set in and that is not possible in a 'tent city'. Please pray for all of these dear souls that are affected by this. Please pray for the Haitian government and for UNICEF to lose whatever control and influence they have had on the Haitian government these past several years.

To end on a positive note, of the few children GLA has received since the earthquake one was reunited with his mother. GLA had taken a photo of the child and posted it at the local hospital hoping someone would see it and know who he was. Apparently it was a beautiful thing to see, when the boy and his mom were reunited and the pure joy on there faces.

Continue to pray for Haiti!!!