Jesse Neider

STORIES & SERIES: Haiti - Children of the Promise

Children of the Promise is a privately funded Non Government Organization 45 miles outside of Cap Haitien, Haiti's second largest city. It is an infant care center that is a temporary home for Haitian children from infancy up to six-years-old. Children arrive at the center through recommendations from missionaries in the area, the local Haitian staff, and families of other children already in the center’s care. The center's first priority is to facilitate the return of the children to their biological families through counseling and aid, but they will be put up for adoption if the families are not willing to take on this responsibility, or if there were medical needs that exceed the limitations of local resources. Some of the children at the center are HIV positive or suffer from various health problems such as tuberculosis and malnutrition.

While many of the center’s children have been adopted by families outside of Haiti, the process to obtain the proper visas and legal documents is currently taking up to 24 months, up from 11 months just five years earlier. The center is currently over their 50 person capacity with a total of 70 children and the resources available are being stretched thin. Children of the Promise is an organization that provides a sanctuary to many children in need, and while the center is occasionally under strain to provide for the children in its care, it offers hope for the local Haitian community.

Myrlande, 2, sucks her thumb as a nanny braids her hair before dinnertime at the center. It is important for the children to experience physical contact to help them adjust to new families if they are adopted. An American family is scheduled to adopt Myrlande.
  
Jweldy, a 3-month-old in the care of Children of the Promise, was born without legs although he is a stable and healthy baby otherwise. Many of the children at the center require special medical attention 24 hours a day. The staff of full-time workers and volunteers have a range of abilities in the nursing and medical fields.
  
Peterly, 4, catches raindrops on his tongue during an afternoon thunderstorm outside of Cap Haitien, Haiti. The center stresses active playtime for the children and encourages imagination and social behavior.
     
  
Chelda, 6, who has cerebral palsy, sits in her protective chair to avoid injuring herself in the hallway of the Infant Care Center. Chelda, one of the oldest kids living at the center, has been adopted by a family in the United States, but large amounts of paperwork have drawn out the process for over 18 months.
  
A nanny for the Children of the Promise Infant Care Center outside of Cap Haitien in Haiti, rocks Christolla, 4, on her lap while other children wait their turn for personal attention. The center has roughly a 7:1 ratio of children to nannies, which is among the strongest for infant care centers throughout Haiti.
  
Some of the two and three-year-old children living at the Infant Center Center lay down together for an afternoon nap. Personal space and privacy are not always available due to a population that exceeds the ideal capacity of children at the center.
     
  
Jacob, 2, is washed in a makeshift bathing area outside at the Chilren of the Promise Infant Care Center. Bathing the children takes over two hours and occurs up to three times a day to avoid the spread of disease or infection.
   
Lucia, 9, crawls on the floor of the care center. Early health complications have left her incapable of walking.
  
Three-year-old, Ella, peers out from behind a curtain in the main washroom as others are play with the water tap. The children are bathed throughout the day in order to prevent the spread of infection.
     
  
A father visits with his 22 month-old daughter, Christy, after giving her up for adoption six months earlier. Children of the Promise make it a top priority to reconnect a baby with the biological family if commitment by the parents is demonstrated. Some of the Haitian families make the effort to stay in touch with their children at the center with the hope they will eventually be able to take them back into their homes.
   
A nanny takes a short nap while a baby walks by in the early hours of the evening at the center. The nannies work 24-hour shifts, where they sleep in rooms with at least 10 kids to tend to their needs at all hours of the night.
  
Magalie, 5, raises her hands to the sky while playing in the rain outside of Cap Haitien. The children maintain a youthful hope while being cared for at the Children of the Promise Center.