TRAVELER'S LOG - Rivers of Hope visit

Going to the orphanage is always a treat! Most of the kids were running around, laughing and having fun with us. We held babies, played with toddlers and wrestled with kids. We even had the opportunity to help feed the youngest ones lunch! We "ooh'd" and "aah'd" over everyone and were sad that our visit was so short.

Right now, there are 15 children at Rivers of Hope. Four are available for adoption. Please contact us if you or anyone you know has any interest and we will put you in contact with the right people. These beautiful children need homes!

Here are just a few of the pics that we took. First are individual shots, followed by group shots and us having fun with the kids!

Thank you, St. Paul's!

Some of the gorgeous windows at St. Paul's

The sanctuary at St. Paul's

The partners: Randa El gayar, Sally Carlson,

Sadoni Leon (Director of St. Vincent’s), Tom Landry II,

Kathy Korge Albergate, Scott Albergate,

Sonya Yencer at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church–Lakeview

Meeting with Fr. Sadoni to discuss the future of St. Vincent's

(from left to right, Fr. Sadoni, Kathy, Tom)

Back in October, we announced our partnership with St. Paul’s Episcopal Church-Lakeview (New Orleans, LA) and the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana to help rebuild St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children School and Clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. As 2010 comes to a close and totals are tallied, we are thrilled with the first fruits of this partnership and excited for what this means for St. Vincent's.

Churches and parishioners from AR, AZ, CA, HI, LA, MA, MD, NJ, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, the UK, UT, VA, VT and WI have donated funds in excess of $33,000 to help send All Terrain Wheelchairs, canes, crutches, tarps and medical equipment to St. Vincent’s.

In addition to the donations mentioned above, some of the same churches and parishioners have donated to The Red Thread Promise to support Rivers of Hope orphanage in Haiti, ensuring that the little ones have food, clean water and the medical attention they need year-round. Their generosity goes farther still in support of the babies at Swallows Nest Children's Home in China, providing special needs orphans with spina bifida surgery, formula and ongoing medical care.

Small donations come together to form large donations that make a big difference in the lives of these exceptional children, from Haiti to China. If you are one of these donors, please give yourself a huge hug from all of us at The Red Thread Promise.

We also ask that you continue to keep us and St. Vincent’s in your thoughts and prayers. Our work there has only begun. Based on the request of Fr. Sadoni, Director of St. Vincent's, our resources have gone to supplies for the center. In time, we will focus on equipping their clinics and partnering to rebuild part of the facility.

In the meantime, we continue to raise funds and awareness for St. Vincent’s for wheelchairs ($325 each), equipment for the blind (approximately $20,000) and clinics, along with clean water and food on a regular basis. Quite a lofty goal, but we together can do it!

Kathy & Tom - Days 1 & 2 in Haiti

Kathy, Tom and the team made it safely to Haiti despite late flights from New Orleans and Miami. They were greeted by Willem (MTM), Rachoul (Rivers of Hope orphanage director) and Jean Michelle (Rachoul's son) who took them to the guest house in the midst of a slow drizzle.

Haiti is in its second week of the rainy season, which normally lasts for approximately 6 weeks. The roads are taking a beating in all of the rain. Large potholes are now huge potholes. Vast areas of road has washed away leaving behind deep ruts that are difficult to traverse even in a truck. Large rocks and boulders have been washed into the streets making many impassible. Tomorrow the team will go to Port au Prince to see the affect the rain is having on the tent cities.

There are 7 people on the team, pictured from left to right:

• Sally, representing the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia
• Kathy, TRTP President
• Randa, interior architect
• Noor, urban planner
• Tom, interior architect
• Jennifer, former TRTP board member working for SDG Adoption
• Angie, occupational therapist

Kindergardeners singing at the Gramothe School

A tour of MTM's school and church followed. Willem showed them the site for the new Children's Home orphanage on MTM's property. Then a trip up the mountain on foot to visit the village of Gramothe and surrounding areas.

Sally holding Rose at Rivers of Hope

Christopher

Finally, they drove to Rivers of Hope to tour the facility and, of course, play with the beautiful children in Rachoul's care. There are 6 boys and 1 girl at this time. Praise God Christopher was feeling well today and running around like a typical healthy boy.

Tomorrow's schedule will be just as full. Check back for an update.

Travelers log - Day 4 in Haiti

Tom fitting a patient with reading glasses.

Kathy teaching a family how to open a bottle of vitamins.

Kathy, Tom and Christel checking patients in.

Angela, Pastor Mike and Sean preparing the room for a new patient.

Angela and Tom working together.

Today we worked in the clinic again doing a variety of tasks, including taking and recording patients' temperatures and weight, fitting people for eyeglasses, applying scabies ointment and keeping the clinic as tidy as possible with the volume of people coming through the doors. 185 patients were served by our team.

The highlight of our day was a short trip to Rivers of Hope orphanage where we were able to talk with Rachoul about the operation and HOLD THE BABIES.

The facility is beautiful and is just like a home. It has a living room, dining / sunroom, a large bedroom / playroom with bunk beds, cribs and a play area that opens onto a patio. The grounds are well-kept with several connecting outdoor areas, including a small toddler-sized playground.

But the most beautiful aspect is the children. They are so happy and content in their environment with their extended family. There are 4 nannies, 3 onsite at all times caring for the children. We enjoyed spending time with the kids and got to hold most of them, including Christopher.

Thankfully, 6 of 7 babies are matched with families. Rachoul is looking forward to the arrival of 5 new babies this week. We are hoping to meet some of these new faces before we return to the US on Saturday.

We delivered suitcases full of supplies that, in Rachoul's words, "made my day." She gave us all big hugs and was so pleased with the soy milk, vitamins, baby food and diapers. The orphanage shelves are fully stocked again and she was thrilled.

ORPHAN PROFILE - Christopher

Hopefully you all met Christopher in our recent mailing. For those of you who haven't, he is an adorable 2-year-old living at Rivers of Hope orphanage in Gramothe, Haiti. Gramothe is a rural town in the mountains about one hour outside of Haiti's capital, Port Au Prince.

Christopher was brought to Rivers of Hope in 2008 as a very malnourished infant in need of medical attention. He has sickle-cell anemia and is frequently hospitalized due to his condition.

Not being a doctor myself, I had to look up what sickle-cell anemia was. According to Access Excellence, it is an inherited, potentially lethal disease in which a defect in hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying pigment in the blood, causes distortion (sickling) and loss of red blood cells, producing damage to organs throughout the body. To me, that says he is one sick little boy who needs as much support as possible. And that's where The Red Thread Promise comes in.

We have pledged our support to care for Christopher over the next two years by underwriting his medical bills while his is in Haiti waiting for his forever family. Why two years? Because that is the average waiting time to place a child with an adoptive family. It is our hope by the end of that period he will have a new family who will continue his care.

If you or someone you know is interested in adopting this precious little boy please, contact Jennifer Mesick at SDG Adoption and Child Advocacy Center: 630.969.8202 or JenM@redthreadpromise.org.

If you would like to be added to our mailing list, please contact kathy@redthreadpromise.org.