Back from Haiti

As any of you who have been following my blog know, I have a major passion (Chancho might call it an obsession) for the children of Haiti. I had the opportunity to visit my dear country last week. I'm sure the next many posts will be dedicated to that short trip because I must save those memories. So, I'm sorry if I bore any of you, but Haiti it is.

This first post is dedicated to the woman who suffered so much and gave me the fruits of it. Vivianne was 16 years old. She had moved from her poverty-stricken home in the countryside in hopes of a better life in the city. Soon after, a war started in Haiti which would soon end in a coup which would cause the country to spiral downward into even more troublesome times than they were already dealing with as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. As rebel armies marched upon the capital of Haiti, Port au Prince, Vivanne's boyfriend, Jocelyn, was caught in the cross fires and was killed. Vivianne then found out she was pregnant. She had no idea what to do with this unborn child. She was desperate and found herself living in a shack in one of the worst slums in the world. There she gave birth to a boy. She named him Loumisson. As she was starving herself, no milk came for Vivianne to feed the baby. Eight days later they were both on the verge of death. A friend suggest to Vivianne that she might be able to get help from an orphanage--at least maybe her child would live. Vivianne took her tiny, starving son to Guesno Mardy, orphanage director of Foyer de Sion. He said he would do all he could to make sure that Loumisson survived and had a good life. Vivianne came to the orphanage a couple of times until a few weeks later when Guesno told her that a family in America was going to adopt Loumisson. He said the family had two daughters and that they were good and kind people and that Loumisson would always be loved and cared for. Vivianne felt at peace to go on with her struggling life, feeling that she had made the best choice that she could.

I knew virtually nothing about this young woman, the mother of my son, until last summer. I paid a friend of mine in Haiti to track her down and tell her that I would like to meet her, if she was interested. She was, and we spent nearly an entire day together. She was happy to share a lot of details of her life with us and wanted Loumisson to know that she had tried to do her best by him, and that she loves him. I gave her a photo album and she smiled and I saw some of the pain leave her eyes. Vivianne was still having a tough life but things were looking up a little. She had a boyfriend and a new little daughter, Vivianna.I was able to meet Vivianne and Vivianna again this year. We spent time at our hotel and I again gave her a photo album and as much monetary support as I could for them and the new addition to her family--another baby girl (she didn't bring the infant to the hotel this time, just Vivianna). Here is a short video clip of my son's biological sister and mother and a couple of photos: