Haitian Chairs + Ducatpe = SUCCESS

The chair project started back in February when I got the idea to see if I could find a Haitian Chair Maker to make an adapted version of the chairs that they currently make. Presidue & Nahum contacted their Chair friend who came & through them explained what I was looking for. The guy brought a chair back a week later. It was pretty good for the first attempt EXCEPT one minor detail that it would not stand on its own (which was my fault because I asked him to make the back legs ½ inch shorter so that the chairs would be at a slant)… He said that he had an idea of how to improve the chair & would bring another version back in a week. Life got busy and 2.5 weeks later I realized I still had not heard from him. Presidue contacted the chair guy and found out that he no longer wanted to do it. Around this time is when I got sick.

I was truly blessed that Molly my ST intern decided to take over this project for me while I was out of country. We wanted to get each of the severe & profound children chairs for multiple reasons but 2 of the main reasons were to increase positioning so they were not laying all the time and to increase positioning during eating to decrease aspiration. She worked with 3 different Haitian chair guys prior to finding one to make the chairs. She also raised enough $ to get chairs for all the outreach families as well.

It was truly AMAZING to get back to Haiti and see all the children being fed in chairs and sitting up during afternoon birdcage time. One problem with the chair though was that many of the children needed extra support so they did not fall out of the chairs. When I first got back we were using small boppy pillows shoved in the front of the chair which worked for not sliding out the front of the chair onto the floor but did not help with the children who needed extra neck support or chest support from hanging off the side of the chair.

The last week God gave me the creative idea to adapt the chair using ductape and old foam floor mats to custom fit the chairs to each of the children. It was time consuming BUT so worth it!!! The chairs now have a therapeutic aspect to them in that they help stretch some kids, help hold other in proper body alignment and the fact that they are sitting up with help their lungs & other organs. It makes me so happy to see the kids sitting up!!!!!

MIRIAM CENTER STAFF THANK YOU PARTY

Back in June while Kimmy’s House was here we planned a staff Thank You Party for the staff of the Miriam Center.  A chance to Bless the AMAZING Men and Women who pour into the children day in and day out! It was a HUGE SUCCESS. The workers were truly blessed physically, spiritually, and emotionally. A group from Kentucky volunteered to take care of the kids all evening (help feed them dinner, play with/watch them, get them ready for bed, and put them to bed) so that the ALL the workers could come to the party, get a break, and not worry about the kids.  The mom’s asked who was going to be with the kids while they were at the party (They are always worried about the kids :-). When we told them we had help lined up…They all CHEERED….they were so EXCITED!!!!

We started the evening with drinks (coke & sprite) while the workers filled out survey’s so in the future we know how to more specifically bless them and how we can better serve them on a day to day basis.

Next we took a group picture!

We then had a few of the older orphan boys lead us in a time of worship….

After worship I got up and thanked the workers for the AMAZING Job that they do with the kids. I presented them each with a Heart filled with each of the children’s fingerprints. I told them that the children made them a THANK YOU! I then shared witht them how as much as the children have left their little fingerprints on their hearts that they have also left imprints on the kids hearts as well! Laura then got up and shared a variety of scripture verses on working for the LORD and taking care of Orphans tying it back to how they are fulfilling scripture on a daily basis & encouraging them!

The past 6 months Julia Campbell and I  have been fundraising to bless all the workers with solar power lights for their homes. I was able to present each of them with a light after having a Bible lesson on what the Bible has to say about light and use being lights in this dark world. I also encouraged them every time they use the light to remember that Christ is the Light of the World and He lives inside each of us and it is his light that shines out of us to those around us.

We then blessed each of the workers with a Bag of Goodies (put together by the group from Kentucky who was watching the kids). Each of the bags had 2 bags of rice, a bag of beans, a box of spaghetti, and a variety of toiletries. We also blessed each of the workers with a new scrubb top. The workers were so EXCITED.

We then had CRAFT TIME! I was surprised how much the workers got into the project and how EXCITED they were. Earlier in the week we had some of the older orphan boys make wooden picture frames. We provided them with a variety of colors & designs on tissue paper to decopage their frames. We also had a variety of flowers & gems they could glue on. The frames turned out BEAUTIFULLY!!! The day before, the day of and the 2 days following the party we took pictures of each of the workers with various kids & printed them out for them to put in their frame. The workers LOVED having a photo shoot with the kids & were even more EXCITED that they got the pictures!!! It was getting dark during the craft project so they all used their new solar power lights to complete the craft. It was a touching moment for me when I walked down & saw them all using their lights and seeing such a dark room all eluminated!!!

After the craft project we had a movie night with popcorn. We projected “Daddy Daycare” onto the wall. The staff though this movie was HILARIOUS! During the movie we gave back massages and manicures to the workers.

The next day Nahum (our Hatian Director) came up to me and let me know that last night was the biggest blessing the workers had ever received! They definitely deserved it!

Ice Cream Runs to One Stop For Disability Advocacy

When Kimmy’s House was here in June we did trips to the One STOP for Ice Cream. This was a great opportunity to spend quality time with the kids, give them a special treat, as well as do community awareness/advocacy. In totally during the week I think we took ~5 trips with differentf kids downtown. We took the Club Caddet a few times so that the kids who NEVER get to go due to their size & weight would be able to go. Some of the kids we took hardly ever get off campus. It was such a blessing to see their excitement and to watch so many others love on the kids. JOY, HAPPINESS, EXCITEMENT, SATISFACTION, LOVE….are just a few words to describe the incredible time.

It was also wonderful for me to already see the difference in how these children are viewed at the One Stop. Back in February I wrote a blog about our first trip taking the kids to the One Stop and how the security guard followed us around the entire time in the store and stood over starring at the kids and pointing them out ot everyone who walked by. I think that he had never seen a child with special needs and due to the stigma on these children could not believe we would be loving on them like we were or spending $ on such a treat for these children.  I loved that now it is very different. These children are welcomed, the security guard is no longer fascinated but has accepted it. There are still lots of people who walk by while we are there and stare but when we say hi they smile & say hi back. What an example to all those watching of loving the least of these as Christ does and being his hand and feet!!!!