Friday, February 21, 2014

Haiti... Here We Go!

There is a lot of excitement surrounding our Haiti program!

Debra and I are so happy to be back in Haiti!  When we arrived at the airport we were greeted by an island band - it makes you want to dance all the way to customs!  We got big smiles on our faces as we saw a sign that read, "An Adventure Awaits"!  The airport is new and modern, but outside there is still hundreds of people offering to help carry your bags.  Our driver, Dennis, is great and he speaks perfect English and has become part of the EAC family.  It is so nice to see a familiar and friendly face, we depend on him for everything. YOU will too!

 
Margaret and Debra
Margaret with Dennis, our family's driver
                                                      
We couldn't wait to get started so off we went to one of our creches.  We were so surprised to see most of the trash and litter, which lined the streets during our last visit, almost gone.  In addition, there is a lot of rebuilding taking place. Signs of the earthquake remain, but a rebirth is taking place.

We arrived at the creche and were greeted with warm hugs and kisses. We were thrilled to see them and them to see us!  While we know it is hard, they are very proud and the children are extremely well taken care of.  We had the opportunity to meet with the entire staff, and some families who are adopting and tour the creche!  It was awesome!  We were able to see where the families stay during their trip.  We also looked at the family rooms and talked with the cooks.
The creche director is working very hard for EAC and we are very proud to be on there team.  They do have a great need for support so we will address that in a blog at another time.

Off we went to another one of our creches that is about a hour away.  The first time we traveled here the roads were full of rocks and dust but this time it had a paved brick road and way less bumps!  What a improvement!  Most creches here in Haiti work with alot of French agency's, as they do alot of adoptions from this country.  French agencys are helping with improvements to the creches. They need to be commended for a job well done!  We want to raise funds through churches and missions to help these creches too, as there is still much needed to be done.

When we arrived we were greeted by a lot of smiling faces.  Unfortunately, we had just missed an EAC family here for a bonding trip!  That would have been special!  We did, however, make arrangements to meet them in the morning to experience their joy! They are so excited and will be sending us pictures of all the adventures they have had during their stay along with a story.  We are so excited!

Margaret with the EAC Family!
Looking back at our visits to the creches, a few things really stand out to us.  First, the spirits of the children are amazing.  Although they have very few toys, they play, sing, and dance with one another - smiling all the time.  We met one young girl in particular who really touched our hearts.  She was 7 years old, has a beautiful smile and is full of life.  We asked the director about her and we were told the girl has slight scoliosis.  One would never know she was "characterized" as a child with special needs.  The director also pleaded with us to find this little girl a family as she truly deserves to be with one.  It's moments like these that drives us to want to help!

The day we left to visit Haiti, the US State Department held a conference call in regards to Haiti's Hague application and review.  It appears everything is in good order and Hague guidelines will be implemented April 1st.  This is great news for Haiti!  There is no anticipated delay during the transition as Haiti has been implementing procedures over the past few years.

There is a sense of urgency for families who have started the adoption process with Haiti to make sure they have their I600a has been filed prior to this date, otherwise the I800a will need to be filed.  Families who filed the I600a prior to April 1st will have two years to file their I600 and complete their adoptions.  EAC will update you more as word becomes official.

We are very excited about the direction of the EAC Haiti program and look forward to assisting families in adopting from Haiti!

Margaret and Debra

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