Okay, I can't hold it inside any longer and now that it's "official" I am excited to make another announcement! HCH Mangine has accepted two more children that will be moving in with us December 1. Prisca and Wildarne Pierre.
Seriously, these kids are PRECIOUS.
Prisca is 7. She's a REALLY spunky little girl. (To quote Nick Mangine, "Great, cause that's what we need in this family... another spunky female.") Her birthday is in June, so she just turned 7.
Wildarne is 6-- we just celebrated her birthday September 11th. She's a bit quieter than her sister and the first thing you'll notice about her is her short, short hair as she suffers from a fungal infection on her head that necessitated shaving off her hair.
The girls are biological sisters. They lived with their mother until about two years ago when she passed away. (The father had abandoned the family before the mom got sick.) The girls were placed in the same orphanage that Fritzie lived in in Jacmel until it closed down earlier this year. At this time, they went to live with their uncle. He knew that he couldn't care for them long term and came to our door asking for help.
We knew we couldn't accept the kids until December because we simply don't have the room, but after much pondering, we realized that we had to do something to step in to help this family. The uncle does love the girls, and is trying to do the right thing. But he simply does not have the resources or room for them, though he has a job and works hard to support his family (a wife and two kids.) Therefore, we decided it would be a benefit to this family, to the girls, and ultimately to our family long term to start the girls in school. They started along with Fritzie on Sept 7th and are doing well. They come over to our house every day after school to eat lunch (our big meal of the day) with our family. After that, we drive them back to their uncle's house, about 15 minutes away. This way we know they are getting nutritious food. We were also able to provide them with new backpacks and books, new shoes and socks, new underwear and new school uniforms. The first day of school I sent them home with toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, shampoo and medicine for Wildarne's scalp. THANK YOU to all of the people who donated items! They are making a difference with the kids who need it the most!
In addition to schooling, we've been spending some time on the weekends with Prisca and Wildarne when we can. They got to go the beach with us and the team last weekend-- which they LOVED.
I already have a lot of stories about the girls and I am excited that I get the chance to share them. Here are a few pictures and just one final thought about them for today--
These little girls have been through A LOT of major transitions. When their mom died they went to live at an orphanage. When the orphanage closed, they went to live with their uncle. Now they are in this weird transition for the next few months and then will live in our home. One of the "silver linings" about this story is that for the past two years in the orphanage, they lived with Fritzie-- basically as sisters. Haitian Children's Home exists to build and save families. I have learned in the past several years that the word "family" doesn't relate as much to biology as it does a state in your heart. I am glad that though these girls have had many, many losses when it comes to family, we get to be a part of resurrecting a tiny bit of their previous family in ours-- their sister Fritzie. Praise be to God who makes broken things whole.
Fritzie, Prisca, Wildarne and Nia
Gwenn and all the Mangine and HCH Mangine kids eating lunch after school
Nia, Prisca and Wildarne
