We have written before about Florence. She has been with us since she was a baby. Florence has a great gift for physical therapy and medicine. This gift came upon her when she worked with the earthquake victims after Haiti’s earthquake in 2010. She speaks perfect English.
A few months ago, she heard about a program for foreign students in Italy at UniCamillus – Saint Camillus International University of Health Sciences. The medical courses are in English, and someone urged her to apply. She was one of five Haitian students accepted. This college brings in students primarily from orphanages. They give them a partial scholarship and provide housing. Florence applied months ago and was one of five Haitian students to be accepted.
Florence and the other Haitian students have had a tough time because their visas had to go through “Panama,” because there is not an embassy in Haiti for Italy. After they sent their visas off, all of the problems started in Haiti with roadblocks, killings, riots, etc. Their visas were to come by DHL, but at that time, DHL had closed due to the violence in Haiti. The deadline for this fall’s registration came and went. We all felt so bad for Florence and the others…
Until a few days ago, when someone called her and told her that her visa had gone through! She can travel in December and begin in January. The college pays half of her scholarship, and we must pay the other half, which is $2,000 a year. She must pay her first $1,000 now, and then in April, another $1,000. This is a five-year course. She has a dormitory but has to pay for food and transportation, which will be about $500 a month. She also has to cover her airfare, which is $1,400. She is scheduled to leave December 17th, so we don’t have much time.
Those of you who know Florence know that she is a hardworking young lady and that this is the “opportunity of a lifetime” for any underprivileged child. There is no telling what God wants to do with her life.
If you would like to help sponsor Florence with a one-time gift of any amount, help her monthly, sponsor her college each year for $2,000, or sponsor her airfare for $1,400, please contact our Love A Child office and ask to speak with Rad at 239-210-6107. Thank you so much, Partners, for investing in the lives of the “future of Haiti!” Sherry