Little 11-month-old Vialie Jose sat on the table at our Malnutrition Center waiting for her exam. Her mother, Madamn Palimene, was just 35 years old and already a widow. Her husband had died just a short time ago. Together, they had eight children, two of whom died. The oldest had died at birth, and the youngest died at 13 months old. She said the baby died when she went to work in the garden, leaving the baby with her 15 year-old brother…

She now has six children. She makes her living doing “odd jobs” for other poor people (i.e. working in their garden, washing clothes, etc.) Her garden does not produce much of anything due to a drought. Her children mostly live on bread and corn, which is the reason Vialie has Kwashiorkor Malnutrition. Little Vialie Jose only weighed in at 6 kg and has been malnourished for some time. She suffers from diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and lesions all over her body. The doctors said that she now has “Chicken Pox.”

They live up in the mountains of Peyi Pouri in a small area called Marozo. There is no clinic or help of any kind. The Jesus Healing Center transferred her to our Malnutrition Center, because they said there would be no hope of her survival unless we took her in. All the children have been living on “hardly anything to eat” for quite a long time. What a life of sorrow for this young woman and her whole family.

We will get little Vialie Jose back on her feet and see how we can help her mother to take better care of her children. After burying her husband and two children, this mother has almost lost all hope. We need to help her get her hope back. The Haitians say, “espwa fe viv.” It means, “hope makes us live.” Let’s always help the poor.

Sherry