Little 19-month-old Lovencia is the youngest of four children. She lives with her parents in a very poor area of Haiti. The parents are so destitute, that they do not have enough food to feed their children, even two meals a day. The family’s staple diet is rice and sometimes “sugar.” (They use sugar to mix with water to drink!)
The mother, Madamn Marlene, knows how to find water to sell to the community for very little money or to collect stones by the river for her husband to break into small pieces to sell. But, even with these two jobs, they cannot meet the needs of the family of six. The father always eats first, with the largest portion, because he is the “bread-winner,” and right down from the oldest to the youngest. That is why so many children and babies, like Lovecia, have malnutrition.
A month ago, Madamn Marlene noticed that her baby had diarrhea and vomiting. Thinking that her baby had worms, she prepared a special “tea” for her, but, Lovencia grew worse… red, dry, brittle hair… thin arms, and a bloated belly… all signs of malnutrition, the killer of babies and toddlers in Haiti. (Special teas in Haiti can make the child far worse!)
She heard about our Jesus Healing Center, so she gathered up her baby and faced coming through the gangs and street people. When our doctors examined her, they knew that she must go straight to our Malnutrition Clinic. Here, Lovencia will eat “four times a day.” When Lovencia’s mother arrived, it was like “all Heaven came down.” The doctors assured her they would save her baby and get her healthy again.
Just look at Lovencia’s face. Could you even say “no” to her? Even though she doesn’t say a word, her eyes are talking to us, saying, “help me.” This is why we are still here in Haiti, “boots on the ground,” no matter what.
Sherry
