“Ti Mika Burnette.”

This sweet young teenager was born in the village of Madamn Bauje! At that time, she could have been about nine months old… it was hard to tell. She had red, straw-like hair, and malnutrition. She was being carried in the arms of her elderly grandma. There was no “mother or father,” to care for her. Her grandma was feeding her tiny crumbs of white rice, then, she put the baby on the ground by herself and went to do something. I thought, “She will never be able to care for this child, we better take her in.” We found her grandma and she asked us to take her.

Some years later, when Ti Mika was doing well, we took a picture of her back to her elderly grandma, who was dying. She looked at Ti Mika, smiled, and said, “Now, I can die in peace.” Ti Mika wants to be a pediatrician. She still loves dolls, jump rope, and plays “a mean game of dominoes!”

She will be going into 9th grade, but she still loves dolls!! She has an “overbite” on her front row of teeth, so we will have to get her passport and take her to the Dominican Republic to see a dentist. We cannot get to one here because of gangs! We all love Ti Mika!! She’s a “pistol”!! She’s a strong-willed girl and we love her!

Sherry