Canadians care for Haitian orphans
Homeless, parent-less children have been wandering the streets in Haiti for a very long time. That's nothing new. What's new is that the world has taken notice. And for Canadians David and Sonya Lock who run two orphanages in Haiti, that could be very good news indeed.
Before the earthquake, the Freedom House orphanages in Port-au-Prince and Jacmel were full to capacity. In fact they were both undergoing expansion projects. Both buildings survived the quake, and now the needs are greater than ever.
"I used to walk past a building in Port-au-Prince where about 40 young kids would gather at night to sleep on the roof," David Lock says. "I guess they found some comfort in being together."
"Now there are orphans everywhere."
According to Lock, children are brought to the orphanage by pastors and elders in their community who can verify that they have no parents or have been abandoned or abused by their adult caregivers. Then all the necessary legal documents are processed for every child.
Both orphanages have property adjacent to local churches that also include school facilities. When children first come to them, they receive the medical treatment and nourishment they need to become healthy and they begin school and church activities.
The children are cared for by Haitian house-parents. The Locks, who both have jobs in Canada, visit at least four times a year, often bringing teams from their home church, Springvale Baptist Church in Stouffville.
"It is remarkable to witness the transformation that takes place in a short period of time as these precious ones discover, perhaps for the first time, that they are in a place of protection and love," says Lock.
That protection and love is meant to last. Freedom House is a place to grow up, not a holding centre for adoption. "In our experience, Haitian children are not adopted by Haitian families," says Lock. "They are sent to Canada or the States, and Haiti loses them."
Lock says it is their goal to nurture and educate the children so that they can become leaders in their own communities. "If they stay in their country," he says, "they can change their country."
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