World Magazine Article About the Children in Haiti

Tom here, while there’s a lot of misrepresentation and sensationalism in the media about what’s happening in Haiti, I have to say that I think Jamie Dean from World Magazine did a very good job of presenting an honest assessment of the work that reputable orphanages are doing and of not mixing the good with the less than reputable.

Continue to pray that all of the organizations and governments involved will work for the good of the children and people in Haiti.

For the kids,

Tom Vanderwell

WORLD Magazine | Hardest hit | Jamie Dean | Mar 13, 10

So are the workers at God’s Littlest Angels (GLA). The orphanage located just outside of Port-au-Prince and founded by an American couple in 1995 has long cared for the most vulnerable of orphans. Board member Tom Vanderwell says John and Dixie Bickel “felt called to the tiniest of the tiny and the sickest of the sick.” Vanderwell has seen that reality firsthand: He and his wife adopted two children from GLA nearly five years ago. At 20 months old, their adopted daughter weighed 12 pounds. She’s much healthier today, and so are many of the other children at GLA.

The group regularly facilitated adoptions before Haitian authorities closed the process. Vanderwell says the organization is carefully following post-quake Haitian regulations: For now, GLA isn’t accepting any new adoption applications, even to keep on file: “We’re committed to doing things right because we’re here for the long haul—long after Anderson Cooper leaves and long after people forget about the Baptists from Idaho.”

When the Haitian government allowed children to leave the country if their adoptive parents were already far along in the adoption process, Vanderwell says 81 children at GLA were eligible to go: “We sent 81 kids home.” Since then, GLA has taken in more than 30 children, many from an orphanage that collapsed. Three children, separated from family, came from the U.S. hospital ship, USNS Comfort. GLA located the birth parents for all three. In one case, a little girl recovering from serious injuries remembered where she went to church in the city. GLA workers took her photograph to the church and within three days her father called to claim her.

Since GLA sustained little damage in the quake, Vanderwell says, “We have the responsibility and obligation to help others.” The group has facilitated nearly 1,000 tetanus shots for the surrounding community and provided help for Haitian staff members—70 percent of the local staff lost their homes. The group plans to help rebuild homes in the community and arrange sponsorships for orphans.