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Friday, January 29, 2010
Haitian orphans will not be coming to SML
A group of girls from the Foyer des Fill es de Dieu, an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, that was damaged in the Jan. 12 earthquake, will not be coming to the Smith Mountain Lake area.
Adele DellaValle-Rauth, who along with husband Bob heads the Haiti mission at Resurrection Catholic Church in Moneta, said the obstacles to bring the girls here, either individually or as a group, were insurmountable. The parish has “twinned” with the orphanage for 20 years, providing support through money and volunteerism on site.
Last week, Bob DellaValle-Rauth said he thought it was feasible that the orphans could be part of a refugee program that would bring them to the SML area to be placed in temporary foster homes.
Another option was housing all of them at a facility provided by Presbyterian Homes & Family Services in Lynchburg. The organization sponsors emergency shelter, foster care and independent living programs. Bob Dendy of PHFS said his group was prepared to take the girls in, but it had been “a long shot” from the beginning.
“The support of the local community has been awesome, and we have worked with government representatives and politicians who might have a little clout to see what it would take to get clearance for the girls, but the bottom line is that it wouldn’t work,” said Adele DellaValle-Rauth.
She said she was told that orphans who have been admitted to the United States were those who already were up for adoption at the time of the earthquake. The paperwork to have the girls at Foyer des Filles de Dieu go through the adoption process is too cumbersome and, in some cases, takes years. In addition, finding the papers needed to bring them here, especially in the aftermath of the quake, would be close to impossible, she said.
“It’s taken us awhile to admit it, because it was such a wish,” said Adele DellaValle-Rauth, adding that it is not the goal of the orphanage to relocate the girls. “We want to give them a safe place to live, medical care, education and a start in life.”
Reports out of Haiti about the condition of the orphanage building and about the aid its staff and residents have received since the earthquake devastated the Caribbean nation have been conflicting.
Bob DellaValle-Rauth said last week that he was told by the son of orphanage Director Paula Thybulle that because the building was uninhabitable, some 65 girls who lived there were homeless and sleeping in the streets. The son also told Bob DellaValle-Rauth that as of Tuesday, Jan. 18, they had received no aid and were in desperate need of water.
According to a report by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, there was some damage to the orphanage building and part of it had been deemed unsafe. NCIS confirmed that as of Jan. 24, the children were sleeping in the street, but they appeared to be in good health, had received food and were observed eating spaghetti.
Numerous reports over the Internet have questioned the identity of the three teenage girls associated with Foyer des Filles de Dieu who were reported to have died in the quake. Several reports said they were not residents of the orphanage, but Adele DellaValle-Rauth said she is certain they were.
Bob DellaValle-Rauth said last week that a clinic that adjoined the orphanage and is run by Thybulle, was not damaged in the quake, but was swamped with injured seeking help.
That appears not to be the case, said both Adele DellaValle-Rauth and the NCIS report. The hospital, which has 20 beds and an operating room, was closed “after the earthquake and reopened [Jan. 24],” according to the NCIS report.
“All I know is what Paula told us,” said Adele DellaValle-Rauth, adding that communication has been sparse and difficult.
“We’ve had a lot of miscommunication because of the state of things in Haiti, which is in chaos,” she said.
The NCIS report said that as of Monday, Jan. 25, five patients, under the care of nurses from Acts of Mercy International, were housed at the clinic. The clinic, said both the report and Adele DellaValle-Rauth, is located on a one-lane road and has to be reached through a congested marketplace, making access difficult.
The DellaValle-Rauths and several parishioners from Resurrection are planning to make the trip to Port-au-Prince as soon as commercial airlines are allowed reentry. In the meantime, she said, what the orphanage needs most is money.
“Every penny we get goes directly there,” she said. “It’s a sacred fund that will go toward whatever is going to be needed to keep the girls safe and healthy.”
Adele DellaValle-Rauth, who along with husband Bob heads the Haiti mission at Resurrection Catholic Church in Moneta, said the obstacles to bring the girls here, either individually or as a group, were insurmountable. The parish has “twinned” with the orphanage for 20 years, providing support through money and volunteerism on site.
Last week, Bob DellaValle-Rauth said he thought it was feasible that the orphans could be part of a refugee program that would bring them to the SML area to be placed in temporary foster homes.
Another option was housing all of them at a facility provided by Presbyterian Homes & Family Services in Lynchburg. The organization sponsors emergency shelter, foster care and independent living programs. Bob Dendy of PHFS said his group was prepared to take the girls in, but it had been “a long shot” from the beginning.
“The support of the local community has been awesome, and we have worked with government representatives and politicians who might have a little clout to see what it would take to get clearance for the girls, but the bottom line is that it wouldn’t work,” said Adele DellaValle-Rauth.
She said she was told that orphans who have been admitted to the United States were those who already were up for adoption at the time of the earthquake. The paperwork to have the girls at Foyer des Filles de Dieu go through the adoption process is too cumbersome and, in some cases, takes years. In addition, finding the papers needed to bring them here, especially in the aftermath of the quake, would be close to impossible, she said.
“It’s taken us awhile to admit it, because it was such a wish,” said Adele DellaValle-Rauth, adding that it is not the goal of the orphanage to relocate the girls. “We want to give them a safe place to live, medical care, education and a start in life.”
Reports out of Haiti about the condition of the orphanage building and about the aid its staff and residents have received since the earthquake devastated the Caribbean nation have been conflicting.
Bob DellaValle-Rauth said last week that he was told by the son of orphanage Director Paula Thybulle that because the building was uninhabitable, some 65 girls who lived there were homeless and sleeping in the streets. The son also told Bob DellaValle-Rauth that as of Tuesday, Jan. 18, they had received no aid and were in desperate need of water.
According to a report by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, there was some damage to the orphanage building and part of it had been deemed unsafe. NCIS confirmed that as of Jan. 24, the children were sleeping in the street, but they appeared to be in good health, had received food and were observed eating spaghetti.
Numerous reports over the Internet have questioned the identity of the three teenage girls associated with Foyer des Filles de Dieu who were reported to have died in the quake. Several reports said they were not residents of the orphanage, but Adele DellaValle-Rauth said she is certain they were.
Bob DellaValle-Rauth said last week that a clinic that adjoined the orphanage and is run by Thybulle, was not damaged in the quake, but was swamped with injured seeking help.
That appears not to be the case, said both Adele DellaValle-Rauth and the NCIS report. The hospital, which has 20 beds and an operating room, was closed “after the earthquake and reopened [Jan. 24],” according to the NCIS report.
“All I know is what Paula told us,” said Adele DellaValle-Rauth, adding that communication has been sparse and difficult.
“We’ve had a lot of miscommunication because of the state of things in Haiti, which is in chaos,” she said.
The NCIS report said that as of Monday, Jan. 25, five patients, under the care of nurses from Acts of Mercy International, were housed at the clinic. The clinic, said both the report and Adele DellaValle-Rauth, is located on a one-lane road and has to be reached through a congested marketplace, making access difficult.
The DellaValle-Rauths and several parishioners from Resurrection are planning to make the trip to Port-au-Prince as soon as commercial airlines are allowed reentry. In the meantime, she said, what the orphanage needs most is money.
“Every penny we get goes directly there,” she said. “It’s a sacred fund that will go toward whatever is going to be needed to keep the girls safe and healthy.”
