It’s heartbreakingly common to receive babies into our care who have encountered significant trauma.
Seeing all the happy, healthy, smiling faces at Angel House, it’s difficult to imagine that some of these children arrived with stories straight out of the headlines, shocking and horrifying. One five-week-old baby boy came to us with broken bones after a rescue from a trash heap. A two-month-old girl was found abandoned alone in a remote field, and a six-month-old girl had been thrown from a second-floor balcony in the heat of a domestic dispute. A set of young brothers were left in the care of a stranger on the street. But all of these children share a common thread of redemption and recovery, living their lives in now-cared-for bodies, loved and protected.
These transformations bring us joy, but not every story ends with victory.
This is Aïsha’s story.
It began in a similar way: a baby abandoned with evidence of trauma and neglect.
Prompted by a call from IBESR (Haitian Children’s Services), we picked up this tiny and frail baby girl on June 17. Aïsha had been taken to the authorities after her mother had abandoned her at the home of an acquaintance. One day she simply left and never returned, and no one at all, it seemed, had done much to care for this helpless infant either before or after her abandonment. Barely a month old, malnourished, dehydrated, with severe diaper rash and covered in lesions, Aïsha was in dire need of medical care, so that became our immediate priority.
Early in the morning two days later, as her nurse and nanny set about to ready her to see a pediatrician, Aïsha began to struggle to breathe and grew pale and cool to the touch. The nurse immediately put her on oxygen and called in reinforcements— our Crèche Director, Rose Indise Jean, and our resident physician, Doctor Fonrose. We rushed her to the nearest hospital, Maison des Enfants Cheris, where the doctors there again put her on oxygen along with a hydrating antibiotic treatment. That was 8:45 in the morning, and Aïsha spent the next eight hours in emergency as her carers stood by, waiting for news, hoping and praying without ceasing. Although the medical team did everything within their power to save her, Aïsha left our world at five o’clock that afternoon.
Aïsha became an angel too soon.
She was with us far too short a time, but Aïsha deserves for her story to be told; she deserves to be known. We mourn her loss, and we grieve the horrors this tiny angel endured in her brief life. We take comfort knowing that we did everything possible to save her and that from the moment her existence was made known to us, she was loved beyond measure. We are comforted in the knowledge that Aïsha is perfect and whole in the loving arms of Jesus, now and for all eternity, her pain and struggles forgotten. And we rejoice that we will be united with her again one day, knowing her same joy.
Aïsha’s story is tragic, but she left her imprint on us all. She fuels us more than ever to do all we can to help the many other children with stories like hers and children whose stories have not yet even begun. We will be here for them whenever we are called to intercede, and they will be loved.
You can become a part of the life of a child like Aïsha.
We are able to care for children such as Aïsha solely because of the generosity of our Orphan Care Sponsors. Because of these amazing Sponsors, we are able to provide 24/7 loving nannies and nurses, medical care, nutritious food, clothing, shelter, and safety for these little ones who need our help. We focus on the whole child, nurturing them physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, so that they may grow to be as healthy as possible in every way before they finally go home with their adoptive families.
If you would like to be a part of this amazing team of Orphan Care Sponsors, enter here to learn more: