Haitian children undergo screening, medicals

KEN WRIGHT PIER, Port Antonio:

THE 59 Haitian children with varying disabilities, along with their 13 caregivers, left Portland yesterday after undergoing screening and medical check-ups conducted by the Ministry of Health.

The children, along with their caregivers, first landed by boat shortly before 9 a.m. yesterday at the Ken Wright Shipping Pier in Port Antonio. The boat was escorted into port by a Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) coast guard vessel and the marine police.

Occupants of the vessel were fed afterwards and given bottled water.

The children, who were under the care of HaitiChildren, a non-profit that caters to abandoned, orphaned, and disabled children in Haiti, were received by the Mustard Seed Communities (MSC) and transported to its Jacob’s Ladder home in Moneague, St Ann, shortly after 3:30 p.m. by the JDF mobile units, health officials, and the police.

It is understood that the existing arrangement to provide accommodation and medical care to the disabled children is a two-year initiative, and funding will be provided by HaitiChildren’s various established donors.

In a statement yesterday, Father Garvin Augustine, executive director of MSC International, said that following a series of meetings with government agencies, MSC was granted permission for the children to enter Jamaica legally and to get the necessary care in a safe environment.

But it was founder and Chief Executive Officer of the non-profit HaitiChildren, Susie Krabecher, who first approached the leaders of MSC in Jamaica in the wake of escalating civil unrest in that country, seeking help to provide accommodation for the group. The war has severely disrupted the lives of the Haitian people, especially the most vulnerable in the society.

Krabecher noted that because of their disabilities, the children faced mounting challenges primarily because of the violence.

“These children, who had been living under the care of HaitiChildren, were forced to leave the organisation’s facility when growing unrest made it unsafe for them to continue living there. This resulted in the children being left without access to vital supplies and urgent medical attention,” she pointed out.

Mustard Seed Communities, which was established as a non-profit organisation 46 years ago by Monsignor Gregory Ramkissoon, operates 12 homes throughout the island and cares for over 450 abandoned and severely disabled children, including some impacted by HIV, as well as pregnant teens. It also has homes in four other countries across the globe.