The Littlest of These

Compassion helps the poorest of the poor... and also the littlest of the little!  On our trip, our first actual meeting of kids helped by Compassion's programs were the babies!  This was at the Child Survival Program at HA-336.  The Child Survival Program (or CSP) was begun in Haiti in 2003.  Care starts right at the beginning of a child’s life, with the pregnant mother.  They receive prenatal care and medical assistance, as well as important parental education... about nutrition, hygiene, and developmental activities for their children.  They can take classes in literacy, and income-generating skills like dress-making or baking.  In Haiti, there are 65 CSP centers - serving more than 3,000 moms and babies.  Through the programs, their lives are being changed and they are seeing the love of Jesus!

These parents and children greeted us with a song and blue ribbon bows in the morning on our first full day in Haiti.

After the greeting, we proceeded to their church for a program about the work of Compassion in the CSP there.

This is the outside of the church at HA-336.

We were asked to come up front and introduce ourselves, while Johnnie (blue shirt) translated for us.

I didn't take many photos during this time, as I was busy holding a sweet little Haitian baby!  Here is Sue holding another beautiful girl.  Thanks to Glory for the photo!

This baby is the one I was holding during the program.  I wished I could have communicated better with her mother.  But smiles and gestures were the best we could do.

We visited the room where the nurse and staff keep track of all the information on the babies.  They keep meticulous records of their weight, vaccinations, and development.

They have an area with some cots for the moms to rest, and also an area where they have educational programs.

Our kids have plenty of toys at home to help them in their development, but most Haitian babies do not, so they have a room with lots of toys the children can play with when they come to the center.  It was nice they had them so well organized when we were visiting, but I thought what fun it would be to see the kids playing in that room!

The dedication of the staff at this center was amazing.  We could tell they work very hard and care greatly for the kids and their moms.  This lady, a nurse in charge of the CSP, held this little girl the whole time she talked to us about the program.

Another beautiful mom and baby at the CSP.  Photo by Glory.