It’s been more than two years since a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Carribean nation of Haiti, and today most of her people lack even the most basic necessities. Perhaps most in need are women and children, specifically women who are pregnant and caring for young children.
One local charity has been fighting for these vulnerable groups since 2009. To Love a Child is made up of just under a dozen volunteers and funded entirely on donations. The Clifton Park-based group’s mission is to “provide humanitarian assistance to impoverished children and their families throughout the world to help create a better future and quality of life for all.” They have adopted the village of Rantlamouaie in the Central Plateau of Haiti.
There, said To Love a Child Executive Director Cindy Schmehl, women are giving birth to their babies in very primitive surroundings.
“It’s a high poverty area – they literally have nothing for their children once they’re born.… Their dwellings are very humble,” she said.
Schmehl has been to Haiti to assist in humanitarian efforts. She has also been to Zimbabwe on a similar mission and has made more than 25 trips to those destinations since 2003.
“We meet with the ladies and find out what their needs are … we help them out with Bundles of Love,” she said.
Bundles of Love are drawstring bags sewn by women here and include all of the things a mom would need during pregnancy, like pre-natal vitamins and maternity clothes.
Once a woman has given birth, they are also given Bundles of Joy– everything needed for a baby’s first few months of life, such as diapers and clothing.
Schmehl believes strongly in giving back, and said that here in the U.S. people are very fortunate to “have food every day and a drugstore around the corner.”
“When you see the people in Haiti and Zimbabwe, you really recognize how much they don’t have. It’s the basics … like being able to give birth to a child and living,” she said.
In April, Linda Moran, executive director and founder of Maple Leaf Childcare in Malta, discovered To Love a Child at an Infant/Toddler Expo in Saratoga. She saw that she could help, and donated 40 cribs to their Infant Development Program.
“Not only will our donation keep these items out of landfills, but it will help families who have no other means of giving their infants safe beds to sleep in,” said Moran. Because of new standards for cribs, the center needed to replace the 40 they had at the center.
In addition to the cribs, Moran’s childcare center donated 10new infant carriers, a welcome mode of transportation for the little ones in Rantlamouaie.
“The women have to walk two or three miles (for necessities),”said Moran. While she herself is not traveling to Haiti, she’s glad that her center is able to help Schmehl’s efforts.
Schmehl will be bringing Moran’s donations to Haiti in August when she goes there with a group from RPI. That group, Engineers for a Sustainable World, is led by Professor Michael Jensen from the in Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering Department.
They’ll be developing a patient care center for a clinic in Rantlamouaie from a 20-foot by 8-foot cargo container. According to Jensen, the group has been to Haiti twice before.
For the last two years, Maple Leaf Childcare has also given a$1,000 scholarship to an area high school student going into early childhood education.
The center also participates in the March of Dimes walk and provides babysitting nights at no cost for parents who need a night out.
“We do a lot of little things throughout the year,” said Moran.
For more information on To Love a Child or to donate to the cause, visit toloveachild.net.
