We are thrilled to announce that the Mercy & Sharing schools have reopened as of Monday April 5, 2010.

The Mercy & Sharing schools include the John Branchizio school in Cazeau, the Cite de Soliel school and the Williamson Campus school) and employ Haitian teachers who currently teach approximately 630 students who otherwise would not be in school.  The curriculum is based on the curriculum established by the Government of Haiti: science, math, geography, history, French and grammar.  In addition, a significant part of the curriculum aims to teach life skills, health and hygiene and concepts of integrity, community responsibility participatory democracy.  Mercy & Sharing trains its teachers.  We have established training programs and plans to institutionalize and expand these programs and ultimately offer training to teachers beyond its own schools.  We provide a classroom materials, books, pencils and supplies.  We have developed teaching strategies appeared to children with special needs.  We have plans to develop outreach programs that will export teacher training and teacher strategies to other school systems in Haiti.

This week we asked several of the school children to write a brief story about themselves.

Wildana Fortune – My name is Wildana Fortuné, it is time for me to thank everybody for their help after January 12, 2010 that day was terrible. We are all very, very sad, we were left with no home, no clothes and without food but God is good. I’m feeling better and I am looking forward to go back to my school at John Branchizio. May God bless you all.

Mardochee – My name is Mardochée, I’m in fourth grade at John Branchizio School. I’m writing those lines in order to thank you for your support. Thank you a lot for the food program after the earthquake, that you keep running. I hope God will Bless you all working at Mercy and Sharing for that helping hand to me. Both me and my Parents are praying for you.

Samuel - My Name is Samuel, I would like when I’m older to become a pilot to fly the big planes that I see passing over my school at John Branchizio every day. I have a hot plate of food every day at my school, which is very good. I like to travel to other countries and see the whole world.

Johane - My name is Johane Fleurisme. How are you? I feel much better now. I’d like the food that you give me every day at John Branchizio School after January 12, 2010. I’m a second grader. I want to be a Doctor one day to take care for a lot of people.

Abandoned Baby Unit

Just this past week we were contacted by a little girl – Mary – who we knew 14 years ago and was in the abandoned baby unit. She was adopted by parents in Alaska and we had lost touch with her. She looked up Susie on the Internet and sent the attached photo. What an incredible turnaround for this young girl. She is almost 18 years old now!

Remember, none of this would be possible without your generous donations and prayers.  Thanks everyone who has supported Mercy & Sharing and enabled us to in turn help the poorest of the poor.

Please send your donations by logging onto www.haitichildren.com.

Susie & Joe and the rest of the staff at Mercy & Sharing say THANK YOU!

Mercy and Sharing’s ABU is a very sad place. Upon entering the room, the pain and suffering of the abandoned children permeates your very soul. This 30×15 box of a room, located near the morgue in the National Hospital in Port-au-Prince is “home” to many of these children for years on end.

In almost every case, the children do not have names, birth certificates or a past that is known to us. Most of these children, often left for dead on the hospital steps, are severely handicapped or victims of neglect and abuse, like little MacKenzen who survived his father’s brutal slash to the head with a machete. Some were formerly “restaveks” or children in servitude to a master. And there is always the issue of kidnappings. Even from the ABU itself the child sex trade and traffic in body parts is alive and well. Because this is a government owned facility, we have not yet been given permission to place security guards in the unit to prevent this from happening.

Mercy & Sharing provides these children with three meals a day, clothing, clean water, a doctor visit five times a week, and someone to hold them. Our supplies, food, clothing, medicine and even the children’s records are frequently stolen. Mercy & Sharing is not allowed to place trained staff in the room and we’re required to hire only employees chosen by the hospital administration.

On January 9th 2009 we were invited by the Minister of Health to discuss the frequent disappearance of these children. For the first time in 15 years of caring for these abandoned children we have hope that we will be allowed to replace the corrupt staff assigned to us and place security around the unit to protect the children and our supplies. The new Minister of Health, Dr. Alex Lawsen who took office November of 2008 and his Chief of staff Ariel Henry, have shown great concern about each of these issues. For the first time in over a decade these children may get the care they need. Mercy & Sharing is standing by to implement every action proposed to these honorable men on January 9th.

If these little heroes live to see Mercy House Orphanage, there is a wonderful celebration awaiting them. Pray for us please – we need you not to forget them!

Last night we shot at a club, which was difficult because it was so loud. Today the the film crew wanted to get B-roll of me as I used to be. So we first went to a spa and from there to Rodeo Drive to shop. They gave me a bunch of hundred dollar bills specifically for that purpose, but I ended up not buying anything and instead decided to save the money for my kids in Haiti.

So from there we went to 10236 Charing Cross Drive. The Playboy Mansion. Where for an hour I told my story of how I came to be there, and how I came to leave there, and how I came to be in Haiti, which is where I’ll be tomorrow.

I’m leaving for Los Angeles this morning to film a television interview tonight.  That is if I can get out this morning.  It’s snowing the way it does when the airlines cancel your flight.  From LA I leave for Miami and then soon I should be in Haiti with all of my children at the Mercy & Sharing orphanages.  I spent Thanksgiving thanking God for so much like my husband, my health, family, my dogs, my warm home, plenty of food and water and even wine.   I  wondered what the people in our rural villages were eating today in our feeding program.  I wondered if one particular woman named Rita would think of me today because she was on my mind so much.  Rita is over 90 years old.  She doesn’t know her birthday.  She’s blind, she has a large tumor on the side of her face and her body is deformed.  The last time I visited her she was singing.  I really love Rita.  I can’t wait to see her on this trip to Haiti.