My name is Ray Ginther, and I’m proud to sit on the Board of Directors for Mercy & Sharing. I’m at the Abandoned Baby Unit of the General Hospital in Port-au-Prince. I’m holding a child named Enok who had been recently abandoned. He was two years old, severely malnourished, and could not stand or walk. He held me as though his life was in my hands. I worked to have him released to an orphanage run by Mercy & Sharing. Plans for a new facility, called Mercy & Sharing Village, are underway but ground has not yet broken. This facility is not designed to farm kids out to families outside of Haiti. It is designed to give a chance to children to become educated, become productive citizens and develop as future leaders within Haiti. Maybe I made a difference in someone’s life? I hope so.
This month (October 2011) I intend to visit Haiti. While I have been there twice before, I haven’t been there since the earthquake. The purpose of the visit is to visit projects that we have been supporting. The visit will only be for a few days. Haiti not a place that you don’t want to hang around in if you don’t have to.
I’m anxious to see what is going on and to take photos of the current conditions.
I am told that Enok is becoming a smart, inquisitive, friendly kid. He has his friends, smiles a lot and is very involved. He has made friends with many other children in the orphanage. I am really looking forward to seeing him. With all that I have been blessed with it would make me feel great if I somehow pulled a kid out of total despair and provided him with the chance at a productive life.
We didn’t spend time in Port-au-Prince or travel around to see the devastation. However, it was apparent that there is a lot of work to do going on two years after the earthquake. The roads are in horrible condition, there remains a lot of rubble and there is a lot of dust.
We traveled up to the location where the Mercy & Sharing Village at Williamson orphanage is located. It was amazing to tour the place, see the children and observe what has been accomplished. When I was last in Haiti the orphanage was still under construction. Now it is up and operating and the orphans from Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas have now found refuge there. I recognized a lot of them. One in particular is my little friend Enok. This abandoned child who got pulled from the junk heap of humanity is now a lively, smiling little boy who runs around and has a lot of friends. When I met him he could not walk. He could not talk. He was malnourished. Today I found a normal, well-fed, healthy and happy child.
I am proud to sit on the Board of Directors of Mercy & Sharing. In December, 2008 I wondered if I was really making a difference in someone’s life. Today, I clearly know the answer to that—my meeting with Enok told me so. I feel great.
