Based in Tricotte, the orphanage once housed up to 60 children ages 4 to 17. We staffed 14 people total including cooks, cleaners, gate men and more. When God entrusts one of His children to us, we believe we have a responsibility to minister to the whole person. That’s what we endeavored to do at the Starfish Orphanage. After much prayer and discussion, Daniel along with orphanage directors. Lizette and Fresnel, have concluded that it is not safe to have these children remain in the orphanage. With increased gang activity and kidnapping in the area and the rumors that our orphanage children would likely be targeted, the decision was made to temporarily move the 60 children out of the Tricotte orphanage for their safety as well as the orphanage staff members’ safety.

Of course that brings an entirely new set of logistics. But first a bit of background. In the United States and Canada, we think of orphan children as those without parents. In Haiti as well as most third world countries, orphans are defined as those children whose parents do not have the financial means to care for them. Therefore, of our 60 “orphans” there are a few that we would consider true orphans but most of them come from very poor families. If they had stayed with that family, they would have likely often been hungry and not have had the opportunity to go to school.

Daniel, Lucner, Lizette, and Fresnel decided that the best option was to continue to support these 60 children but now back with their families. After a few months of this model, we are now caring for 40 children, ages 4 through 17. We provide food, clothing, hygiene supplies, school uniforms, school supplies, and school tuition and will monitor their care and education so that they do not fall behind.

Please pray for the children, that they will adjust well and be spiritually encouraged in their new churches. Pray for the parents, as they again take on the responsibility for the wellbeing of the child. Pray for Lizette and Fresnel as they oversee the care of these children in an entirely different environment.

A Haitian child’s most pressing needs (after his spiritual needs) are his immediate physical needs: food, shelter, and clothing. Through Starfish Ministries, all sponsorship funds go directly to meeting the child’s need, with the majority going toward these physical needs. Food is the largest monthly expense. Children also receive clothing and uniforms to wear to school.

Sometimes we forget here in the United States and Canada that Haitian children have all of the same emotional needs as our own children. At the orphanage, the house parents provided the kind of love and nurturing necessary to a child’s development. Older children were active with the younger ones, and the village as a whole offers a great deal of emotional support.

Lack of education is one of the primary causes of the problems in Haiti, both those of individuals and of the nation as a whole. At Starfish, we believe it is necessary to take responsibility for the education of the children in the hope that they will one day be able to provide for themselves and their families and improve the plight of their communities and their nation.

What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul? And what have we at Starfish accomplished if we feed an entire nation but ignore its spiritual needs?

At Starfish we are very conscious that our responsibility to these children is not merely temporal. We believe that the instructions and promises in God’s Word regarding child rearing apply to us and our Haitian children just as they apply to families everywhere. Children from the Starfish Orphanage are now home with their families, influencing them through their biblical instruction and Christian values.