January 22, 2010
AN UPDATE ON GIRLS AT THE ORPHANAGE
Resurrection Parish of Maneta, VA has been in touch every day with the son of Paula Thybulle [Daughters of God girl’s home director] who in turn has been able to speak with Paula every day whenever he can get through on her cell phone, intermittent and sporadic, but with patience succeeds. People from Resurrection Parish also have been in touch directly with Paula a few times. Paula’s main concern is for the girls, even though her own home is uninhabitable and she still sleeps in her car.
Paula is now able to get down to the orphanage. The girls are still sleeping outside with sheets to cover them at night and the adult staff are caring and supervising them. The home is too unstable for them to use. Safety is the main concern, especially for aftershocks, knowing that the walls are severely cracked and the roof and/or floors could cave in. Food is running low and water is desperately needed. They had not seen any rescue people as of six days after the earthquake.
Three, not five, girls have died. We rejoice that the number has been reduced. These three were visiting at the home of Kestner, the cook at the orphanage, and the roof collapsed, killing them along with Kestner’s wife and three children. Kestner survived because he was elsewhere. The names of the three girls are: Sabrina Bossicot – age 17, Bertha Francois – age 17, Mirlande Michel – age 19. We grieve for them all.
Paula has decided to attempt to evacuate many or most of the girls to Virginia until the orphanage can be rebuilt and some semblance of stability returns to Haiti. One of the reasons this has become a viable alternative is that Presbyterian Homes and Family Services in Lynchburg, a 107-year-old and very reputable organization, has offered to keep all the girls together at the same location, an excellent facility in Lynchburg, VA. Amiee McCaffrey, from Moneta, VA, associated with Angel Missions, has offered assistance in getting organized. This will start the process to get approval to accept the girls. Vanessa Carpenter, head of Angel Missions in Roanoke, left for Haiti on January 19. Many good people are working together and are concerned about the girls and many other orphans, some of whom are severely ill and injured.
Although it is unclear when, or if, Paula will succeed in getting the girls out of Haiti, Presbyterian Homes is asking for volunteers to come together tomorrow morning to clean the buildings that will be used to house the girls should they come. They are providing all cleaning supplies but asking folks to bring cleaning gloves if they can. |
