As a driver for an orphanage, Pascal Bain agreed to stay with his wife Charlette to provide short-term respite care for its young residents. Six weeks was agreed upon, and the orphanage’s non-Haitian directors left Haiti on vacation. The directors never returned, leaving the Bains responsible for caring for the 25 children and the orphanage facility itself.
That was sometime around 2007. Pascal and Charlette Bain are still there. The age range of the children left in their care was from infancy to early teens. Several of the residents were normally functioning youngsters who had been orphaned. Most though were living with cognitive and/or physical impairments that ranged from mild to extremely severe.
The youngsters in this group are still part of Bain’s extended family. Some have passed on, and new ones have arrived to make their home in this loving place on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. Bains needed help.
KareDrew began to help before we became an official nonprofit. We knew that the Bains and these children needed help. We all reached out and were able to raise funds to purchase a used truck, assist with rent, fund the rewiring of the building, build a ramp allowing easier transport of wheelchairs to the outdoors, and sometimes simply an ice cream and cake party.
Many guests of Matthew 25 House also came to know the children of Melissa’s Hope. This was especially true for medical professionals because we sometimes got calls when one of the youngsters was ill.
Also assisting these children before they were left in the care of the Bains was Jane Corbette and her family and friends. For a long time, they have been funding the transport of children from Haiti to the United States for medical treatment. The Corbetts wanted to do more and asked KareDrew to formally handle the donations that came through their hands for Melissa’s Hope.
We partnered in this effort. KareDrew continues to directly assist Pascal, sometimes through donations that we receive with the special request to assist a child with a handicap, or simply because they had always contributed through us.
Several years ago, our friends from St. Louis, Missouri formed the Melissa’s Hope Foundation, taking over the major financial responsibility for the well-being of Melissa’s Hope.
In the effort of Melissa’s Hope, we who became KareDrew and those who formed Melissa’s Hope Foundation began at the same time. Still, the effort, the work, and the responsibility were entirely Haitian.