Haitian Orphans Need Help, but Not Illegally

The devastation left in an already impoverished Haiti is heartbreaking. The plight of thousands of children who may or may not be orphaned is even more heartbreaking.

But what a well-intentioned group of American Baptists did was not very smart.

Ten Americans from Idaho, Texas and Kansas are being detained in Haiti for attempting to smuggle 33 children out of Haiti and into the Dominican Republic. The group planned to put the children in an orphanage there. The kids ranged in age from 2 months old to 12 years old.

While the group had the very best of intentions and truly wanted to save the orphans from the horrific conditions in Haiti, the Haitian government has stopped all children from leaving Haiti at this time. They say that many of these children may have family looking for them and may not be orphans after all.

Also child advocacy groups fear that the chaos in Haiti is making it easier for child traffickers and pedophiles to steal and harm Haitian children.

There is another part to this story though. Adoption agencies in the United States say that the children in their orphanages are struggling. Orphanages are having a hard time getting diapers, food and other supplies for the many orphans.

Some of these orphans high identified parents waiting for them in the United States. These children are already proven to be orphans and available for adoption, but they are waiting for paperwork to be complete.

If you want to do something for Haitian orphans, one thing you can do is to call or write to your local representatives and tell them you are concerned about legitimate orphans suffering in Haiti who have families in the United States who would love to bring them home. In theses cases, the red tape needs to be cut immediately so those kids can be taken out of Haiti as soon as possible.

Another way you can help is to donate money to adoption agencies who work in Haiti so that they can buy diapers, formula, food and medical supplies for the children who are still waiting to go home.