This smiley boy is Abraham. We believe he is approximately 17 years old. Abraham was abandoned outside of a hospital in Les Cayes after Hurricane Matthew in the Fall of 2016. Friends of myLIFEspeaks from the organization, AGAPE to the Nations, contacted us because they had discovered a child with special needs at their local hospital. They had been to the hospital multiple times with people from their community needing care after the hurricane.
Every time they were there, they noticed a young boy in a bed alone with obvious special needs. On one visit, they finally asked about the boy and they were told that he had been left on the sidewalk outside the hospital. Once the hurricane hit, they were too busy to pay too much attention to him. They reported that the cleaning staff was looking after him when they were there. The hospital staff didn't know if he could walk; he had never been out of his bed.
It was clear that Abraham was being neglected. It took several months to have Abraham properly placed with us so his arrival was highly anticipated by everyone at myLIFEspeaks. Abraham was the first child to be placed into our fourth Family Home and his new parents, Dashmi and Fofo, were very excited. The entire staff was waiting for the boy that would become part of our family and our community.
The day that Abraham finally arrived, his new parents embraced him saying, “My child, we are your Papa and Mama”. The rest of the staff was equally excited and Abraham was literally greeted onto the myLIFEspeaks campus with singing and dancing. The children in the village were curious and came to see the new boy.
Before myLIFEspeaks, this curiosity would have looked very different. There would have been stares and glares, fear and disgust. But on this day, the children in the village came to greet Abraham, calling out his name and coming up to him to meet him. There were arguments between the students in the Buddies for LIFE (Zanmi Pou Lavi) program over who would get to be his buddy! The questions were asked; Can he talk? Can he run? Will he play with us?
All those questions were answered as Abraham was taken hand-in-hand by the children onto the soccer field and a ball was given to him. Squeals of delight erupted as Abraham began to run and kick, sing and laugh! The children quickly picked up on Abraham's unique ways of communicating and were entertained by the sounds and noises he made and they all joined in.
Abraham attends Special Education classes at LIFE Academy, participates in Physical and Occupation therapy for his Cerebral Palsy, and has a Zanmi Pou Lavi buddy for LIFE. He does not speak but he makes joyful noises as his own way of communicating. Abraham brings joy to all those who know him and is loved by all. You can always count on a HUGE smile when you say his name or come over to talk to him.
Since joining his new family, Abraham has become a big brother to three new siblings also in myLIFEspeaks’ forever care: Jordan, Naikaline, and Neika. He also has several aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who adore him.
Thank you for supporting myLIFEspeaks and providing forever, loving families for children who have been orphaned or abandoned. Because of your generosity, children like Abraham have a second chance at LIFE.
Abraham's LIFE speaks.