She looks down at her three-year-old daughter Gigi playing on the floor and Callie Finley realizes just how lucky she is.
After more than two years of waiting Finley and her husband Darcy were finally able to finalize their adoption of Gigi, a three-year-old Haitian orphan who they brought home to Okotoks last fall.
The Finleys traveled to Haiti in October making the horrific earthquake that ravaged the Caribbean island on Jan. 12 all the more devastating for the Okotoks family.
“There have been a lot of tears over the last few days,” she said on Monday. “There is fear for our orphanage and for the people in Haiti — it is heartbreaking.”
Finley is a director with God’s Littlest Angels (GLA), a charity which operates an orphanage in Haiti. GLA Canada is based in Okotoks and there are more than a dozen Haitian orphans who have been adopted by Okotoks families.
GLA Canada president Jerry Epp said it is hard to express the emotions he has been experiencing since last week’s earthquake. He said seeing the devastation in Haiti was painful, but support from residents in Okotoks and across Alberta has been wonderful.
“On one side we are devastated, but on the other side the exposure for Haiti and the orphanage has been overwhelming,” said Epp.
Epp said the GLA orphanage in Haiti, which was not damaged in the earthquake, has about 150 babies, but they are bracing themselves for more. It is estimated more than 200,000 people were killed in the earthquake and perhaps up to 1.5 million have been left homeless.
“There are very good people down there (at the orphanage),” said Epp. “The children are in good hands, but of course they need some help.”
Although GLA Canada has been inundated with offers of support, some people have been willing to do more than just donate money.
Finley said GLA Canada is receiving eight to 10 calls a day from people wanting to know how they can adopt a Haitian orphan.
According to GLA statistics three out of every five children in Haiti die before the age of five and the orphanage has been struggling to keep up and is running out of space. The earthquake will put additional pressure on the GLA facility.
She looks down at her three-year-old daughter Gigi playing on the floor and Callie Finley realizes just how lucky she is.
Okotoks families met downtown last weekend with some of the Haitian children who have been adopted through God’s Littlest Angels Canada. More than a dozen Haitian orphans have been adopted by Okotoks families. The charity organization is now looking to raise funds to help Haiti which was devastated by an earthquake on Jan. 12. photo by Michael Marquardt
After more than two years of waiting Finley and her husband Darcy were finally able to finalize their adoption of Gigi, a three-year-old Haitian orphan who they brought home to Okotoks last fall.
The Finleys traveled to Haiti in October making the horrific earthquake that ravaged the Caribbean island on Jan. 12 all the more devastating for the Okotoks family.
“There have been a lot of tears over the last few days,” she said on Monday. “There is fear for our orphanage and for the people in Haiti — it is heartbreaking.”
Finley is a director with God’s Littlest Angels (GLA), a charity which operates an orphanage in Haiti. GLA Canada is based in Okotoks and there are more than a dozen Haitian orphans who have been adopted by Okotoks families.
GLA Canada president Jerry Epp said it is hard to express the emotions he has been experiencing since last week’s earthquake. He said seeing the devastation in Haiti was painful, but support from residents in Okotoks and across Alberta has been wonderful.
“On one side we are devastated, but on the other side the exposure for Haiti and the orphanage has been overwhelming,” said Epp.
Epp said the GLA orphanage in Haiti, which was not damaged in the earthquake, has about 150 babies, but they are bracing themselves for more. It is estimated more than 200,000 people were killed in the earthquake and perhaps up to 1.5 million have been left homeless.
“There are very good people down there (at the orphanage),” said Epp. “The children are in good hands, but of course they need some help.”
Although GLA Canada has been inundated with offers of support, some people have been willing to do more than just donate money.
Finley said GLA Canada is receiving eight to 10 calls a day from people wanting to know how they can adopt a Haitian orphan.
According to GLA statistics three out of every five children in Haiti die before the age of five and the orphanage has been struggling to keep up and is running out of space. The earthquake will put additional pressure on the GLA facility.
Finley said she hopes the Canadian government follows through on its pledge to expedite adoptions from Haiti.
Finley said the majority of orphans in Haiti are a result of poverty.
“Some of the children have been abandoned, but for most their parents just can’t feed them,” she said. “It breaks my heart to think of Gigi’s mom making that trek to the orphanage to give up one of her children — a child she will never see again. It is definitely an act of love on her mom’s part to relinquish her child.”
Finley and her husband already had four boys with the youngest being 15, but they wanted a daughter and felt compelled to adopt and eventually became involved with GLA Canada.
Now Finley is helping raise support for GLA’s efforts in Haiti.
“The challenge is getting supplies to Haiti right now, but we still need to raise money,” she said.
GLA Canada has a number of annual fundraising events including a Valentine’s Day dance and a golf tournament at D’Arcy Ranch. However, they are also trying to organize a benefit concert to get some emergency relief for the orphanage and those in need in Haiti.
GLA Canada is also applying to the federal government to be included in the matching grant program so every dollar donated to GLA to aid the Haitian relief fund will be matched by the Canadian government.
Local support
Some local businesses have already jumped on board with The George and Holy Trinity Academy donating all of their bottles to the GLA Canada relief fund.
In addition, The Willy at the Okotoks Inn will be hosting a Haiti benefit concert featuring Claymore on Jan. 30.
Epp said if anything good comes from this disaster it will be the fact the world will take notice of the plight of the Haitians.
“We need to help these people stand up again,” he said. “Together we can do a lot.”
Anyone interested in helping God’s Littlest Angels can visit
www.glacanada.ca or to get involved in a GLA Canada fundraiser contact Callie Finley at 403-671-9239.
Anyone interested in adopting a Haitian orphan must first contact the provincial government to initiate the process before contacting GLA Canada.
jbarlow@okotoks.greatwest.ca
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