Esther from Haiti

A Wanderer Finds Rest

Horrific circumstances forced five-year-old Esther to wander the streets alone, seeking shelter. Her widower mother had remarried a man who didn’t want Esther, so the young girl moved from house to house for six years and sold spices in the marketplace to earn money. Esther ended up in the home of a woman who mistreated her severely. The exasperated Esther dropped to her knees and poured her soul to God for deliverance.

One day, Esther, now 11, fled her house of horrors in Cap-Haitian on a 120-mile journey to find her mother in Port-au-Prince. After many harrowing adventures, she found her mother. However, the mother was still unable to care for her daughter, so she brought Esther to Kids Alive Haiti. That was two months ago.

Traumatised by her bad experiences, Esther feared she was heading for another bad situation. After a month in the programme, Esther realised her new surroundings were different. She received counselling, nutrition, and spiritual care and began to make friends and trust people again.

Esther is in the second grade. Girls her age are typically in the sixth, so she’s got a lot of catching up to do. However, her marketplace experience gave her excellent math skills. Esther has made incredible progress in just two months at Kids Alive. She wants to become a businesswoman.

*Name changed to protect privacy