The future looks a bit brighter two young Haitian earthquake victims. Bettenia and Dieunette, last names unknown, were among 53 children rescued from the earthquake rubble of their group home in Port-au-Prince. The girls now share a home with their new adoptive parents, Kristin and Scott Heaton of Omaha, Nebraska. After the family’s biological daughter Victoria learned of the country’s poverty-stricken areas, she encouraged her parents to help. The Heatons first met Dieunette in Haiti when she was 6-months-old and the family volunteered to sponsor her for a brain surgery in 2008. The young girl first entered the orphanage when a hurricane swept through her home town, leaving her mother unable to care for her. Kristin Heaton visited Haiti every three months over the last several years to check on Bettania and Dieunette and take supplies to their orphanage. The Heatons had been in the delayed process of adopting both girls over the past three years, but on January 18th, the United States decided to loosen its Visa requirements on Haitian children, left parentless, in near-final stages of adoption. This affected 900 children awaiting adoption. “We can’t think of anything we’d rather do than raise these children and make a difference,” Kristin Heaton said. Bettenia and Dieunette are still getting used to their new home. Since Dieunette speaks little English, they plan to home school the girls until they are ready to interact with their peers. In the meantime, Kristin says their goal is to, “just spoil them rotten.” For the full article, visit http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/us/26orphans.html?ref=us.
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