Ten years ago, Danita Estrella, the daughter of a Christian missionary, felt God’s pull to Ouanaminthe, Haiti. God was calling Danita to not only care for 75 of Haiti’s abandoned and orphaned children, but to begin a mission that would eventually lead her to build a church, start a school, and initiate a feeding program which feeds over 550 children a day, perhaps their only meal of the day. (The average Haitian child is fed once every 3 days. Starvation, disease, and Haiti’s harsh tropical environment claims one of every five Haitian children before their fifth birthday.)We’ve had the privilege of visiting Danita’s orphanage; attending her church; sitting in her classrooms, eating in the cafeteria, and administering to the dental needs of over 800 of her school children and staff. We’ve witnessed the incredible medical and dental needs of these poor, impoverished, people. We’ve watched Danita and her long term missionaries, Brenda Sapp and Karris Hudson, give aid, comfort, and hope to Haitian’s dying of AIDs, suffering with cancer, or simply trying to make it to the next day.There is virtually no dental care in Haiti and good medical care is over three hours away. Danita is often forced to take her orphans to the Dominican Republic for medical care. The average Haitian doesn’t have this option. Because of this, we’ve partnered with Danita and some other very special sponsors, to build a new pediatric medical/dental clinic right there in Ouanaminthe, Haiti. The new clinic will administer to the needs of Ouanaminthe’s most impoverished pediatric population. It will also house the mission teams that God calls upon to offer their services for these people.

I’m reminded of the following biblical verses.

Isaiah 58:10 - “And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”

James 1:27 - ” Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

If you want to know more about this amazing organization or how you can help bring quality medical and dental care to this region of the world, please contact Danita at www.danitaschildren.org or simply ask me or Dr. King the next time you’re in the office.

Dr. David Snodgrass