From Abandonment to Unconditional Love: Imaya’s Journey to Her Forever Family
Hello November 25th, 2024
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HAITI, November 2024—In Haiti, it's not uncommon for a child with special needs to be neglected or abandoned. Sadly, Voodoo culture leads many families to falsely believe people with special needs are cursed and less than.
The Tim Tebow Foundation works alongside our Ministry Partner, myLIFEspeaks, to build Faith, Hope and Love (FHL) Homes for children and families in Haiti. These homes provide family-based care to children who have been orphaned, neglected, or abandoned—many of whom have significant special needs.
Through these family homes, children not only gain a forever family but also the opportunity to attend school, encounter the gospel, have access to medical care and therapy, and grow up rooted in their God-given identity as beloved and valued image-bearers.
TTF supports several family homes at myLIFEspeaks, the newest of which was created for Imaya Ruth, a precious little girl with cerebral palsy who was abandoned at a medical facility earlier this year. After social workers were unable to track down her biological family, the Haitian Adoption Authority (IBESR) reached out to myLIFEspeaks to see if they’d be willing to provide Imaya with a forever family. After prayerful consideration, myLIFEspeaks decided to open a seventh family home in order to place this special little girl in a loving family.
Without knowing Imaya’s need, the team had already been training more Haitian couples in the community to be potential foster parents in the future—one of these couples was Adam Pierre, myLIFEspeaks’ Director of Community Development, and his wife, Jolène.
myLIFEspeaks prayerfully selected Adam and Jolène, who had already completed the training, to be Imaya’s new parents. The Pierres were overjoyed to welcome sweet Imaya into their home and family fold! TTF came alongside myLIFEspeaks and the Pierre family to make necessary renovations and updates to their existing home in order to best accommodate Imaya's needs.
