In the spring of 2016, a baby girl named Ketia and her mother were found by a missionary in the rural village of Jeremie. Ketia was 11 months old and weighed just over 6lbs. She had Down Syndrome, a congenital heart defect, and was suffering from severe malnutrition. When we were contacted about Ketia’s case, we quickly sprung into motion and flew to Jeremie to bring Ketia and her mama back to Port au Prince for care. Unfortunately, Ketia’s heart condition and malnutrition were a perfect storm of complications that made recovery impossible. On March 24, 2016, she died.

Ketia was a little light that shone brightly for everyone who encountered her during her short life. We loved her with all of our hearts, but she was someone else’s entire world. Ketia was loved and treasured by her mom and dad and by her 3 older siblings. She was their joy, their everything. Her mom told me about her favorite songs. Her dad talked about the moments every morning when he got up with Ketia before leaving for work, spooning food into her mouth and changing her diaper to give her mama a few more moments of sleep. They were normal! This was their everyday life. Their life before they had to learn how to live broken.

After Ketia died we knew we wanted to continue helping her family and decided that school sponsorship would be the perfect way to ensure that Ketia’s sisters and brother would have opportunities for their own futures. Since enrolling in school sponsorship, Ketia’s sisters have done incredibly well and her brother has since started as well. They get fantastic grades and their dad says that he holds his head high now while his children walk to school every day in their uniforms.