Jackson was 10 years old when his baby sister Misena was treated for severe malnutrition at Middle Ground. Misena was very sick when she arrived in our care but fought like a warrior and after 45 days she was declared fully recovered by our medical staff, and discharged to return home. Unfortunately, just 6 months later Misena relapsed, and despite the incredible efforts of our medical staff on April 14th 2020, 2.5-year-old Misena died of complications of severe malnutrition.
Jackson’s family lives deep in the mountains of central Haiti. They are plagued by deep poverty. Jackson’s mother, Assemise has given birth to 7 children. Jackson and Misena were the only two who survived, now Jackson is the only sibling left.
When Misena died we all grieved for her, we had come to know and love her and Assemise during their time staying in inpatient care, and we all felt the heavy loss. We knew that we wanted to continue to love and pour into this family, so when we heard that Jackson had never been to school a day in his life we knew that we needed to intervene.
In September 2020, 11-year-old Jackson entered kindergarten, sponsored through the Middle Ground school sponsorship program. Because of his age, we also provided him with a full-time private tutor to help him catch up to his peers. On his first day of school last year, when asked to write his name this is what Jackson produced.
9 months later, when he returned (to show us his report card with incredible marks!) Jackson sat at a table, furrowed up his eyebrow in concentration, and let his hand glide over the paper. When he proudly presented his perfect signature there was more than one tear of pride wiped away from those of us in the office.
Jackson’s entire future was changed because someone with some “extra” to share, saw value in him. Someone decided he was worth the investment, that he was special, and that he deserved to be given the tools to rise to his full potential. Jackson will grow up with opportunities that he never would have been able to reach on his own because someone said “I believe in you”
You could make this kind of impact in the life of a child like Jackson by becoming a sponsor, you’ll get to know your sponsored child through letters and photos, and you’ll get to impact the life of a little world changer forever.
