Return to Solino

Nancy Rivard, President of Airline Ambassadors International, traveled with Sean Penn in Port-au-Prince yesterday. She took him to a very poor city neighborhood called Solino (where this photo was taken), where there is an orphanage for Restavek children - orphans who have been hired out as essentially slaves to survive - for the past 11 years.

When we were setting up our initial Airline Ambassadors medical outreach effort right after the quake Solino was the very first place we sent a team, which was the first medical team that had reached them. The news that Sean Penn has promised to build a clinic there is very exciting.

In other news the Airline Ambassadors has been working with USAID (the lead agency in directing all U.S. aid to Haiti) to keep the doors of the irreplaceable CDTI Hospital open. Dr Savain, the principle owner of CDTI (a true saint) is laboring to keep it operational with his own funds, and with no help monetarily so far. Just a lot of promises, hopes, ideas. Dave Rivard (Nancy's husband) is working with USAID officials so as not to lose this most precious resource, with AAI Haiti president Dr Roger Jean-Charles coordinating the efforts with the Haitian government. Keep this project in your prayers.

Jim