Caring For the Fatherless in Haiti

In our everyday surroundings, it is hard to imagine what life is like in Haiti. A year and a half after the earthquake that shook an already poor country into poverty, not much has improved.

"It's really like stepping into another world when you are here," explained Alexa DeMiglio, a recent college graduate who has dedicated her summer to serving in Haiti. 

DeMiglio, who attends Powerhouse Christian Church in Wyckoff, is on her third trip to the country since the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake. The focus of her 10-week stay: helping Wings of Refuge Children's Home get off the ground.

Wings of Refuge opened in May and is now home to 17 children — eight boys and nine girls — ranging in age from 3 to 10 years old. It's not an orphange, but a home, DeMiglio explains, "because we consider all of our children part of our home and family." 

To understand why a 20-something from New Milford elected to spend her summer in Haiti, you have to rewind back to the earthquake. At that time, Greg Prairie, an elder at Powerhouse Church and Chief Experience Officer at Touch the World Ministries in Allendale, was in Haiti investigating future short-term mission trips with Pastor Roger Wilson Charles, a Haitian minister who has planted six Christian churches in the country that’s primary religion is voodoo.

Prairie was resting in his hotel room south of Port au Prince when the rumbling began. It took him a while to understand what was happening, he told the congregation at Powerhouse a few weeks later. His hotel was the only building in sight that remained intact. 

Powerhouse sent its first team to Haiti in May 2010. “God really put it on my heart to go,” DeMiglio explained. “The first time I went down, I fell in love with the pastor, his family and just the people in general. Their faith, even after all the devastation, was so inspiring to me. I knew after my first trip that I would be back.”

During her second trip, Pastor Wilson shared his ideas for the children's home with her. "He brought me to a piece of property he had and said that God put it on his heart to give back and turn the property into a Children's home," she said. "Right there and then I felt something that I just can't explain. It was almost like I saw the potential of the property and what it could mean to so many kids."

DeMiglio and fellow Haiti Team traveler Theresa Brotherton, of Mahwah, held a fundraising dinner for Wings of Refuge at the Brick House in Wyckoff in March. Haiti Night fundraisers have also been held at the DeMiglio family restaurants Jersey Boys in New Milford and Sanducci’s in Oradell.

"I really wanted to see Wings of Refuge up and running, and meet the beautiful children that I had been praying for before even meeting them," DeMiglio explained. "I just finished colleged and I was working for my parents so it was really an opportune time to leave. It has honestly been one of the best decisions of my life." 

Wings of Refuge Children's Home, named after a Bible verse in the book of Ruth, currently has a temporary home in Petion-ville while a more permanent home is planned. A typical day includes meals, games and school work. "We are teaching them French and English in addition to Creole," DeMiglio noted. "They are all very smart kids."

A long-term goal is to match each child with a sponsor who not only donates money, but also develops an ongoing relationship with the child. The short-term goal is to build a new, perminent home. To that end, construction workers are needed.

If interested in volunteering or donating, contact Alexa at ademiglio@gmail.com or visit www.wingsofrefugehaiti.com for more information.