Gerby Lundi is a 15-year-old boy living in Haiti. In December of 2004, he was admitted to St. Helene Orphanage. There, at the age of 10, he was diagnosed with Epilepsy and Tuberculosis. Since 2004, aside from treatment for TB, Gerby has been on four medications for epilepsy. Due to continuing seizures, however, the medication was switched again in April 2009. This time, Gerby was prescribed 500mg of Keppra to be taken twice daily.
Keppra is an antiepileptic drug that is used with other drugs to treat certain kinds of seizures. Through CMMB’s Healing Help, program of medical donations, and the generosity of UCB, a pharmaceutical company, CMMB will be receiving a one year’s supply of Keppra for Gerby at the orphanage. Kathy Tebbett, Senior Program Services Manager, sums of the importance of this donation by saying, “CMMB is always about the people and the relationships.”
The request to CMMB came from Alfredo Benitez of Our Little Brothers and Sisters. Our Little Brothers and Sisters (OLB&S) is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that consolidates fundraising efforts with Friends of the Orphans, a group that dedicates their support to Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) homes in Latin America and the Caribbean. Together, greater support is provided to thousands of abandoned, disadvantaged, and orphaned children in Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Peru. Since January 2008, CMMB has donated over $4.4 million of medicines and supplies to OLB&S for Haiti, Honduras, and Mexico.
St. Helene is located in Kenscoff, Haiti and is refugee to approximately 450 children. Another 175 children are listed in an external program where they are able to live with their family, but also receive academic scholarships. Set on 15 acres of hillside, St. Helene has 19 residential cottages, including one for babies and toddlers and another for special needs. Visitors are always welcome here, much to the kids’ delight and their desire to communicate with others. Also on site is a Montessori pre-school, and a primary and secondary school.
The spiritual development of the children has always been a strong focus for the orphanage. Our Lady of Grace, which is a small chapel, allows volunteers and children alike to go for private reflection and prayer services. Even those in surrounding villages know when it is time for Mass when the church bell rings.
Catholic Medical
Mission Board is a non-profit, religious, 501 (c) (3) organization
that provides services and deliver aid without regard to creed, race,
sex, or national or political circumstance. Catholic Medical Mission
Board is a non-governmental organization in consultative status with
the Economic and Social Council (ESOSOC) of the United Nations. Gifts are deducibel to the full extent allowable under IRS regulations.
