PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – I entered the children’s dormitory at Zanmi Beni and slowly navigated my way through the maze of cribs that filled a large room.

“Bon Jou,” I said in my best Creole to a group of four nurses sitting at a desk stacked high with manila folders containing the medical records and notes of the more than 40 children who now call Zanmi Beni home.

“Bon Jou,” returned the chorus of voices.

On the top of one of the stacks I noticed a handwritten name in blue ink on the tab of a folder that read, “Lovely.”

The nurse directed me toward a crib in the corner of the room.

When I got to Lovely’s crib, I stopped and hesitated. In many ways, this young girl was anything but her name.

Her eyes gazed upward as I took in her thin, frail body—her left leg crossed rigidly over the other, and feet turned in such a way that it’s doubtful if she’s ever been able to walk.

I leaned in and softly called out, “Bon Jou.” Her eyes met mine and slowly, the corners of her mouth began to turn upward. She was grinning from ear to ear with a smile that lit up the room.

Her name was perfect.

According to Lovely’s records, she is 15 years old, but her size is more like that of a four-year-old and her weight is under 30 pounds. She was found abandoned on the streets and brought to Zanmi Beni in critical condition.

“It was very sad,” said Loune Viaud, Director of Strategic Planning and Operations for Zanmi Lasante (Partners in Health), the organization responsible for caring for these children at Zanmi Beni. “We would not let anyone take photos of her. She never smiled before and there was no response.” 

Now, after a few months in her new home, it seems smiling is what Lovely does all the time. She receives physical therapy on a regular basis and is able to move and interact with others—something she was never able to do before. And she’s slowly gaining weight.

Her quiet happiness and smiles are evidence of the compassionate care she and the other children are receiving on a daily basis. Operation Blessing, working together with Partners in Health, purchased the house that is now Zanmi Beni and is preparing to break ground on constructing a new 30-bedroom dormitory that will provide plenty of “growing” room for children like Lovely and the Zanmi Beni staff.

Before I left for the day, I made one last round and stopped by Lovely’s crib. I gently touched her cheek with my hand, smiled, and said goodbye. Her eyes seemed to twinkle with delight and she said goodbye the only way she knew how … with a beautiful … lovely … smile.

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