The Knights of Columbus announced a new program, “Hope for Haiti’s Children,” that will come to the aid of every Haitian child who lost a limb in the January earthquake that leveled much of their country and killed more than 300,000 people and left thousands homeless.
The Knights of Columbus board of directors approved a resolution that commits the organization to providing prosthetic limbs and therapy over the next two years for all of the approximately 800 children who lost an arm or leg in the earthquake. The estimated cost of providing the prosthetic limbs and therapy is $1.1 million.
“Almost eight months after the devastating earthquake, we must not forget the children of Haiti who still need our help and who continue to be so greatly affected by this disaster,” Supreme Knight Carl Anderson said in a Knights of Columbus press release. “We believe that this program for the injured children of Haiti will not only alleviate their mobility issues in the near term, but also will provide real, concrete hope for their future.”
The program will be administered by Medishare, which operates the University of Miami/Medishare hospital in Port au Prince, a children’s medical facility in Haiti. The University of Miami/Medishare hospital will also start programs to teach parents how to deal with their childrens’ limb loss.
