MARANATHA
It’s hard to miss Maranatha in a crowd because she is beaming with charisma and personality. This sweet young girl and her two brothers, Ronaldio and Josue, were reunited with their father in the fall of 2019, where they now live happily together.
While their mother and father have long separated and have since built their own lives apart from one another, their father openly welcomed them back home to live with him and his new wife and their newborn child. Their blended family of 6 finds home in Port-au-Prince, the capital city.
Like any city, Port-au-Prince is home for many in the upper class, who live on the hilltop in a more developed part of the city. But many of the city’s residents live in deep poverty, especially as recovery from the 2010 earthquake is still ongoing more than 10 years later. On the other hand, social services like health care and markets are far more easily accessible than in the rural areas of the country.
“I always feel good because I live with my parents. I love living with my mom and dad.” -Maranatha, age 14
Although they are separated, both their father and their biological mother help support their children. Their father owns a sandal business, while their mother also trades in the local informal market.
Their parents do all they can to support their children, and their daughter, Maranatha, recognizes this. “I see how my father and mother manage to feed us every day. They work very hard. They love us very much. They live only to take care of us.”
Education for their children is of the utmost importance. ESPWA provides financial support, covering the costs of their school fees, books, and uniforms. All three of them enjoy going to school and have made many new friends since returning home.
With a father who is determined to be the best father he can be, a mother who is still actively in their lives, and a step-mother providing a nurturing home, Maranatha and her siblings are surrounded by resilient love. As their parents harness their resilience to become self-sustaining through services offered by the Family Preservation program, their family will only become stronger.
Recognizing that their living conditions aren’t ideal and life is difficult, their father expresses deep pride and hope in being reunited with his children.
“They are happy to stay with me. They feel pride. I live with them within my means. I don’t let them suffer. I listen to them, I understand their needs. When they want or need something, I do my best to please them.”