Hi Everyone! My name is Jackie Payne. I am the somewhat "quiet" board member of Search.Love.Rescue. This is my first time at attempting a blog, but I am very passionate about my subject matter.

This summer I was priviledged to visit the Northwest section of the impoverished country of Haiti. There were many things there that touched my heart, but none quite like the Miriam Center. The Miriam Center is a special needs orphange run by the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. The NWHCM has been established there for over thirty years. While in Haiti, I actually stayed on the campus of NWHCM. Downstairs houses the Miriam Center. The children range from mild seizure disorders to severe mental and physical handicaps of all types.

I fell in love with a 10 year old named Walden. To my left is a picture of him with my friend Mason. He was only able to speak a few words, but he could definately communicate! He did so with his infectious smile. The only times in 2 weeks that I saw Walden without this smile was when we took him in from his walks (he loved those) and when his wheelchair was broken. As you can see in the picture, his wheelchair is in extremely bad shape. It is held together by duct tape and a wooden board with nails. The night before we left, the wooden board broke and Walden had to be placed on the ground.

Upon returning the states, we began to look for a new wheelchair for Walden. The wonderful people at Shriner's hospital glady gave us not one, but two really nice ones. They are perfect for cerebral palsy patients like Walden and have great seats and neck support. We are thrilled to get these and a few weeks ago actually drove them to the mission headquarters in Zionsville, Indiana.

The only thing we need now is the $400 required to ship each one. NWHCM receives barge shipments from Indiana several times a year. Walden's wheelchair will fit in one of the 4 x 4 crates on one of the barges. The cost per crate is $400. Both wheelchairs will not fit in one crate, but each crate will be filled with items for the Miriam Center, so no space is wasted. We are currently raising money to send the first wheelchair. Our hope is to send the other sometime this next year. The orphanage has a great need for them. Many of the children just lie on the ground, or I even saw a plastic lawnchair tied to wheels. In closing, I would ask you to pray about helping in anyway that you can. It is my desire to have a partnership between Shriner's, NWHCM and Seach.Love.Rescue to get as many wheelchairs to Haiti as are needed. Will you help Walden receive his wheelchair?