Ecrissa--October 2015

 

Photo by John Carroll–October 27, 2015

This is Ecrissa.

Her mom is gently rubbing her scalp which has thin patches of brittle orange hair. When her scalp is rubbed, Ecrissa will close her eyes.  She is 18 months old and is severely malnourished weighing only 15 pounds today.

Her mother told me Ecrissa has fever, diarrhea, and is not eating. Mother has little food to offer Ecrissa. All mom can do is rub her scalp to help diminish her child’s misery. 

Ecrissa’s father is sick with a fever and in a hospital in Leoganne. And mother says she has two more kids here in the slum. Neither parent has a job. 

Unfortunately, children like Ecrissa are all over Haiti—not just in Soleil.  And they are the direct fallout of generations of dysfunctional Haitian governments.

And we tend to forget these children in the noise of Haiti’s elections. Tens of millions of international dollars have been dumped into this recent election.  Electing public officials in Haiti should be done primarily to place people in power who are willing to prevent any Haitian child from ending up like Ecrissa.

John A. Carroll, MD

www.haitianhearts.org