US Church Faces Neglect Allegations After Haiti Child Deaths

[Judi Lynn]

When the church members brought in outside experts, one declared them “completely clueless about what is needed to take care of that many babies"

By Michael Weissenstein and Ben Fox • Published 10 mins ago • Updated 10 mins ago



Mother of a child who was at the orphanage talks with a worker from outside of the gate of the Orphanage of the Church of Bible Understanding where a fire broke out the previous night in the Kenscoff area outside Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, Feb. 14, 2020. A fire swept through this orphanage run by a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit group, killing 13 children, according to health care workers. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)



For a limestone mantel from the Waldorf Astoria, the church that owns the Olde Good Things antique stores asks for $8,500.

But for the death of each child in a fire at a home it ran in Haiti, parents said the same church offered to pay just $50 to $100 in family compensation — along with $150 for funeral-related costs such as new clothes and transportation.

The wealth of the Church of Bible Understanding in the United States has long stood in contrast with the shoddiness of its two children’s homes in Haiti, which have faced years of infractions and failed two state inspections. But the gap came into even sharper focus on Feb. 13, when the fire killed 13 children and two adult caretakers described by the church’s lawyer as disabled. Authorities suspect the fire started because the home used candles instead of a functioning generator or battery in a country where power failures are frequent.

he deaths have devastated parents like Eustache Arismé, 33, who put his two daughters in the home shortly after they were born because he has a withered left arm and cannot find work. His daughters Nedjie, 4, and Vanise, 3, died in the fire at the home, which is known as an orphanage in Haiti although many children have at least one living parent.

More:
https://www.necn.com/news/national-international/us-church-faces-neglect-allegations-after-haiti-child-deaths/2264530/

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