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Holy Family Institute caring for 12 Haitian children
archived from: 2010-02-08
by: Patricia Bartos

Orphans waiting until adoptions can be finalized

It was a tragedy more than a century ago that led the Holy Family of Nazareth sisters in Bellevue to establish an orphanage. A parish priest had deposited three little girls orphaned in a fire onto the sisters’ doorstep.

“Now here we are, 110 years later, and another tragedy — an earthquake,” Sister Linda Yankoski, president and CEO of Holy Family Institute in Emsworth, said of the 18 Haitian orphans the facility welcomed on Jan. 21.

Sister Linda felt privileged to follow in the sisters’ tradition “by opening our arms and homes to these children from Haiti.”

“They are receiving the same loving care and attention that Holy Family provides to the hundreds of Pennsylvania-area children every day,” she said.

The Haitian orphans arrived at Holy Family in the evening to find their beds made by children already living at the facility to welcome the newcomers.

The institute currently has 50 children in residence, and can accommodate up to 100, Sister Linda said.

Four of the orphans have now been placed with adoptive parents, and two are awaiting the arrival of their adoptive parents.

The remaining 12 children — ranging in age from 11 months to 10 years — will remain in the institute’s residential program until adoptions can be finalized.

Sister Linda is uncertain if Holy Family will be asked to accommodate more children from Haiti, but the facility will be ready to respond, she said.

Meanwhile, staff are gearing up to provide on-site schooling for the newcomers.

“We are especially grateful for the volunteers from the Haitian community for their assistance,” she said. “They’ve been here around the clock.”

To meet these increased needs, Holy Family Institute on Jan. 27 launched a fund drive — the Children’s Fund Campaign — to help care for orphans from Haiti and all children in the agency’s care.

“This is to help all children in need of homes, foster care or adoption,” she said. “We are more than glad to mobilize to help the Haitian children, but we don’t want to lose focus. It’s important to note that we need resources to care for all of our children.”

The fund campaign had been planned before the earthquake, she said, noting, “Our resources are extremely stretched.” Holy Family Institute serves more than 6,000 children and families through 15 program sites in western Pennsylvania and near Philadelphia, providing residential care, in-home family counseling, special and alternative education and community-based services.

The Holy Family of Nazareth sisters “have been providing for the physical and spiritual needs of children in Pennsylvania and around the world,” Sister Linda said. In announcing the new fund campaign, Dr. Ken Melani, president and CEO of Highmark Inc., said he had just returned from a trip to Haiti “and having seen the devastation firsthand, I understand the dire need for assistance.”

Melani, a Holy Family Institute board member and chairman of the new fund campaign, added that, “to see 18 of the orphans rescued and brought to Holy Family was a great relief. I know they are in good hands.”

Holy Family Institute is located at 8235 Ohio River Blvd., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15202. Troy Robinson is director of institutional advancement.

To donate, visit www.holyfamilychildrensfund.org.

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