Haitian Orphanage Takes Quick Action to Fill Void after Devastating Earthquakes

CHESAPEAKE, Va., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S.-based, Maison Fortune Orphanage Foundation, has announced plans to drastically expand their Haiti-based Maison Fortune Orphanage. The strategic expansion plans were made in an immediate effort to accommodate growing need after the recent devastating earthquakes. The Orphanage, located near the city of Hinche, seeks to provide immediate and lasting stability in a sea of unimaginable turmoil.

This planned expansion will drastically increase capacity to support displaced children and will also provide employment opportunities for area citizens. The main goals of this announced expansion are to provide food, shelter, clothing and other needs to children from the Port-au-Prince area. Maison Fortune Orphanage has witnessed a large growth in the number of children migrating to the Hinche area following the loss of their homes and families due to the recent earthquakes.

By offering employment to local residents, the Orphanage also hopes to increase economic stabilization in the region.

Specific strategic goals include:

• Increasing facility capacity and identifying additional buildings to lease.
• Identifying and hiring appropriate staff to support additional children.
• Developing and executing a sub-plan, in coordination with the Orphanage Director and Board, to feed, house and educate additional children for up to a year.
• Secure funding to continue the above into future years.

"The situation is desperate. We need to move quickly to find shelter for these displaced children," commented Cosmas Rubencamp, Secretary of the Maison Fortune Orphanage Foundation, after returning from the effected region.

About Maison Fortune Orphanage Foundation & Orphanage

The Maison Fortune Orphanage Foundation, Inc. is a Chesapeake, VA based, recognized IRS 501(c) (3) charity established in 2002 for support of the Orphanage. Administrative costs of the organization equal 1.1 cents per each dollar contributed. The Founder and Director of the Orphanage is Lefort Jean-Louis. Jean-Louis is a Haitian, Virginia Tech graduate, who began with a dream of starting and growing the Orphanage to help aid the homeless children in the impoverished region. He began with 2 boys and now has over 150 residents at the center's complex in Hinche. In addition, over 100 students from the surrounding community attend classes and receive hot meals daily from the Orphanage. The Orphanage and supporting Foundation focus on raising children in an effort to build a stronger future for the country of Haiti. To learn more, please visit www.mfofoundation.org and www.maisonfortune.org.

To make a donation in the expansion effort of the Maison Fortune Orphanage:

Mail checks to: Treasurer, Maison Fortune Orphanage Foundation

P O Box 3092

Chesapeake, VA 23327-3092

For credit cards and on line giving, visit the web site, http://www.mfofoundation.org

Right column under News Briefs, click on "Assist in Disaster Relief".

SOURCE Maison Fortune Orphanage Foundation