A Pitt Meadows mother who adopted a young girl from Haiti is getting a chance to give back to the struggling country by sending much-needed medical equipment for infants.
It's been a labour of love for Wendy Kittlitz, who adopted her nine-year-old daughter Sonise when she was only two. Kittlitz and her husband are helping to send retired pediatric equipment to the ravaged region. In total, 12 incubators and five fetal monitors will be sent to God's Littlest Angels, an orphanage in the mountains above Pétion-Ville.
Killitz says the facility's need is greater than ever since a devastating magnitude 7.0 quake hit on January 12.
"They've received about 45 new children since the quake and virtually most of them have been brought from their families who just have no means to look after them," she said.
"Most of them babies, who are, you know, medically distressed and in need of help."
The equipment is being donated from the Surrey Memorial Hospital, Fraser Health and Stewart Medical Ltd., an Abbotsford-based medical surplus dealer. Three items from the hospital are being donated to make way for newly purchased items for the expansion of the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit.
The donated equipment will be trucked to Edmonton first, where more supplies will be added before the entire load is put into a shipping container bound for Haiti. The equipment is all heading to the GLA orphanage, but if they can't use all of it they'll give it to others that can.
So far, Canadians have donated almost 200,000 pounds of tents, food, medicine, clothing and tarps to the GLA. To learn more about donating, click here. Killitz says she will be accepting donations until the end of the weekend.
With files from CTV British Columbia's Maria Weisgarber
