Three days ago, 22 year old Molly Hightower of Port Orchard, Washington, was in Haiti on the 5th floor of the seven story building where she lived and worked with orphans. Her body was pulled from the rubble this morning.
UPDATE: "Friends of the Orphans" has set up a donation page in Molly's honor.
UPDATE 2: Here is a more extensive article by the Seattle Times.
I didn't know Molly, but in a way we all knew Molly – a recent University of Portland grad that set aside the fun, safety, security, and hedonism of American young adulthood for one of the most destitute, dangerous corners of the earth to do extraordinary humanitarian work, simply because she was needed.
Molly provided physical therapy for disabled children, among other services for the orphanage she served.
I just read her memoirs on her blog titled "525,600 Minutes. How do you measure a year?"
Here are some excerpts...
Renand drove me to the Embassy, where we picked up Jacques Christo and took him to the hospital. He’s 7 years old, and very, very smart. He calmly told me his mother left him and wouldn’t be coming back, and that he thinks his dad is in Miami. Jacques was born in Brooklyn, so he’s an American citizen, but neither of his parents are. He speaks English and Creole fluently. He was born with a cleft palette and has already had several surgeries, but needs another soon. Maybe his mother didn’t receive a visa to go to the US with him for the surgery, or maybe she couldn’t afford to send him on her own. I’m trying to give her the benefit of the doubt- but what kind of mother just leaves her child, especially when he’s old enough to know he’s being left? We spent the evening eating M&Ms and Doritos in the guest house, and then I put him to bed. At first he was having a good time, but after awhile he realized he wasn’t going home and was upset and scared. He kept asking if he could call his mother and ask her to come back. I spend almost everyday with the abandoned babies in the hospital, and it’s difficult to comprehend why and who would ever give them up. I’ve never encountered an abandoned child who is so aware of his situation, or one who feels the pain so freshly. It broke my heart. We played with the babies in the hospital the next day, and Jacques was excited to meet Moise, who also had a cleft palette.
Kay Christine is always an experience. Often I will sit and embroider with the older residents who are done with school in the mornings, which I enjoy very much. Sometimes its silent, and sometimes Daniel starts pacing the room in his walker so Selena decides to try to knock him over and he starts to yell incoherently. And then Yvonne comes in and between hitting anyone who touches the scarf she always carries, sings at the top of her lungs “YVONNNNNE YVONNNNNNE YVONNNNNE”. As always, Innocent is making trouble, and while he’s sitting on the toilet will grab the mop and start poking people as they walk by the bathroom yelling for Maeve or I to come give him a kiss. Rose Therly comes home during recess and starts dancing to no music, and then steals my sunglasses and has people take pictures of her. Cedline is as always sitting outside in the sun yelling to herself, and then Alexei bites down on his lip and 5 people jump up to try to make him unclench his jaw before he starts to bleed. Kay Christine is always moving.
Now at school, I'm working with the most special needs children who are unable to learn in our school and tend to disrupt. Taisha is autistic, unresponsive and uncontrollable. Chrisitian is the same, but will babble to himself and steal from the other children. Clara is content to lay on the floor, and if you try to pick her up (which is difficult, because she is a heavy girl) she hits, screams and lays back down in the end anyway. Working individually with these kids is part of my day, trying to get them to sit, control their movements, listen to direction and letting them exert all the energy outside.
Still swimming with the kids several times a week, though for shorter periods of time. The kids need to be in class, so its more of a cool off/recreation time than actual lessons. The school day is also shortnened, because the kids really cannot handle more than 6 hours. Instead of taking the bus home at 3, it leaves at 1:30 which leaves considerably less time to get everything I want to done. I come back to Petionville and embroider or translate documents for the hospital for a few hours and call it a day.
My babies at the hospital are all doing fine now after a little drama in the last few weeks. Going to the hospital has become so difficult, because I have to search for the weaker babies every time I go. They are constantly moved from recovery to urgent care to special needs, and without a parents to sit with them when they are in the sick room, I have become that person. I sit with the other Haitian mothers for as long as I can holding whichever baby is sick, but this leaves less time for therapy with the healthier kids. Last week, I went to my newest girl's bed to find her having a seizure. She's being medicated but her malnutrion has caused neurological damage.
Thank you, Molly, you are the truest of heroes. Thank God it appears as if all of your children in the orphanage survived. They will miss you terribly. Kudos for a life well lived. You have made your family, friends, community and country incredibly proud. Thank you.