Operation Rosie

In the spring of 2000, on a medical clinic group with Mission Haiti, Inc. - Midwest, work-campers were moved by the plight of a young baby named Rosie.  Suffering from a cleft palate, Baby Rosie was hardly able to take in enough milk to stay alive.  Attempts at bottle feeding her were met with minimal success, and the prognosis, without surgical intervention, was poor. 

After returning home, Tim and Debbie Alford began talking to physicians and hospital administrators about the possibility of providing surgery for Baby Rosie and, after months of preparation and planning the first child was brought to the US on a medical visa for surgery.  Thanks to the work of Dr. James Miligan and the staff at St John's Hospital in Anderson, IN, Baby Rosie was able to have the surgery she needed to stay alive.  Baby Rosie soon began to gain weight and develop into a healthy child and a bond soon formed between her and the Alford family.  Baby Rosie's return to her family in Haiti was met with a mix of emotions.  In the area where she was from, a child like Rosie was seen as an curse.  In fact, not far from her home was an altar, blackened by the soot of deformed children, sacrificed to appease the voodoo gods.  As new Christians, Rosie's family was unsure of the significance of her transformation, but one thing was clear; she had been transformed.    

While Baby Rosie was an inspiration to all who met her, much of her legacy had yet to be told.  Having shown God's miraculous love and healing power to a village of unbelievers, and touched the hearts of men and women in the US, Rosie had an uncertain future ahead.  Just one week after her triumphant return home, Rosie departed from this life to be with her Heavenly Father.  Perhaps understanding this tragedy will come someday, but until then there is work to be done.  Serving a God who turns mourning into gladness, the Alford's committed to begin a program whereby children, like Rosie, can get the help they need. 

Since 2000, ten children have been saved through Operation Rosie.  Thanks to countless physician's, nurses, hospital administrators, churches, and host-families these children, who would have known no other option, are healthy and thriving.  As more and more children are brought to this ministry for help, the opportunities to help grow.  Won't you please consider how you can become involved and change a child's life forever?  Contact Operation Rosie today.