In a very unexpected way, on a sunny Friday afternoon in early December of 2007, a group of little girls from Coq Chante, in the mountains of Haiti, captured the hearts of a group of people from a church in the mountains of east Tennessee . . . That day a love affair began that would bring two drastically different worlds together and change all of their lives forever.
During that week, the White Stone team learned that the orphanage would soon close it's doors for lack of financial resources. The conversations that night went something like this: “We might not be able to fix everything that is broken in Haiti, but we can do something about this! In the lives of these little girls, we can make a difference!” That was the day that White Stone Church committed, with God’s help, to do everything they could to make sure that this school, church, and orphanage had the funds they needed to continue operating. Knowing that it was much bigger than they could do themselves, they trusted God to let them be apart of something so big, that it was destined to fail unless God came through!
White Stone spent the next several years investing time, money, love, and countless hours serving & loving "their girls" and all the people of Haiti.
At approximately 5:15pm on January 12, 2010, less than 18 hours after a group from White Stone had returned from Haiti, the news came flooding in . . . MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE DEVASTATES HAITI. Most of the capital city of Port au Prince had collapsed as darkness fell on one of the darkest days in the history of a country who had seen many dark days. As most of the world focused on the tragedy in Port au Prince, the people of White Stone longed for some assurance that “their girls” were safe. Phone lines were jammed.
The silence was deafening. The news no one wanted to hear finally came about midnight. Someone had gotten through to the orphanage. The building had collapsed . . . little Atanie, the youngest & smallest of the girls, had died -- crushed by the very walls that had given her the only real shelter she had ever known. The rest of the girls huddled in the dark, crying in the dead of night – homeless -- mourning the loss of their sister.
Since that day, the eyes of the world have taken notice of the harsh reality that is Haiti, with relief efforts pouring into the millions of hurting and homeless in Port au Prince. But the eyes of many in Tennessee have drifted a little south of there, into the mountains of Coq Chante. As the local villagers sort through the rubble, and slowly start the process trying to rebuild there lives, hope is found in the memory of Atanie’s smile. Memories of the joy she brought and the way she laughed still echo on that hilltop. Those memories remind us of all the “little princesses” that we have yet to meet – who are wandering those very hills with no hope for the future without places like the one where Atanie found her hope.
What will be the legacy of this precious little girl? We who knew her are convinced that Atanie’s legacy will be one of hope for generations of Haitian children who will find a home and a future because of her death. Atanie’s Hope is a collaborative effort of groups and individuals, companies and civic organizations in east Tennessee and beyond, to rebuild a home for these girls and others like them. But that’s not all . . .
What will be the legacy of this precious little girl? We who knew her are convinced that Atanie’s legacy will be one of hope for generations of Haitian children who will find a home and a future because of her death. Atanie’s Hope is a collaborative effort of groups and individuals, companies and civic organizations in east Tennessee and beyond, to rebuild a home for these girls and others like them. But that’s not all . . .