An OASIS in a poor and volatile country Local nonprofit supports small orphanage in Haiti BY CHRIS GAETANO Staff Writer Luceanna Moore spends time with children in the Haitian orphanage that her organization OASIS funds. FRANKLIN - In the U.S., $30 can buy tee time at a golf course, a couple of cocktails or a decent pair of jeans. In Haiti, wracked with political instability and natural disasters, $30 can feed, clothe, educate and shelter a child. Haitian-born Luceanna Moore, of Somerset, runs OASIS (Our Attempt At Saving Innocent Souls), a nonprofit organization that supports a small orphanage in Haiti, right outside of Port Au Prince. Based in Franklin, the organization keeps the orphanage financially solvent by seeking donations or sponsorships, which cost about $30 a month. While the organization is relatively new, having only started in 2003, Moore said that her desire to help the children of Haiti has been a nearly lifelong ambition. Born in that country but having lived in the U.S. since she was 6 years old, her homecoming at 17 was an eye-opening but heart-wrenching experience for her. "I had not been there since I was little and then I saw the poverty, the desperation and it was just so overbearing, and I thought, oh my, why is no one helping these people?" said Moore. During her stay, she met many people and made many friends. However, one friend in particular stands out in her mind, even to this day, as her encounter with this person served as the catalyst for her eventual life goal. Her name was Natasha, a neighbor's daughter. She was 4 years old and very sick. "We took care of her, she got better, we got her some medication, we found clothes for her. She probably stayed with us for the whole two weeks we were over there," said Moore. However, hope and lives can be fragile things. Speaking to her father in Haiti one day, she learned that Natasha had died from the common cold after being malnourished for so long. The news broke her heart. From that point on, Moore made it her mission to help in any way she could. The orphanage represents the culmination of years of effort and saving money, with Moore having raised the initial funds for the project through substitute teaching. In July of 2003, she, with her husband and sister, had finally saved enough to make the return trip and begin the work that she says God chose for her to do. The orphanage sits atop the Christian school, where nine children within receive an education. Her father, a Baptist minister in Haiti who runs several churches, administers day-to-day affairs at both the orphanage and school with the help of three live-in staffers. While there, they receive food, clothing, medical aid and a Christian education. News of the orphanage spread through the community by word of mouth and their facilities were soon inundated with children, which led to the painful realization that at their organization's current level of development, they would simply not be able to accommodate them all. "None of them should have been turned away, but we didn't have the resources at the time. ... No one wants to be the one to say 'We'll take you, but not you,'"said Moore. At the moment, there is one baby boy and eight young girls, all of whom were incredibly malnourished and sick when they first arrived. For now they are happy and healthy. Meanwhile, the list of children waiting to get in has been growing larger and larger, especially in light of escalating political and economic instability. "[We have] a constantly, constantly longer list. ... The killing is crazy down there. ... There are so many orphans," said Moore. The facility takes about $600 U.S. a month to maintain, which, according to Moore, is very expensive in Haiti. There are many costs, which have also been rising in Haiti as of late, including tuition for education, clinics for treating common illnesses, as well as food and clothing. She also makes it a point to visit the orphanage as much as possible. According to Moore, because of financial problems, donations have been at an 18-month low and there was also an encounter with a fraudulent lawyer who stole a great deal of their money. Moore said she would like to eventually expand the facility to include more children in its care, as well as eventually get paperwork from the United States so that the children in the orphanage might be able to be adopted. In the long run, she'd like to make efforts at improving the entire community, such opening clinics and community stores. But for now, she's concentrating on keeping what she already has alive. "Because all of them need it. All of them really need it," said Moore.