A detailed This is Your Life report (TIYL) is priceless in the years to come. Reports for your child should be done while the biological parents are readily available. Search problems occur later when the child goes home to their forever parents and oftentimes the biological parents relocate and do not let orphanage directors know their new location. This could be a sad situation when you can't find the parents to get the information you need. Many parents are heart broken because they have no in-depth information about their child's family, not even a picture of their child's mother or father.

 
The minimum donation for the TIYL report is $400 plus the basic expenses for gasoline and driver. If the searches are in the provinces (outside of Port-au-Prince) the cost will be $400 and could include such expenses as in-country plane fares, gasoline, driver, hotel accommodations, food, searchers fees, etc. Once we have enough information to calculate where we will actually have to go and what is needed for the search, the first invoice will be sent to you. This invoice will be the initial payment and will include one half of the report cost plus the estimated costs for expenses. When the report is finished, a final invoice will be sent which will include the balance of the report cost and any additional expenses incurred (NOTE: Any over estimated expenses will be refunded.) Expenses vary as mentioned above. We have found that searches in the Port-au-Prince and immediate surrounding areas are rarely more than $125 US. Trips to the north, south, east or west have been averaging $275 to $550 US. CLICK here and view a SAMPLE of our TIYL Reports.

For us to begin your search, we need your child's and the bio parents birth certificates, the orphanage name, location and their approval if they are not listed below. Any pictures that you might have of your child and family members, particularly the mother and/or father and of course if you have any idea of where the bio family may be living would be helpful. All this information can be scanned and E mailed to us. We will be able to tell you within a week or two if your child's bio family can be found. If your child is still in the orphanage, it is most likely that we will have no problem finding them. If your child was abandoned and/or the family no longer visits your child, there is a good possibility we will not find them. However, we have other means to continue a search before giving up. You will not get an invoice until we are sure that we can make contact with your family. Once we do make that contact, you will receive the initial invoice which we consider the beginning of our contract. If we are unable to make contact, then we would appreciate very much if you would make a minimum donation of $125 for our efforts. Your donations can be made at our www.kreyolforparents.com website.

More than one Child? Siblings? Same mother and father? We ask because if you have more than one child and they are not siblings, then the donation would be as noted in the chart below:

How long will it take to prepare a report? This basically depends on our current workload. Secondly, it depends on the initial information we are able to obtain about the whereabouts of your child's family and also the location of the family and family members. If the findings are in the Port-au-Prince and immediate surrounding areas, it could take approximately two to three months from the day we accept to do a report. If the initial findings are well outside of Port-au-Prince, we are looking at anywhere from two months to maybe even four months. For traveling purposes we have to take into consideration the security and stability of the country; as well as the rainy seasons which vary throughout the geographical sections of Haiti.

In almost every instance, we have found that adopting parents requesting a search have indicated that they want to help the family and often want to send money. I strongly discourage this at this early stage. However, I strongly encourage helping your extended family but at the appropriate time and after we know the best way you can help. During the visits and interviews with the bio parents, we have found, in every situation, that the families continue to live in misery and have hardships just to meet their basic everyday needs. We have found many without much food to feed themselves. We have found that siblings are unable to go to school for financial reasons and economic hardships. We have found that there have been serious needs for home repairs, medical treatment, etc. We have found that the start of a small business or the purchase of a small piece of land could make a tremendous difference in the way they live. We have found that sending a parent to learn a trade gave them respect and pride and a chance for them to be able to support the family. In all of our findings, we carefully try to assess the needs of the family, i.e., what would help the family become independent and have a better life. From these observations and assessments, you will get a family project proposal for you to consider as to whether or not you would like to help your extended family.

It is important for you to know that at no time during our visits and/or interviews with family members are they informed that you will or will not provide some kind of outreach assistance to them. These observations are privately and very carefully assessed so as not to give the family the impression that you commit to helping them. If you decide that you want to help your family then this is another part of the program that will be discussed after the TIYL report has been completed. Several projects have already been successfully accomplished and bio families are enjoying a better life. If you want to have more information about what has been done, address your email to tiylprojects@kreyolforparents.com

 
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT TIYL Reports: It is important for requesting parents to understand that we DO NOT, under any circumstances, impose our services on the orphanages in Haiti. We work only where we have been granted approval to visit. Should we get a request for services at an orphanage where we do not have their approval, we ask that you contact the director and get permission for us to visit and do the report.

We are happy to invite you to read the TIYL comments in our guestbook at www.kreyolforparents.com. These are comments from satisfied parents who have ordered the This Is Your Life Reports (TIYL) for their children. We guarantee you that this is an investment that will bless you and your child when he/she gets older. You child will remember the love that you have given to him/her personally and how that loved extended to his/her birth family. You will have what you need to answer the many questions that will surely be forthcoming in the years to come.

Bin and Maggie