The recent news reports of the earthquake in Haiti are all too close for Jill Hurd, a registered nurse and single mother from Lewiston.

She first traveled to Haiti on a work retreat from St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, where she witnessed first-hand the poverty and struggles encountered by the Haitian people.

And while the experience left her spiritually and emotionally drained, she could never have predicted that two years later she, and her two natural born children, would adopt three children from Haiti to become part of their lives here in Maine.

“I went to Haiti in January of 1999 and I prepared for an entire year for this trip. I attended meetings where we talked about the culture and the people of Haiti. We were going to experience life from a Haitian peasant’s perspective,” said Hurd, knowing that the comforts of daily life would be minimal, if there were any at all.

“What surprised me the most about Haiti was the sparkle and joy in the people. They stepped out of these one room shacks impeccably dressed even if it was their only outfit; their clothing clean and brilliantly white against their darkened skin,” said Hurd. “They smiled, held hands, sang and went about their business with pride and hope.”

Hurd could not understand how these people could be so happy as they lived among garbage-strewn streets. 

“I started to realize that living in Haiti makes you present to each and every moment. What the Haitian people exemplified was an ability to be truly grateful for what they had,” she said.

After returning to Maine, the memories of Haiti continued to stir for Hurd. She was haunted with the question, “What do I do about Haiti?”

“I decided that my life as a single parent, living in an apartment, with a stable income and a loving extended family was more than enough,” said Hurd. “I had room in my heart and my life to help, even if it was just a small part of Haiti.”

It was then, at 39 years of age, Hurd decided to adopt a Haitian child.

“I started searching for one child, but I was matched with a six-month-old baby girl named Ruthie and her two-year-old brother, Jean David. I had yet to see their picture, but my heart was ecstatic,” she recalled.

It was a follow-up phone call from the Haitian orphanage that would test Hurd’s faith to move forward.

The birth mother to the other two children returned to the orphanage with another child, a four-year-old named Zacharie. 

“My dossier was for two children, and now there were three,” she said. “The orphanage said I could do whatever I wanted, but I did not want to be the one to separate them.”

Through the grace of God and some quick rearranging of paperwork, Hurd brought all three children to Maine within three months time. “I am so unbelievably blessed to have been chosen to have these beautiful, amazing children in my life.” 

Hurd admits that the first days back in Maine were not easy. The children could not speak English and Hurd could not speak French or Creole. “Slowly we settled into a routine,” said Hurd, believing that mothers somehow have a universal language to communicate with their children.

The recent tragedy from Haiti has been difficult for Hurd’s family. “My children were the three youngest of seven children so we have extended family living there,” said Hurd. “Someday I plan to return with them to the village where they were born and to inquire about their older siblings and birth mother.”

Hurd’s family is very involved in raising money for Haitian relief efforts. She knows that their need continues to be great.

“I think of my children’s birth mother often and all of the mothers in Haiti who cannot feed their starving children, who watch them suffer and die because there is no other option,” said Hurd. “We cannot forget about Haiti nor turn our back on the human suffering that continues there today.”

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