Haiti Orphan’s Life Depends on MN Stay

MINNEAPOLIS - A metro church is helping a little orphan from Haiti whose 10-day visa is almost going to expire.

But even though Rose Nacheca looks like a typical healthy baby, she's actually 3 years old and is at the weight of an 8-month-old child.

Nacheca's mother surrendered her to an orphanage in Haiti last October because she couldn't take care of her little girl. At the time, she only weighed 11 pounds and had nearly starved to death.

Workers at the orphanage put Nacheca on a regular feeding program but she's still dangerously small for her age. Freshwater church in St. Bonifacious adopted the orphanage long before the earthquake devastated it along with the rest of Haiti.

Church member Dan Sorenson got a 10-day visa to bring Nacheca to Minnesota so doctors could figure out what's wrong with her, but they are running out of time.

"I’ve got 48 hours to return this girl to Haiti or extend this visa or risk going to prison,” said Sorenson. “What do I do with that?"

Sorenson says doctors detected a murmur in Nacheca's little heart, which could be a sign of a defect. That's easy to fix in Minnesota, but Sorenson says returning her to Haiti before she can be treated would essentially amount to a death sentence.

"If we send her back to Haiti and she has congenital heart disease, she will die in that place."

But Nacheca is a tough little girl, who's already survived so much and she's still standing. Sorenson hopes the U.S. government gives her a chance to give her a normal life.

Sorenson has been in touch with Senator Amy Klobuchar office, which helped facilitate her visa to come here in the first place.

Sorenson says his best hope for a visa extension is the U.S Custom and Border office at the airport.