Karen Attardo

I first felt that God was calling me to serve in Haiti after hearing Pastor Rigaud Antoine speak at my church.  My first trip was in March of 2011 and I have been there a total of 8 times.

My passion started with the kids at Wayom Timoun / Kingdom’s Kids Orphanage (KKO).  I was instantly overwhelmed with a great sense of love for them on my first trip.  Every trip thereafter, my focus has been on working to make their lives better.  On subsequent trips, I was able to spend more time with the caregivers and the people in the community.  My love has grown for them as well.   More recently, I have felt God placing the needs of the women and men that work at KKO on my heart.  In building these relationships, I have seen their struggles, their faithfulness, and their hopes and I want to be as supportive as possible.  I am involved in quite a few projects but my main areas of focus have been on the overall health and quality of life for the children, clean drinking water, electricity, and self-sustaining projects.  I have made so many friends in Haiti and it has a special and large place in my heart.

I am a very social person and have always worked with people so I do a lot of networking and fundraising.  I am a doer, I like the process of starting something and seeing it come to fruition.  I think those are helpful skills when working on a team, like the HIA board.  I am also a single mother who has raised my son mostly on my own, I feel that gives me a lot of insight and compassion for the mothers and the motherless.  I feel that is the drive God has placed within me to work hard to help HIA and KKO.