Gov. Ritter Leads Effort To Bring Haitian Orphans To Colorado

Press Release

Gov. Bill Ritter welcomed 32 Haitian orphans to Colorado today, capping a 10-day effort to reunite children from earthquake-ravaged Port-au-Prince with their adoptive families here in Colorado.

"Thanks to the patience, perseverance and determination of many people and organizations, today we were able to bring all of these children together with their new families," Gov. Ritter said at Denver International Airport. "While getting these kids to Colorado was a major milestone, there are still more Haitian children waiting to come to Colorado, and many more Colorado families living on pins and needles waiting for them to arrive. We are going to keep up the pressure until all of these children are together with their new families."

For the past week and a half, Gov. Ritter's Office and the Colorado Department of Human Services have been working closely with the U.S. military and Departments of Homeland Security and State to get the orphans out of Haiti and processed through customs in Florida.

Early Saturday morning, Gov. Ritter dispatched a team of 35 Colorado physicians, social workers and other volunteers to Florida to help bring the children back to Colorado. The charter flight to Florida was paid for by the MDC/Richmond American Homes Foundation.

Today, at Gov. Ritter's request, United Airlines flew the 32 Haitian orphans and the Colorado team back to Denver, where the families and children gathered for an emotional reunion.

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