Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family

In August of 2013, Albom landed in the airport of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and was greeted by the local director of the orphanage, Mr. Alain. At the orphanage, the children, led by Chika, greeted him warmly. Chika had only arrived at the orphanage a few weeks before and had only met Albom once. Still, she reached for him and smiled.

It is not until May that Chika’s spirit comes to visit Albom in his office again, and when she does, she wants to know if Albom is writing yet. Albom tells her he wrote seven lessons that she taught him—seven because of both her age at her death and its date, April 7. Chika struggles to understand the first lesson, “I Am Your Protection” (34), so Albom tries to explain.

For most of his life, Albom explains, he understood how to protect himself, his assets, and his wife, but it was not until opening the orphanage that he learned about protecting someone who is totally vulnerable. The children at the orphanage came from extremely difficult backgrounds, with some abandoned or having lost their entire families. Albom had to provide safe shelter, water, food, and healthcare. Back at his home in Michigan, Albom received a phone call from Mr.