Gigi, Rosy and Mikala, who are undergoing physical therapy here, made the trip from their Caribbean homeland three months ago with their adoptive parents, Jody and Jose Castillo. Vanessa Bird, an occupational therapist at ABC, met the family while doing work at the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission in Saint Louis Du Nord and suggested they bring the girls here for treatment and facilities that aren't available in rural Haiti.

"There's so much progress that can be achieved in the short amount of time they are here," said Bird.

Diana Owen, Jody Castillo's mother and co-founder of the mission started three decades ago in Haiti, said it is hard enough in the impoverished country to take care of healthy children, let alone children with physical and mental disabilities such as these three girls. The Castillos have adopted four Haitian girls, none related, who were abandoned or given up by parents who couldn't care for them.

Rosy, 10 months old, contracted tetanus, causing her to be locked in the fetal position for the first months of her life, and she later suffered from malaria. But since coming here, she has learned to first roll over, then sit up, and now can get up on all fours. So therapists hope she soon will be crawling around.

Gigi, 2, was born with rubella and lost vision in her left eye and part of her hearing. She also has hypersensitivity in her feet and legs, preventing her from walking. She has been given a fitted walker here, enabling her to strengthen her legs and move around. She also undergoes massage therapy to ease her hypersensitivity.

Bioworks, in Cincinnati, donated orthopedic braces for her feet to give her more stability. The braces covered with butterflies may look pretty, but this is Gigi's first time with shoes. After some getting used to, she was in her walker adjusting to her new shoes and braces and rolling across the room.

Mikala, 2, nearly starved as a baby. "It was like taking care of a skeleton," Jody Castillo said.

But now, she roams the ABC playground, visiting the other girls as they are going through therapy and greeting anyone she comes across.

The three girls came to the United States with their other adoptive sister Medjina, 4, who has learning disabilities. She was treated at ABC and recently returned to Haiti to attend school at the mission.

The family, which commutes from a home in Versailles, Ky., to the therapy center, plans to return with the three girls to Haiti in March.

The therapists are not only helping the girls but teaching the Castillos techniques and exercises they can perform at home.

ABC is donating the therapy services and also gathering donated equipment for the family and their mission in Haiti. Some $20,000 worth of equipment, including a wheelchair, four walkers and Gigi's orthopedics, has been donated so far.

"It's so different to see what you can do with equipment and supplies," Bird said. "We haven't gotten a 'No' from anyone."

She added that there are many more children in Haiti who need such help.

Haiti at a glanceHow to helpPopulation: 7,656,166.

Government: Republic, elected.

History: Former French colony gained independence in 1804.

Source: Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook.

To donate equipment, call ABC Pediatric at (513) 755-6600. To donate money or volunteer for the mission, call (502) 695-7870.