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2 Orphans From Haiti Start Anew In Minn.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Out of great tragedy in Haiti have come great stories of survival and humanity.

One year after an earthquake devastated the nation, killing more than 300,000 people by some estimates, some are getting a fresh start in Minnesota.

Two orphaned children arrived at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport early Wednesday morning and were promptly welcomed into the family of Bill and Mary Kratz, of Stillwater, Minn. They have been working on this adoption for the last 10 months.

The 7-year-old boy and a 9-year-old girl stepped off the plane at 12:30 a.m. They arrived from Miami, Fla., so the temperature difference was striking.

"It's so cold, his teeth are chattering," said Bill Kratz. "You need more than a hoodie here."

Mary Kratz met with the children in Florida with an interpreter. She arrived with the children at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport early Wednesday.

The rest of the family, which includes seven other children, welcomed them with balloons and hugs.

"It's hard to conceive of a country or a city or anything losing 10 percent of their population, and have 1.5 million people displaced, and still displaced a year after the event," said Bill Kratz.

The Kratz family says there are four other families at their church waiting to adopt children from Haiti.

WCCO-TV's Holly Wagner Reports

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