Author Archives: Felician Mission: Haiti

More pictures from our visitors from Madonna University:

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This morning we welcomed the New Year by taking our kids to Sacred Heart Church and to see a new manger for baby Jesus. January 1 is a very special day for all Haitians. We celebrate the feast of the Mother of God and Independence Day. We also pray for peace in our country and in the world.

All of Haiti celebrates their Independence on January 1; it is the day they received their freedom from slavery for which they fought and won. Haitians are very proud of their freedom and celebrate by eating soup Jamou, pumpkin soup, all day. This tradition is meaningful for Haitians because, while in slavery, they were not allowed to eat the pumpkin soup that the French slaveholders could eat. When Haiti won their independence, they all ate pumpkin soup.

Today we served pumpkin soup in the Mother Angela Kitchen. All the kids were happy to join in the celebration.

On Christmas Day, our two little friends, Cassandra and Maria, could not come for the feast because they were sick. They joined us today and received their Christmas gifts with much happiness and joy.

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Preparation for our Christmas festivities started months ago when we began collecting various toys, clothing, shoes, and little trinkets. As you well know, some things could not be done until the day before, such as preparing 200 pieces of chicken and the spices needed. We also had to bake 100 cupcakes.

Starting at 6 a.m., the ladies and some of our kids were busy preparing the Christmas dinner. Our celebration would be starting at 1 p.m. with the Celebration of the Eucharist. The altar needed to be decorated; with the help of Sr. Francis and a few of our teens, it was beautiful.

The doors opened for every child that wanted to come and participate. There were many new faces that we had never seen before. “O come let us adore, Christ the Lord” filled the air.

After the beautiful Mass, dinner was served to over 100 people. After dinner, the children gathered in groups to come to our chapel to adore the newborn King, Jesus Christ the Lord! The children gave the gift of themselves to Baby Jesus, and then Jesus had His gifts for them. There was much joy on our grounds and in our home the whole day!

We were able to sit for our dinner that we received from Manman Angela Kizin at 7 p.m. It was a true joy of Christmas!

Before the great feast of Christmas, there was much to do in order to get ready. Sr. Francis stepped right in to walk the way of preparations and, at the same time, she had a few art classes with the kids.

On Christmas Eve, our Felician family has a beautiful tradition of sharing the Christmas wafer, asking for pardon and wishing blessings for the new year.

On Saturday, December 13, Sr. Victoria arrived in Jacmel, with two students and one professor from Madonna University, Livonia, Michigan. They are interested in collaborating with the Nursing Program of Notre Dame University, Jacmel. The group stayed at Sacred Heart, about 15 minutes from our mission. During the week they visited the University, the local hospital, and a few clinics in order to get a better understanding of the health system here in Haiti. They also visited us a few times during the week. We thank them for all the things they bought for the clinic and for our kids. The week went by quickly, and they left on Friday, December 19. And, on that same day, we welcomed Sr. Francis who will be with us for the Christmas holiday.

On Thursday, December 11, our Mother Angela Clinic team responded to a request to bring the clinic to St. Etienne. First we had to travel by car for an hour, going through a few rivers. Once we reached the place where we could park the truck, we loaded our medications on a horse, while a few of the village people carried the rest of the boxes up the mountain. It was a 2 1/2-hour walk up the mountain to get to St. Etienne’s, and we arrived at our destination after sunset. We slept overnight with the family of the person who had asked us to bring the clinic to this location. Our team had plenty of fruit and fresh vegetables to eat; these are grown up in the mountains. Because the height of where we were it was not hot nor were there any mosquitoes. There was a room for Sr. Marilyn, which she shared with Clara, our nurse.

The team woke up at 5 a.m. to prepare for the day’s work. The people prepared a tent, and the clinic opened at 7 a.m. We were able to receive 109 patients, ranging from babies to children and teens, up to adults and the elderly. We had to turn away over 50 people, with the promise we would return. Our hope is to return in February.

The people in St. Etienne have no access to any medical care or medications. The spirit of the Mother Angela Clinic team was a “Response to Love,” and to “Love is to Give.” They certainly gave their all to the community of St. Etienne,

We started walking down the mountain at 4 p.m., after a delicious dinner prepared by the community. At 5 p.m., it was already dark, and it was a 2-hour walk down the mountain. Thanks be to God, all arrived safely! Then began the hour drive back to Jacmel.

We want to let you know what happened to Wilnor after his Friday accident. You may recall, in our last blog, we shared with you our trip to the city hospital in Jacmel. Wilnor got an x-ray but no doctor was there to read it. The poor are at such a disadvantage since they have no money or means to get the assistance needed when it comes to illness and accidents. His mother, Francine, said she would look for someone to help him. The weekend passed by and still no word, so we knew we had to do something today. With the help of our creole teacher, Madam Omanie, we found someone.

Dr. Paul is a Haitian orthopedic surgeon who lived and studied in New York for 38 years. He read Wilnor’s x-ray and said it was definitely fractured but Wilnor needed the other arm x-rayed to compare the two. So we did what we needed to do and, after three hours of waiting, he received his cast.

Francine is a young mother of two boys. Her husband is dead, and she is illiterate. Francine works in a restaurant 12 hours a day, 18 hours on Saturday. She earns $50 a month. She is not able to pay her rent nor send her kids to school. They live near us in a shack with one bed for the three of them. Francine is allowed to eat in the restaurant, but her kids eat in our Manman Angela Kitchen. She is very depressed. Both of her boys failed to pass school last year, and she is not able to help them. They participate in our Pay-it-Forward Program. The boys are dirty and do not have clean clothes. They often ask us for soap. We try to help them as much as we can. Now Fenol, the oldest of the two boys, is doing well in school. He is second in the class with the help he is getting. We have been able to give them clothing and shoes with the donations we have received.

Today, Wilnor, her youngest son, who is 8 years old, came to our door early in the morning before prayers. His arm was in a sling. It seems as though he and his young friend had a fight the night before and Wilnor fell and hurt his left arm. We took him to the hospital here in Jacmel. We got him registered, and he needed to wait for an x-ray. After he finally got the x-ray, the doctor said it did not look right–maybe it was dislocate–but he could not do anything. Not even an ace bandage was given to Wilnor. Our doctors from the Manman Angela Klinic are on a retreat weekend with Caritas so we need to wait for them to return on Monday to see what we can do to help Wilnor.

Please pray for Wilnor and continue to pray for Christella. We still have not heard anything about where she could be, and she also needs medical assistance!