Impact: Nurturing Families at St. Joseph of the Apparition in Haiti

Just two years ago, Jeanette Joseph’s husband passed away, leaving her to care for five boys all on her own. She was desperate to feed her kids, so she married again. After Jeanette gave birth to another son, her second husband abandoned her. She was left with few resources and no place to live. Desperate, Jeanette cobbled together a one-room hut for shelter – and the family suffered in inhumane conditions.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition serves abandoned and poor children in the Diocese of Gonaives, Haiti. Among other services, the center provides daily nutritional support, education and training programs for mothers. When the sisters heard about Jeanette’s situation, they welcomed her and her six sons to the nutrition center with open arms.

Many of the women and children helped at the center come from desperate situations of extreme poverty. Children suffer from chronic malnourishment. Were it not for St. Joseph of the Apparition, these children would have nowhere else to go and nothing to eat. At the center, Jeanette and her boys received protein-rich Vitafood meals, which saved them from severe malnutrition.

“The center is a place of love, and I feel welcome, respected and cared for,” she said. “I love coming to the center.”

The sisters also blessed Jeanette with a job in their school kitchen, giving her a way to make life better for her kids. Other women are empowered by learning skills like sewing and embroidery, which they use to generate income for the center. Jeanette feels empowered as a mother, and her life is on the path to healing.