Overview:
A number of younger folks, united beneath the slogan “Pataje Lanmou,” supply magnificence and healthcare providers to aged residents in Haiti’s displacement camps, the place many have sought refuge from gang violence. Their initiative brings moments of dignity, pleasure, and hope to those that have misplaced a lot.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI — On the eve of Valentine’s Day, as love stuffed the air, a bunch of younger Haitians set out on a mission. A dozen of them—ladies and boys alike—left their properties early on Feb. 13, bringing solely their abilities and a want to uplift these in want. Their vacation spot: a displacement camp on the Ministry of Communication, the place they aimed to deliver consolation, care, and dignity to victims of gang violence.”
“We really feel so good. We may spend the entire day working with out eager about consuming, so long as our hearts are glad to present like to the aged,” stated Maudeline “Fameuse Maude” Dérival, singer and initiator of the challenge.
“Aged persons are so uncared for, we’d love for this motion to unfold all through the nation.”
In Port-au-Prince, overcrowded shelters, illness, and sexual violence threaten 1000’s fleeing their residence
Their easy but profound presents included magnificence therapies—manicures, pedicures, haircuts—and a examine on the aged’s blood stress, a gesture of concern for his or her well-being. However what they honestly supplied was a human connection, a reminder that that they had not been forgotten.
By means of their initiative, Pataje Lanmou—Creole for ‘Sharing Love’—these younger volunteers have been bringing care and kindness to Haiti’s displacement camps. After visiting camps on the KIDS political social gathering headquarters and Lycée des Jeunes Filles in December, they plan to proceed their outreach on March 7.
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One of many girls receiving hair care and pedicure by the younger ladies from the “Pataje Lanmou” initiative on the displacement camp for victims of violence on the Ministry of Communication on February 13, 2025, on the eve of Valentine’s Day. Photograph by Dieugo André for The Haitian Occasions.
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4 of the numerous girls who had fled gang violence of their neighborhoods acquired manicure and pedicure classes throughout the go to of the younger members of the “Pataje Lanmou” initiative on the refugee camp on the Ministry of Communication on February 13, 2025, on the eve of Valentine’s Day. Photograph by Dieugo André for The Haitian Occasions.
Regardless of having no formal chief or institutional funding, the motion has gained momentum from an preliminary dialogue amongst associates by phrase of mouth, fueled by younger folks and their relations keen to share what they’ve.
“Those that have been keen determined to observe us. The motivation comes from the love we have now for folks,” stated Dérival. “Happily, the aged within the refugee camps have been very glad. They cried. They want us to return, however we’re required to go to every camp as soon as.”
“We really feel so good. We may spend the entire day working with out eager about consuming, so long as our hearts are glad to present like to the aged.”
Maudeline “Fameuse Maude” Dérival, singer and initiator of this challenge.
One of many fortunate girls who shed tears that day was Juslène Fontale, 69, who has been residing on the Ministry of Communication shelter since March 4, 2024. She was overwhelmed with gratitude, moved by the kindness of these strangers who had come to make her lovely once more.
“They made my face very, very lovely. They styled my hair so effectively. I really feel so recent,” says Fontale with a smile. “I’m very grateful for the work these younger folks have accomplished for us. I pray that God protects them to allow them to proceed pondering of us, the aged.”
The Ministry of Communication, now a makeshift refugee camp, doesn’t meet shelter requirements for displaced folks. Households sleep in overcrowded situations, missing important sanitation and fundamental requirements. The camp is extraordinarily unsanitary, with pregnant girls, the aged, and kids left to outlive on their very own,l clinging to the hope of a greater future.
Marie Eva Larrieux, one other resident on the camp, shares the same destiny. A 60-year-old mom of two, she fled Carrefour-Feuilles and has been living at the Ministry of Communications for eight months. Her days are filled with uncertainty as she struggles to find food and mourns everything she has lost.
“My husband was coming back from a small job. They killed him, then burned his body. I couldn’t even find his remains to bury him,” Larrieux says.
On top of her loss, she has been stripped of her means of survival. Her business—selling matches, candles, and other small goods—was reduced to ashes.
“Additionally, I lost more than 15 cartons of blackato, 10 cases of matches, and 5 cases of candles. And I can no longer do laundry work.”
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than a million people have been displaced in Haiti. With every passing day, these survivors face mounting hardships, their hopes dimming as gang assaults proceed to uproot communities.
“Pataje Lanmou” brings a second of reduction
For a number of hours that day, the aged on the camp put aside their worries. Close to the ministry’s outdated generator, they gathered in a makeshift salon wanting to be pampered. Girls dipped their fingers and ft into bowls of water for manicures and pedicures, whereas males sat in chairs getting recent haircuts. others have their blood stress checked.
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About twenty women and men entrusted their hair, nails, and well being to this group of younger folks, whose solely help comes from voluntary contributions by family and friends.
Their faces softened by a smile reflecting a uncommon second of contentment.
“I really feel alive seeing these younger folks come to us and do for us what our youngsters ought to do if we have been at residence,” stated Larrieux as her ft soaked. “I really feel robust and stuffed with hope as a result of if God allowed these younger folks to come back and supply us this cleansing session, it’s an indication.”
For Dérival who gained fame in a singing competitors within the nation, this initiative is greater than an act of kindness, it’s a assertion of the hope that refugees won’t stay on this susceptible state of affairs ceaselessly.
“This kind of exercise brings hope to folks and comforts them by displaying them that we care about them,” she stated. “This occasion nurtures the assumption that the displaced folks won’t stay in these situations ceaselessly.”
These younger volunteers, sure by their love of music, theater, and dance, promise to proceed supporting the aged and kids so long as their restricted assets permit. They see their gesture as a name to motion, a solution to foster love, advocate for justice for victims, and champion well-being for all.
“The message is that we will change the nation with love and justice,” says Dérival. “If we unite round optimistic actions, Haiti will turn out to be a paradise for all.”