After family tragedy, hope in Haiti

Stanley lived with his aunt, Muratine Felix, until she passed away in 2017. Muratine’s name had been on the list of people who would receive help constructing a new home through an CWS construction program supported by the United Methodist Committee on Relief. The local team decided to move forward constructing the home for her family, even after her passing.  

Stanley and his wife, Irose Telusma, are taking care of their cousins, nieces and nephew. Eight of them live together, and all of their parents have passed. The five school-aged children are students. Felix works in the customs office in La Saline, Port-au-Prince, and his wife is a kindergarten teacher. 

After Muratine passed, Felix and his family lived in a rental house. Now they are moving into a house of their own. It’s ready for their arrival, down to the paintings already hanging on the walls. But it’s not new to them, since they helped with the construction. The family contributed rocks and sand. When they decided to build a bathroom inside rather than outside the home, they paid for the related costs. They also covered the costs of putting steel bars on the windows, paid for laborers to help dig the foundation, provided food and water to construction workers and paid to replace plywood for the porch that was damaged during construction.  

Today, the family is full of hope and excited for this new chapter. “We are full of joy. Now a different life has started,” Felix says. “This is a big change. It also removes an economic burden from our backs. We will be more prosperous.” 

“I thank the donors and organizations that contributed, because they take people out of difficult circumstances,” added Irose.