Home > Our World > News > News Archives by Date > 2010 > January 2010 > News - January 2010
Haiti journal: Deaconess, 82, cares for orphans


Paulette Holly shows an abandoned bedroom at the Methodist Children's Home in Port-au-Prince. UMNS photos by Mike DuBose.

By Kathy L. Gilbert*
Jan. 29, 2010 | PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (UMNS)


Holly lives next door to the orphanage.

Sister Paulette Holly was not expecting visitors, but that didn’t stop her from conducting a top-to-bottom tour of the Methodist Children’s Home, a place she clearly loves.

At 82 years old, she ventures where others fear to tread.

Holly is a deaconess for the Methodist Church in Haiti. She has lived next door to the orphanage for more years than she will say. Before she was converted from a Catholic, “and a very good one,” to Methodist, she was a nurse and midwife.

As a Methodist, she felt called to “preach and heal.”

The orphanage, like most buildings in Port-au-Prince, was shaken by the Jan. 12 earthquake. The children, ranging in age from 6 to18, are living in tents across the street. Holly and several others are sleeping in the space between the children’s home and her residence. She says none of the 42 children were injured or died.


Boys pass the time outdoors.

“Thank God,” she says.

Walking with the help of a cane, Holly took six U.S. visitors from the bottom floor to the roof of the damaged building.  

“The rail right here is not secure so I use this pipe to hang onto,” she says. She mentions a friend of hers who fell down the stairs. “I don’t know why that happened,” she mutters under her breath.

She takes us up two flights of winding stairs and shows us every room. A huge pot of beans is cooking on the stove. Children are playing in the back courtyard. The tour ends with one more staircase up to the roof.

Back outside, she walks under low hanging branches and rocky, uneven ground to a small house in the back that is destroyed.


Numbered cups line a shelf at the orphanage.

Holly says she built the house for the relatives of a woman helper who lives in her house. “They would come and stay one, two, three weeks. … I had to get them out of my house.”

Inside Holly’s home, cracks crisscross the ceilings and walls. A large piece of furniture with a mirror is lying on the floor. It is not broken, but it is heavy. She says she has been waiting for someone to come over and put it back up.

“I think that will get done now,” she says, smiling.

And it did.

*Gilbert is a news writer for United Methodist News Service on assignment in Haiti.

News media contact: David Briggs or Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

Slideshow

Photos from team in Haiti

Related Articles

Food, water, housing top priorities for Haitians

Haiti hospital home to abandoned children

Haiti journal: life goes on amid destruction

Haiti quake survivors need food, medicine

Haitian Methodists and UMCOR size up needs

Resources

Advance projects in Haiti

Fighting starvation, Haitians share portions

The Haiti crisis: health risks 

Comments will be moderated. Please see our Comment Policy for more information.
Comment Policy

Ask Now

This will not reach a local church, district or conference office. InfoServ* staff will answer your question, or direct it to someone who can provide information and/or resources.

Phone
(optional)

*InfoServ ( about ) is a ministry of United Methodist Communications located in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. 1-800-251-8140

Not receiving a reply?
Your Spam Blocker might not recognize our email address. Add this address to your list of approved senders.

Would you like to ask any questions about this story?ASK US NOW

Bookmark & Share

X
.netShoutout
100zakladok
2 Tag
2linkme
A1‑Webmarks
Adifni
Aero
AIM Share
Amazon
Amen Me!
AOL Mail
Arto
Ask
Aviary Capture
Baang
Baidu
Bebo
Bit.ly
BizSugar
Bleetbox
Blip
Blogger
Bloggy
Blogmarks
Blurpalicious
Bobrdobr
BonzoBox
BookmarkingNet
Bookmarky.cz
Bordom
Box.net
Brainify
Bryderi.se
BuddyMarks
Buzzzy
Camyoo
Care2
Chiq
Cirip
CiteULike
ClassicalPlace
Clickazoo
Cndig
Colivia.de
Connotea
COSMiQ
Delicious
DesignBump
Designmoo
Digg
Digg Tiger
Diggita
Diglog
Digo
Diigo
Dipdive
DoMelhor
Doower
Dosti
DotNetKicks
Douban
Drimio
Dropjack
Dzone
Edelight
eKudos
elefanta.pl
eLert Gadget
Email
Embarkons
euCliquei
Evernote
extraplay
EzySpot
Fabulously40
Facebook
Fark
Farkinda
FAVable
Faves
favlog
Favorites
Favoritus
Flaker
Floss.pro
Fnews
Folkd
FollowTags
fooxweb
forceindya
Fresqui
FriendFeed
Friendster
funP
fwisp
Gabbr
Gacetilla
Gamekicker
GamesN
GlobalGrind
GluvSnap
Gmail
Google
Google Buzz
Google Reader
Gravee
GreaterDebater
Grono.net
Grumper
Haber.gen.tr
Hacker News
Hadash Hot
Hatena
Hazarkor
Hedgehogs
HelloTxt
HEMiDEMi
Hipstr
Hitmarks
Hot Bookmark
Hotklix
Hotmail
HOTweb.lt
HTML Validator
Hyves
ideaREF!
Identi.ca
iGoogle
ihavegot
Informazione
Instapaper
iSociety
iWiW
Jamespot
Jisko
Jumptags
Kaboodle
Kaevur
Kipup
KiRTSY
Kledy
Kommenting
koornk
Kudos
Laaikit
Ladenzeile
Librerio
Link Ninja
Link-a-Gogo
LinkedIn
LinkShares
Linkuj.cz
Live
Livefavoris
LiveJournal
LockerBlogger
Lynki
Mashbord
Mawindo
Meccho
meinVZ
Mekusharim
Memori.ru
Menéame
Mindbodygreen
Mister Wong
Mixx
Moemesto.ru
mototagz
Multiply
myAOL
Mylinkvault
MySpace
N4G
NetLog
Netvibes
Netvouz
NewsTrust
Newsvine
Nujij
OKNOtizie
Oneview
Orkut
Osmosus
Oyyla
PDF Online
PDFmyURL
PhoneFavs
Picciz
PimpThisBlog
Ping.fm
Planypus
Plaxo
Plurk
Polladium
PopEdition
Posteezy
Posterous
Prati.ba
Print
PrintFriendly
Propeller
Pusha
Quantcast
Read It Later
receeve.it
Reddit
Rediff MyPage
RedKum
Scoop.at
Segnalo
Sekoman
Shaveh
She Told Me
Simpy
Slashdot
Smak News
SMI
SodaHead
Sonico
Speedtile
Sphinn
Spoken To You
sportpost
springpad
Spruzer
Squidoo
Startaid
Startlap
StoryFollower
Strands
studiVZ
Stuffpit
StumbleUpon
Stumpedia
Stylehive
Surfpeople
Svejo
Symbaloo
TagMarks.de
Tagvn
Tagza
Technorati
TellMyPolitician
The Web Blend
ThisNext
Tip'd
Transferr
Translate
Tulinq
Tumblr
Tusul
TweetMeme
Twitter
Typepad
Viadeo
Virb
VisitezMonSite
Vyoom
Webnews
Whois Lookup
Windy Citizen
WireFan
WordPress
Worio
Wovre
Wykop
Xanga
Y! Bookmarks
Y! Buzz
Y! Mail
Yammer
Yardbarker
Yazzem
Yigg
Yorumcuyum
Youbookmarks
YouMob
Zakladok.net
Zanatic
ZooLoo