Yolette Etienne. Photo by Carolyn Gluck
It’s been a week since the earthquake in Haiti. As the media made it to the island late last week, some amazing stories emerged. These are accounts of survival, certainly, but also stories of the incredible strength and perseverance of the people of Haiti who are leading the recovery.
One of them is about Oxfam’s director in Haiti for the last 10 years, Yolette Etienne. She was in the office when the quake hit, and immediately sought medical aid for colleague and fellow citizen Amadee Marescot, and was with him when he died hours later. Like the rest of our staff, she needed to check on her family, but when she went home she says “I found my house destroyed, and my mom dead…I buried my mom in my garden.” Yet, hours later, she returned to work, organizing one of Oxfam’s biggest humanitarian response programs since the 2004 Asian tsunami.
Recent Comments