The “Grandparents’ House” in Port-au-Prince is a place to welcome elderly people who are often alone and abandoned and who here have the opportunity to peacefully experience the end of their lives. But they also need our help. Find out how to do it here through the PIME Foundation
The first guest at the Maison des vieillards (“Grandparents’ House”) of the Fondation Lakay Mwen (“My House”) in Haiti was Wilfrid, who was 19 years old at the time and who had been hit by a bullet while they were trying to steal his motorbike. Paralyzed from the waist down, he had been placed in a corner of the courtyard of the General Hospital, a place which, for the poor people who don’t have a cent, was like the antechamber of death. The boy was full of sores, with worms, mosquitoes and mice as companions. The dilemma of whether to welcome him or not, because he was certainly not an elderly person, lasted only a few seconds. We loaded him into our beat-up van and took him home.
It was August 2000. At the beginning we only had a large room with a tin roof. We had 21 military camp beds and as many straw chairs, metal plates and glasses. There were no personnel working for the mission at that time. Five boys, who are still my trusted collaborators today, followed me. We did everything ourselves. We didn’t even have electricity and there was no money to buy a generator, even a small one. Well, I have always seen that Spartan start and those difficulties as a “test”. Tests serve to purify intentions and strengthen will and motivation. It was also a time of joy.
The Grandparents’ House was born before the schools and I give a lot of credit to the presence of the elderly for the birth and flourishing of the school program. After Wilfrid, hundreds of elderly people followed over the years: Seveksan, Sagu, Bernard, Yves… people who, if I close my eyes, I remember with a smile, with respect and even with admiration. In the beginning we were always looking for seniors. In the courtyard of the General Hospital, in the cathedral square, towards the port. Sick or injured people we brought home and who sometimes stayed or left when they were healed. We had space for about 30 people, while there were hundreds of needy people on the streets. I remember Yves, about 70 years old, difficult to recognize as a human being among the rubbish in the hospital courtyard. Again, we took it home right away and did our best to clean it up. A couple of days later we took him to a private hospital where he had his leg amputated. Afterwards he stayed for a couple of years and then he passed away here with us. In 2003, thanks to an American organization, we built 10 houses capable of hosting three elderly people each and that was a decisive improvement. The same organization regularly provided food and basic necessities. We still always receive rice, beans and oil from them. It has always been difficult to raise funds for the elderly, but Providence has never failed to intervene and so we have been able to support our “old people” over time without ever refusing to welcome those in need.
Right now we have 27 people living here – this is their home and we take care of everything. We take them to hospital if they have health problems, they have three meals a day and whoever can goes out for a walk whenever they want. There are three of them in each house and, when someone returns to the Father, we organize simple funerals with a Catholic or Protestant service and then the deceased is buried in a small cemetery in the area. The Grandparents’ House is simple, but we are recognized as a Foundation by the local authorities and have permission to operate. We take care of the elderly in all their needs in an essential and direct way. We don’t have, for example, air conditioners or hospital beds or equipped toilets, but the costs of all this are prohibitive in a country where even daily food is not taken for granted. Let’s say that they live as if they were in their provincial homes, but they have everything they need to spend the sunset of their lives in peace and serenity.
The guests of the grandparents’ house are mostly people who have no family and have been found on the street or have been sent to us by organizations with which we cooperate such as the Sisters of Mother Teresa, the Vincentians or the Camillians. Over time we have hosted hundreds of elderly people: many have died here, others have left because they were too used to the street and some have been “found” by family members who had not shown up before because they were unable to take care of their grandparents due to of extreme poverty.
These are women and men, with an age ranging between 50 and 90 years or more, who have lived a life of hardship and, in most cases, no longer have family or have lost contact.
They are usually not sick, but they are undoubtedly “wasted” by a difficult and thankless life. In many cases we know their story, in others they don’t want to say anything and we don’t force them to do so; many of them open up with time and trust. Some are Catholic, others Protestant, Baptist or more: everyone follows their faith freely. Their days are simple. The men spend their time playing dominoes and having lively discussions; women combing their hair, listening to radios, talking to each other. The courtyard is spacious with trees providing shade and everyone enjoys the cheerful chatter, songs and games of the children of our school.
The grandparents’ house has maintained the spirit of Lakay Mwen, also because I never wanted to build a larger structure and have more elderly people, to avoid relationships becoming depersonalised.
Thank you for offering help and supporting our grandparents, giving them more dignity and serenity at the end of their lives. It’s a gift
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