Self Care Made Simple.

February

Fr. Louis Mersone is a remarkable person. We first met Fr. Louis about 7 and a half years ago when we were planning a conference. He was one of our keynote speakers. Brooke and I had the privilege of hosting him in our home and breaking bread with him at our table. He is fun, witty, talented, and totally committed to serving God and his people in his home country of Haiti. Six months after hosting Fr. Louis, he returned the favor and received Brooke and me, along with our three littles, in his own home in Haiti. He graciously vacated his own room so that we could have a more comfortable place to stay with our kids. In fact, our baby at the time, Samue Luke, was baptized in the Co-Cathedral of St Jean Baptiste at Miragoane. We love Fr. Louis and the work that he is doing to build up his local community, and empower Haitians to live beautiful, virtuous and meaningful lives. That is why recently when I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts, Pints with Aquinas, I was delighted to hear Fr. Louis sharing about his ministry. Specifically he was highlighting his new goal of making an impact for the poor in his area through quality education programs that are being done at a local level in order to provide greater access to the poor, reducing the challenges of getting to and from schools which are sometimes not feasible.

So yes, Fr. Louis is not building a single school, he is building several schools! A few weeks back I reached out to Fr. Louis, and shared that Rooted wanted to help. I asked if there was a specific teacher or particular need that we could focus on. Enthusiastically Fr. Louis told me the story of a heroic young lady, Maudelaine Siffard. This beautiful young woman is a 26 year old professional teacher who hails from the small community of Maniche, a Commune in the South Départment of Haiti. She is the youngest of 4 kids in her family, and in her own words enjoys “reading, listening to Gospel music, and watching French series” for fun! Recently Maudelaine applied and got the job to teach the students at one of Fr. Louis’ new parochial schools, St. Andrews in the small community of Joly.

As a brand new school, St. Andrews has desperately limited infrastructure, there was no teacher’s housing to host Maudelaine as of yet. Eager to open the doors for the community children to receive an education, one of the generous family’s in this community offered a spare room to host Maudelaine. The space they had to offer, while truly generous, was in very poor condition, and Fr. Louis felt not suitable as a long term housing option. In fact, Maudelaine had this to say about her first encounter with her new home:

“When I first saw the house where I was going to stay while teaching here, I started to cry, but, then, I consoled myself saying that ‘thus is life’. We must face life as it comes. When I started working with the children I desired to stay here due to my love for education. I must give the children the education that they deserve. I choose to stay even in this difficult situation.”

Fr. Louis' tour of current housing for teachers at the St. Andrew's community school.

Blue print for teacher's future housing!

It shouldn’t be a surprise to say that Rooted is really honored to come alongside Fr. Louis and Maudelaine this month to help build out a long term housing space for the St. Andrew’s community school. We are truly confident that this investment will bear fruit for years, and even generations to come. Thanks to this home, Maudelaine and maybe others in the future will have a home to serve as a foundation for investing in the children of St. Andrews well into the future. These kids in turn will have the opportunity to receive a quality education which Fr. Louis believes will ultimately form them as persons and broaden their horizons.

Isn’t it incredible to think that your skincare routine can make this kind of impact!? Or that the Rooted essential oils diffused in your home are not only filling the air with a beautiful aroma, but are opening up doors for kids in Haiti! I am hopeful that if we can spread the word and each invite a friend to try Rooted’s amazing all natural line of products, we can raise the total sum needed to complete this new home for Maudelaine and the community of Joly.

Help us share the word, and know that everytime you order from Rooted, your order is uplifting someone else!