Stories from August 14th: Rose Laure and Patrick
Rose Laure Mozeau and Patrick Desir are two of Locally Haiti’s longest-term partners, with Patrick serving as coordinator of one of Locally Haiti’s most impactful local partners, the Association to Support Families and Farmers in Nippes, and Rose Laure working at the local clinic in Petit Trou.
On the day of the earthquake, Rose Laure and Patrick’s family were all up by 7 am. It was a typical morning for their family, and everyone was moving around the house at their own pace. When the shaking started, Patrick was upstairs with their youngest son, Patrice. They were in different rooms, but the shaking was so intense that Patrick couldn’t get to him. Eventually, it slowed down enough for the two to get downstairs and outside. Rose Laure and her four-year-old son, Pat, frantically found each other as well and made their way to the backyard for safety.
Once their family was safe, Patrick shifted gears and moved into civil defense mode. For the past ten years, Patrick has served as a member of Haiti’s Civil Protection, an independent, civilian force that exists throughout the country to help in times of great need. Patrick made calls to check in on people near and far and began coordinating ambulances for people in need. There were multiple ambulances and a helicopter transporting those who were injured to Port-au-Prince and surrounding clinics.
By afternoon, Rose Laure was working too. She went to the clinic to help as many people as she could.
When asked how they were personally feeling, Patrick and Rose Laure began describing the hardships. Although they work in healthcare, it was difficult to see injured friends and members of their community suffering after such a huge disaster. For Rose Laure, it has been hardest seeing injured children at the clinic knowing how easily it could have been her own children injured.
Patrick and Rose Laure say that they are trying to take this horrific moment as an opportunity to show their children the importance of helping others.
