Sponsored by Genie Roosevelt
House 1: A Widow’s Family A widow since 2005, Vivian Isaac St. Lys, 59, is one of the housekeepers at Matthew 25 House. Vivian’s primary responsibilities include cooking dinner for the guests at Matthew 25, changing the bed sheets after guests leave, and cleaning bathrooms. Vivian is the sole breadwinner in her family of three children and one granddaughter. Her annual income is $1800. Her family lived in the neighborhood of Delmas 33 before the earthquake, where she built a house on government land. Unfortunately the mayor of Delmas had her house knocked down, and she did not receive any compensation for it. After losing the house, she began to borrow money to pay for housing. Her son, Sylvain Jean Woody, 24, quit school in 11th grade because she could not pay his tuition. Sylvain started working in auto body repair, but is currently unemployed. Vivian’s other children include a son, François Jean Kelly, 19, in 10th grade; and a daughter, Sarah Sylvain, 23; in 9th grade. Sarah has a daughter, Rebecca Bernadin, 5, who she is considering putting up for adoption because she cannot afford to raise her.
Sponsored by Henry and Kim Tseng
House 2: A Cancer Child’s Family
Volonté Luxama, 14, a bone cancer patient who is currently being treated at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, NY, has recently taken a turn for the worse. For over a year before the earthquake in Haiti, he had already been suffering from a swollen and painful leg. It wasn’t until after the earthquake when medical mission teams arrived in Haiti that he was able to seek medical attention. An American doctor who saw him after the earthquake initially believed he had bone cancer, but he couldn’t make the diagnosis in Haiti. Almost a year after the earthquake, another American doctor went on a medical mission to Matthew 25 and saw Volonté. The doctor decided to take a biopsy to have it tested at a lab in the US. After Volonté was diagnosed with bone cancer, the doctor offered to pay for Volonté‘s plane ticket and cancer treatment. It was a long process to get a passport and visa, but finally a staff member from Matthew 25 escorted Volonté to Albany for chemotherapy and radiation treatments, where he initially responded very well. After three treatments, the cancerous ulcer on his leg had diminished from 9.5 cm to 5.5 cm. Unfortunately his condition has gone downhill since then, and his prognosis is no longer very hopeful. Volonté’s family has been through a lot. His mother, Marianne Delicien, 50, lost her husband six years ago after a 7-year battle with asthma. Two days before her husband died, they had lost a son. Her wholesale food business went bankrupt because of all the medical bills. Marianne had to sell their house in Delmas 32 to pay for the funerals. She built a smaller house by a ravine that was destroyed in the earthquake. Right now she provides for her family through donations through her church. Marianne’s daughter, Enouse, 24, entered her first year of nursing school with the help of an American man and Canadian women. Her other children include Exanor, 21, in his last year of high school; Velony, 18, in 11th grade; Dieula, 15, in 7th grade with full scholarship at a private school.
