We started Feeding Our Seniors in Haiti (FOSH) in September 2020. This program is inspired by my mother Elianie St Preux who has been a champion feeding elderly people in Haiti for almost four decades. She embarked on that mission after witnessing several elderly women at her church called Armée Celeste struggling to put food on their table. Despite her own financial hardships, she provided food for two of the women on Sundays, then 2 to 3 times a week. We called them grandma Balance and grandma Tètè. My brothers and I were not enthused about bringing them their food because of the unpleasant smell coming from their dark interior, old and broken small house but mom didn’t give us a choice. I can remember that upon receiving their meals, they smiled, thanked me, and gave me the previous plates for the next meal.

In 1987, my mother migrated to the United States while my grandmother Adrienne Joseph generously continued mom’s legacy and started herself, sharing with other poor women products that she harvested from her farm. As soon as Mom started working as a maid in hotels in NY she managed to send money so the women could be moved to a decent place. When my grandma passed away in 2002, mom had one of my cousins taken over to make sure that their place is paid and they are fed. Twenty-six years later, in November 2006, my mom and I went to Hinche. When grandma Balance saw us, she shed tears of joy and gratitude calling my mom in Creole “Manman Lespwa” meaning “Mother of Hope.” I have confirmed how a small act of kindness could bring so much joy and hope to those who are hopeless.

After seeing so many communities around the world coming together to help their senior citizens during the pandemic crisis, I felt compelled to take action to continue the family legacy. I shared my ideas with my mom, my brothers, my friend Father Rodlin and family and friends in Hinche, we agreed that starving seniors in Haiti is a cause worth fighting for and decided to finance Feeding Our Seniors with our own financial resources.

Grandma Balance passed away five years ago but the family legacy, the mission, the hope, and dreams of those women will go on through the FOSH initiative. FOSH is not only a way to carry on the family legacy of feeding elderly people dying of starvation, it’s also giving back to the community that has given so much to us. We will assist people like Mrs. Lorifis, one of our beneficiaries. She has spent years cleaning the high school where all of us attended, Petit Séminaire Collège St Martin de Porrès, but now she is begging to survive. Having her in the program brings us joy and satisfaction the same way feeding grandma Tètè and grandma Balance has brought so much joy to my mother. We hope that FOSH continues bringing the same joy and hope to more seniors living in poverty in Haiti over the years and for generations to come.

Feeding Our Seniors is a group of caring professionals from Hinche which is located in the central part of Haiti. Our board is composed of family and friends living in Canada, USA and Haiti who are dedicated and united in a single purpose which is to assist seniors in Haiti who are starving by providing them a hot meal every day. We believe that being poor is not a reason to die from starvation. That’s why we come together as concerned individuals to reach out to them and make sure they are fed . We believe that by doing so, we are showing them love, giving them hope and restoring their dignity. It is a way for us to give back to a community that has given so much to us.

Feeding our Seniors in Haiti (FOSH) is governed by a volunteer board.