My Heart Beats for the Widows of Haiti: A Doctor on a Mission

I joined World Pulse because I believe in the power of shared stories and global sisterhood. As a doctor and the founder of Eveil des Veuves (Awakening of Widows), an organization supporting widows in Haiti, I have often felt a profound solitude in this fight. I come here to find a community of women who understand this passion for justice, to draw inspiration from your stories, and to forge alliances with those who believe, like me, that the world can change when women unite.

I am a doctor by training, but a healer of the soul and society by vocation. My greatest passion is to restore dignity to the women society has forgotten: widows.

What inspires and motivates me every day is the pure, raw resilience I see in the eyes of a widow who, after having lost everything, finds the strength to fight for her children. It is that spark of life that refuses to be extinguished, even in the darkest of times. My mission is to fan that spark into a flame that warms, illuminates, and spreads hope to all around her.

I live in Haiti, a country with breathtaking landscapes and a vibrant cultural heart. What I love most about my people is our unshakable courage and our indomitable joy for life. Despite immense challenges, we always find a reason to sing, to dance, to support one another, and to hope. It is this strength, this "joyful resistance," that I also see in the hearts of the widows I accompany, and it is what gives me the strength to continue.

I was given the name Christella. This name is both a grace and a responsibility, for it means "God has been there." It was given to me as a testament to a divine and protective presence at my birth, perhaps after a difficult time, as a reminder that I am never alone.

Today, more than ever, I love and deeply honor my name. It has become the very mission of my existence. Every time I reach out to a widow who feels abandoned by all, when I offer her shelter, legal aid, or simply a shoulder to cry on, I am not just doing social work. I am the living embodiment of that promise: "God has been there." I am there to be a tangible testimony that in her darkest trial, she is not forgotten. My name is my mantra and my reason for being.

My Question for You, Dear Sisters

The path is often long and fraught with obstacles. So, my question for this community of extraordinary women is this:

In moments of doubt or exhaustion, what is the practice, thought, or mantra that recharges you and reminds you why you began this fight?

I am so eager to read your responses, to get to know you, and to learn from you.

In full sisterhood