25441: Hermantin(news)Aiding Young Haitians, Sisters of Mercy (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Sun, Jun. 19, 2005


AIDING YOUNG HAITIANS
SISTERS OF MERCY
TWIN SISTERS -- BOTH NURSES -- DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GIVE SEVERELY SICK AND 
INJURED HAITIAN CHILDREN THE HELP THEY NEED
BY EILEEN SOLER
Special to The Herald

Two teenagers didn't stand a chance for healthy, happy lives at home in Haiti, 
where their families live in the poorest villages of Port-de-Paix.

A tumor that began growing three years ago on the face of Dahana David, 15, is 
now the size of an eggplant and would eventually kill her if she didn't get 
help outside of Haiti, her doctors told her family.

And Marc Charles, 16, burned horribly in a fire that killed three of his 
relatives, would have lived like a recluse. The left side of Marc's body, from 
waist to face, is so disfigured that his arm is fused to his chest and abdomen.

The teens were taunted and ostracized by children and many adults in their 
villages, where most residents live in dirt-floor shacks.

''When people in America see Dahana and Marc, they stare, but then they cry and 
then they help,'' said Ginette Eugene of Miramar.

Eugene, 50, and her twin sister Gina, of West Park, are changing the fate of 
the two teens by arranging treatment at Jackson Memorial Medical Center in 
Miami.

The sisters, both nurses, spent their childhood in the impoverished Caribbean 
nation before moving to South Florida. They began reaching out to severely ill 
or injured Haitian children in 2002 with Good Samaritans for a Better Life, a 
nonprofit organization they founded.

So far, the twins have helped six Haitian children get lifesaving medical care 
though the International Kids Fund, a philanthropic program of the Jackson 
Memorial Foundation.

But medical care is never free. And money is hard to come by for the sisters, 
who quit their jobs about two years ago to work full time for their cause.

The Eugene sisters hit the street -- literally -- in 2003 to help the 
organization's first sick child, Hans Roldino, then 2, who needed heart 
surgery. While one sister was in Haiti providing assistance to Hans' family, 
the other sat on the corner of Northeast Second Avenue and 83rd Street in Miami 
holding a photo of the boy and asking for donations.

Since then, they've made appearances at public events, local Caribbean and 
Hispanic radio stations and at churches, armed with home-made collection boxes 
plastered with photos of the children and International Kids Fund literature.

Josephine Mora, the community outreach manager for the IKF, describes the 
Eugene sisters as ''wonderful'' and ``remarkable.''

''There will be a place reserved for them in heaven,'' Mora said.

``They are truly amazing, and we are so fortunate to work with them.''

Mora said Dahana and Marc cannot get proper treatment in Haiti, where doctors 
are stymied by a poor economy and aging medical equipment.

JACKSON HELPS

The International Kids Fund helps critically ill children, primarily from Latin 
America and the Caribbean, get immediate medical treatment that is unavailable 
in their home countries. So far, more than 125 foreign children have been 
helped by specialists at Jackson Memorial Medical Center.

The Eugene sisters procure visas for the Haitian children, pay for airline 
tickets to Miami and usually care for the children at Ginette Eugene's home, 
along with Ginette's husband, her sister Gina, the twins' mother, and Gina's 
two children.

Dahana and Marc were housed free for three weeks at El Palacio Sports Hotel in 
North Miami-Dade before moving into Gina Eugene's newly purchased home in West 
Park.

Last weekend, after a church-to-church jaunt in Naples and a guest spot on 
Radio Generation 2000, a Haitian station on the west coast, the sisters raised 
about $30,000. The money will go toward Dahana's surgery, estimated at $25,000, 
and Marc's operation, estimated at $47,000.

They returned to Naples this weekend to visit even more churches and several 
businesses that expressed interest in helping.

Seven surgeons will be involved in Dahana's operation on Thursday. Dr. Jesus 
Gomez, who will lead the operation, estimated it will take 12 hours.

ENDLESS NEED

After three weeks of recovery, Dahana will likely begin surgeries for facial 
reconstruction.

'Dr. Gomez held Dahana's hand and said, `Dahana, we are going to do our best. 
The future holds a lot for you,' '' Ginette Eugene said.

Dahana and Marc hope that people in South Florida will continue to donate even 
after their financial needs are met. So many Haitian children need medical 
care, Ginette Eugene said.

Last weekend, during the radio show which was also broadcast in Haiti, the 
children and the Eugene sisters sang God Bless America.

''We translated the words [to Creole] and everyone was crying. We hope one day 
the Lord will lend the same hand to Haiti that he has in America. This is a 
blessed country,'' Ginette Eugene said.

Herald writer Jenny Jacobs contributed to this report.






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