Tragedy at the Orphanage

On July 7th, the Maison Fortuné Orphanage Community lost a student in the river that borders the orphanage.  Djoceus Noël, 16 years old, was a promising fifth grader.  He had asked for and received permission to go with a group of his friends (Feguens and Asnel) and his 3 brothers (Kelby the older brother, Djocenat his twin, and Elibert his younger brother) to his grandparents’ home to help prepare the land for planting.  On the way, they had to cross a bridge to get to the village.   In returning to the orphanage, the group took a shortcut home which took them to the bank of the river across from the orphanage. The river was high; the water muddy; the current fast--all due to frequent rains.  They decided to swim across, despite the fact that Djoceus couldn't swim.  When he went under, his good friend and the oldest of the group he was with, Feguens, tried to pull him up, but lost him.

About 5:00 pm when the students told Brother Mike McCarthy, it was about 45 minutes after they had first tried to cross the river.  Brother Mike searched the river for Djoceus until it got dark, but couldn't find him. The next morning, a group of kids continued looking.   But the river is fast and it is feared that his body is way down stream.

Brother Mike met that night with Djoceus' three brothers who live at the orphanage.  They sat at the dining room table, mostly in silence, passing the tissues around. What can one say? Djoceus' twin didn't say a word; Brother Mike related, “I can't imagine the pain he feels in his heart. These four boys had lost their mother, their father is out of the picture, and they had called the orphanage home for the last 7 years or so.”

The next morning, Pettris Joseph, the principal of the school, and the boys involved went to the police to make a report.  They called Jean-Louis, the director of the orphanage, who was in Virginia at the time, to tell him this tragic news.  Sunday morning, the new dining room extension was blessed.  It serves as a chapel on Sundays.  Djoceus was remembered in a special way as well.  Brother Mike preached on the gospel and Pettris Joseph spoke at the end about the lost student.

Brother Mike said, “While there is a pall over the orphanage, the activity of the little boys keeps us reminded that life must go on; the spirituality team is preparing a prayer service; we must help the rest of the 240 residents to move on, celebrating Djoceus' life,  his love of study and basketball.  We need to comfort his friends and put into practice the last line of the prayer we say each time we gather for Mass:  we ask this prayer in the name of Jesus, who brings us to life that never ends. While we have lost a student, I think heaven has gained one who will be praying for all of us at Maison Fortuné.  We ask that you remember our special young man in your prayers and please pray for all the residents and staff at Maison Fortuné Orphanage”.  The picture is of Djoceus, as many visitors have seen him, with a smile on his face.  He will be greatly missed.

EDITORS NOTE:
Jean-Louis (Founder and Director of Maison Fortuné Orphanage) said: “Djoceus’ death is a big loss for all of us, the kids, the staff, the dogs and our visitors, but I think the ones who will suffer the most are the grandmother and grandfather. Every year during the rainy season, the kids would make a special trip to go help their grandparents with their little garden and this year especially it was Djoceus' idea to go early.  It is really hard on the grandparents.

Jean-Louis said: “Djoceus is gone, we will never forget him.  He was jovial, always had a big smile on his face, intelligent, hard-working, and always wanting to help with campus chores.  He would call me boss when he wanted to say something or get something from me.  He was a big hope for his family, the country and MFO. But now, as Mike said, he is in heaven praying for his grandmother and grandfather, the country, the children of the orphanage and all of us who are involved in one way or the other with MFO. Together let us think of something we can do in his memory.  If any visitor has some good pictures of him, please send us copies that we may have enlarged to display somewhere on the campus.  Let us all remember him in our prayers.  May he remain in peace.”

Any pictures can be sent to us by email at:  helpthechildren@mfofoundation.org

Memorial Donations in his memory may be sent to:

Maison Fortuné Orphanage Foundation
P O Box 3092
Chesapeake, VA 23327-3092