Get to Know the Cooks - Part 2

By Paige-

This is Mme Emmanuel, she came to work here March 2006. She has lived here 2 years. They got to La Digue a few months before we did. She has 4 living children - two have died. She is 40 years old. When we have teams here she helps out with other things too, like cleaning. Sorry about the frowning photos, lots of times Haitians don't smile for photos --- but Mme Emmanuel IS friendly and DOES smile. Just not when we take a photo.

This is Jeronne, she has worked here 1 year 1 month. My dad thinks she has huge pipes for a woman. She looks like she lifts weights. She was born here in LaDigue. She has one child living, two have died. She is 32. She is a fun lady.

This is Mme Mercius, she came to work at Lifeline in November 2003. She has lived in LaDigue for five years. Her husband is Pastor Rony's (Lifeline's Pastor) cousin. She has seven living children, but one of them lives in an orphanage in Port because she is too sickly for the Mercius' to take care of - they have lost one child, it was a miscariage. She is 39. She is pictured with her youngest child, born earlier this year.

This is Anite, she has worked for lifeline for 1 year and 5 months.
She was raised here in LaDigue, she moved here as a kid. She has 3 boys.
She has never lost a child. Her little boys are SO cute and ornery. She is 23 years old.

The cooks do work very hard, they work as a team and take turns doing certain things. They start cooking at 5am during the school year and at 7am in the summer. They usually go home by 2pm. They also have a nice thing worked out where they take turns going to check on their older kids and going home for a break if they need it. The moms with babies can go nurse their babies too. During the school year they come and get things going then take turns going home to get their kids up and ready for school.