Perry Lutheran Homes staff helping open the new elder care facility in Jacmel, Haiti; photos courtesy of Perry Lutheran Homes
The staff of Perry Lutheran Homes recently returned from spending a week in Jacmel, Haiti, where they successfully moved in the first residents of the new Jacmel Lutheran Home.
PLH Director of Development Wanda Pritzel says they spent the week training the new staff of the home, organizing supplies, and then helping move in the five elders who will now reside in the facility. Pritzel says the whole experience was very eye-opening, especially when it came to bringing the residents to their new homes. “It was amazing to all of us that none of the five people that we moved had anything to bring with them. In terms of personal possessions they came with nothing, and that was okay with them. It also amazed us that they were so willing and trusting to go with people they’d never met, who didn’t look like them, who didn’t speak their language, because they believed something better was possible. So that was incredibly humbling for all of us.”
Pritzel says for now the home will care for the first five people, but eventually will add five more residents to fill the facility. Additionally, she says they’d like to open up a second elder care home in Haiti if the funds become available to do so. The current facility is located next to an orphanage in Jacmel, which will allow it to utilize the intergenerational connection employed at PLH. It was largely funded by private donations and contributions from the Missouri Synod denomination of the Lutheran Church of America. To learn more about the Jacmel Lutheran Home in Haiti, listen to today’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program on air and at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.
