Julner duval, 26, is a student who has been living at Xavier House in Port-au-prince since 2001. He first came to our attention when we visited his mother and her 10 other children. He came to Nannette and begged her to send hiim to school. His father had died in 1990 and his mother had no way of making any money to meet the family’s needs. They were dependent on their neighbors, who were also poor, for food to eat.

With the help of sponsors from St. Boniface Haiti Foundation, his family was given a new house built of sturdy concrete. It is very different from the small shack they used to live in. His mother received a modest stipend to buy food for her family. Duval was sent to school and was so successful, when he was old enough to go to secondary school, he was sent to Xavier House in Port-au-Prince. Here hefinished secondary school, was baptized and made his First Holy Communion. His mother made her first visit ever to the city to attend it. Julner has learned to play the guitar, sings in the choir at the church. With the best grades of any of the students at Xavier House, he has gone on to dental school. When he finishes his program in 3 years, he will return to work at the dental clinic in Fond des Blancs.

We are proud of Julner and others like him. They are Haiti’s future and bring inspiration to the rest of the community.