I’m convinced Grace Emmanuel School is one of the most joy-filled places on earth.

Ruth Louis’ life began like many of the students she works with at Grace Emmanuel School. 

Once Grace Emmanuel School is out for the day, I choose a couple of students to visit from the school yard. Two second grade boys eagerly tell me they live in Source Matelas, not far from each other. I decide to visit them.

When Marie-Lyne St Fleur was a child, she always liked to help injured kids—basically just waiting with them until the bleeding stopped. “When I started teaching, I didn’t know how to help injured and sick kids. Sometimes I would cry because they had problems and I didn’t know how to help them. 

As I sit in the office at school, I see a familiar face peeking inside the window. I stand up and walk outside to greet him, only to find that he has tears in his eyes. I quickly call for our school director, Cadet, to see if he knows what is going on. He informs me the boy’s father had beaten him the night before.