On July 11, Moïse will stand among the graduating class of Grace Emmanuel School. He’ll be 19 years old. He’ll be smiling. And behind that smile will be a story of pain, survival, and the kind of love that changes everything.
Moïse was abandoned as a baby—left in a dump. He was found and taken to an orphanage in Cabaret, where he met the woman who would change his life forever.
“She was working at the orphanage,” Moïse recalls. “She took me in as her son, and she has cared for me ever since.”
She’s still his mom today.
Together, they’ve walked through poverty, displacement, and danger. In April 2023, when Source Matelas came under attack by gangs, Moïse was in the middle of an exam at Grace Emmanuel School. Gunfire rang out. He jumped on a motorcycle and escaped to Cabaret, where he and his mom have lived ever since.
Like many Grace Emmanuel School families, they lost everything in Source Matelas and had to start over.
Yet in the face of hardship, Moïse kept showing up. “I just want to finish high school to make my mom happy,” he says simply.
He’ll do exactly that in just a few weeks.
Moïse travels to school each day with money his mom provides for a motorcycle ride. His asthma makes it hard to ride in the packed school vehicle.
When he’s not at school, he spends his days at worship practice or listening to music—anything to keep growing his talent on the drums. He hopes to attend a music school next and eventually open a music school of his own, along with a home to serve other kids abandoned like him.
His life is deeply rooted in faith. Baptized in 2022, Moïse chose to follow Jesus after watching how other young people lived. “I want to live differently,” he says. His favorite verse? John 3:16.
He credits Grace Emmanuel School with helping shape who he is today. “I’ll miss it a lot,” he admits. “Wilfrid Leconte had the biggest impact on me—he’s simple and kind. I admire that.” (Leconte serves as the curriculum director at school.)
And he’ll never forget what his sponsor has meant to him. “I want to thank her for the help she’s been to my mom and my education. May God continue to bless her and all her family.”
But above all, it’s his mom who holds his heart. “She always tells me that I am the most beautiful gift God gave her. And I love her so much.”
Moïse’s life is a beautiful picture of redemption—rescued as a child, adopted in love, and now preparing to step into adulthood with faith and purpose.
As we cheer for Moïse on graduation day, we invite you to pray for him and the other young men and women stepping into an uncertain future. Your prayers, encouragement, and support give students like Moïse the courage to keep going—and the hope for a better future to come.
