Anouze Laguerre died on May 5, of complications from the coronavirus.
A woman with a gift for generosity, she opened her home to family members with nowhere to go -- her mother, her mother-in-law, nieces aged 9 and 12.
In April 2019, she welcomed
Water With Blessings
into her home and her heart. She hosted the volunteers who had come to the area to provide the filters and training necessary to bring clean water to God's thirsty children.
She found our team a place to sleep, helped feed them, and even found some water for them to drink, although that was very difficult at the time.
Gerry Delaquis,
Water With Blessings
' Haiti coordinator, remembers that first meeting.
"The way she accepted us, took care of us, she was a woman of great compassion," he said. "Even taking in children not her own; she had a big heart."
Anouze was selected as one of her area's first
Water Women,
and her example inspired others who followed in her path.
At Water With Blessings, we ourselves are daily recipients of God's gifts: the funding that equips and trains Water Women, the volunteers who give selflessly of their time, and those who pray for our continued success.
But God's most wondrous gifts are the Water Women themselves. We have the privilege of seeing women from the poorest of circumstances give their time and efforts, everything they have, to provide clean, healthy water to the families and children around them.
When we say that
Water With Blessings
is a family, that is what we mean. And when we lose a family member, we mourn.
Along with sorrow, however, we rejoice in the gift that was Anouze Laguerre -- a Woman of compassion, strength, and love.
May she rest in peace, and may God's eternal light shine upon her.
