Sister Paësie founded the Kizito Family, a religious community that serves children in a slum in the Haitian capital

Sister Pasie established the Kizito Family, a religious community that helps children in a slum in the capital of Haiti, after serving as a Missionary of Charity for almost 20 years.

“What inspired me to found a new community — the Kizito Family — are the words Jesus spoke to Mother Theresa,” Sister Paësie told EWTN News Nightly.

“Before she began the Missionaries of Charity, she had seen a crowd of of four children in the dark . . . [Jesus] told Mother Teresa, ‘You see those kids, they do not love me because they do not know me. Bring my life to them.’”

Sister Paësie described the harsh living conditions that the Kitizo Family sees in the communities it serves, saying,  “[When we] get up in the morning there is no food in the house, no water to take a bath, no clean clothes because there [is] no money to buy a bucket of water … I mean it’s really extreme, extreme poverty.”

The ministry started by helping homeless children find homes, and today it has four to five homes where the neighbourhood also helps other neighbours, according to the woman.

Additionally, the ministry lays a high priority on evangelism by offering training and sacramental access.

“[The third type of centers] we have are the catechism centers … We  have children [being formed in the Faith] and preparing for the sacraments,” she said. “During the years in Haiti, I realized that the poorest children do not have access to receiving the sacraments.”

The incidence of kidnappings for ransom has grown throughout the current uptick in violence in Haiti.

Other crises, such as natural disasters and a lack of healthcare infrastructure to handle the COVID-19 pandemic, have also had an impact on Haiti.

A 2010 earthquake left 1 million homeless and 200 000 dead; ten years later, tens of thousands were still living in tent camps.