Yolande L. Charles Home Attendant/ FEGS Agency / New York, NY
Lending a Hand to Haiti: “It’s Important for Me to Do This” – Yolande L. Charles
 Yolande L. Charles is a home attendant with FEGS agency in New York City. One of eight children born to a poor family in Port Au Prince, Haiti, Charles was a gifted student and came to the United States 28 years ago after being sent to high school on scholarship in Italy.
She recently visited 1199’s headquarters in Manhattan to drop off three large bags of medicine, clothing and other supplies she collected to donate for the relief efforts in her home country. “It’s important for me to do this,” she says. “I grew up poor and I sympathize. It could have been me. My father was a baker and only he worked. It was very rough.” Charles has six living siblings – all sisters and all live in Brooklyn. Though she only has one uncle still living in Haiti, she says she still feels a strong connection to her birthplace. “The day of the earthquake, I was getting ready to go to work and when I heard about it I cried. I got down on my knees,” she says. “I was thankful to see that American people were going there so quickly, but my feelings were going between sadness and happiness.” Charles says she will continue to do what she can to help Haiti. She gives at churches and collects whatever she can. As a Haitian, she says she’s incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support for her country. “We Haitians may be unfortunate, but our hearts go out to everyone,” she says. “Now we must stick together.”
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