The Beginning ...

Founded in Februray of 2000, The Maison Fortuné Orphanage is the result of a remarkable young man named Lefort Jean-Louis and his long-held vision to help the people of Haiti.

The son of a poor Haitian gardener, Jean-Louis himself is all too familiar with the extreme hardships that the people (and especially the children) of Haiti face every day. There was even a time during his own secondary school years that he found himself no longer able to afford the required books and uniforms and was almost unable to complete his last two years. It was with the help of Brothers Cosmas Rubencamp and Matthew Burke (two Xaverian Brothers) that he was able to to finish school in Haiti and then travel to the America where he attended Virginia Tech and earned his Associates Degree in Agricultural Technology. However, upon returning to Haiti, Jean-Louis found that his degree was not going to be as useful as he had hoped and found himself working for a year as a translator for the United Nations.

It was while working for the United Nations that Jean-Louis became increasingly concerned with the number of children he saw living in the streets of Haiti and began toying with the idea of an orphanage. It was during this time that he met a woman by the name of Igue Julien. She told Jean-Louis how her sister had just died and left behind a small son named Claudinel. She explained that she had taken in Claudinel, but unable to feed her own seven children she was no longer able to care for him. Knowing he had to do something, Jean-Louis quickly offered to take Claudinel, along with three of the other boys.

Shortly after agreeing to care for Claudinel and the three Julien children, Jean-Louis approached the Bishop of Hinche, and asked if he could rent some property from the Diocese so that he may open an orphanage. The Bishop agreed and in February of 2000, Maison Fortuné Orphanage officially opened its doors. Being the only orphanage in Hinche, Jean-Louis was receiving numerous requests for help and the number of children continued to grow. It was not long after opening the orphanage that Jean-Louis found himself feeding, clothing, and educating sixteen young boys. Knowing he could not possibly continue do this on his own, he quickly rounded up a staff and they now help him care for nearly 100 boys the orphanage.