Michelle Obama accompanied by Jill Biden, the First Lady and the wife of the Vice President, made an unexpected visit to Haiti today. As part of their tour of the country that was devastated by an earthquake in January the two women came to one of the schools run by the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti.
ENS has the following:
“The two women walked to College Ste. Pierre, a wrecked diocesan high school, as part of their one-day surprise tour of the Haitian capital.
U.S. Embassy personnel told the Rev. Lauren Stanley, Episcopal Church-appointed missionary in Haiti and liaison to Bishop of Haiti Jean Zaché Duracin in the U.S., that Obama and Biden visited the site because they wanted to see an actual survivor camp where Haitians were helping Haitians recover in the quake’s aftermath. Stanley said the embassy personnel told her that they knew such work was being facilitated by the diocese.
Obama and Biden arrived at College Ste. Pierre about 12:30 p.m. and were greeted by head of school the Rev. Lucas Rigal; Joseph Harry Anglade, College Ste. Pierre academic director; and the Rev. Canon Oge Beauvoir, dean of the diocese’s nearby seminary and executive director of its Bureau of Anglican Education of Haiti. The men, whom Stanley said learned 90 minutes before Obama and Biden arrived that they would be visiting, briefed the two women on the situation at the camp.”
More here.
Updated story with pictures from Lauren Stanley’s blog, “Go into the world”
MRS. OBAMA AND DR. BIDEN SEE HAITIANS HELPING HAITIANS AT COLLEGE ST. PIERRE
Diocesan photographer Eddy Alcindor was present at College St. Pierre on Tuesday when First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, visited both the senior secondary school and the Tent City at the futbol field behind it.
Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden wanted to see “Haitians helping Haitians,” as well as education efforts. The U.S. Embassy chose College St. Pierre because of the Episcopal Church’s efforts to care for the people of Haiti, and to rebuild the country.