Joseph Lauture

Joseph Lauture is the Program Coordinator of Angels of Haiti Project. He was born in La Vallee de Jacmel, Haiti. For many years until is retirement, he worked as a telecommunication technician/specialist maintaining an earth station for MCI-WorldCom for international satellite communications. He attended primary and secondary schools in La Vallee and in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He immigrated to the United States in 1965. He graduated from RCA Institute specializing in electronic circuits and control.

He received an associated degree in telecommunications from La Guardia Community College in New York City and a bachelor degree from Marywood College in Pennsylvania. He was one of the founders in 1977 of Fraternite Valleenne, whose members are people with roots in La Vallee with the primary purpose to work with people in La Vallee to develop the region.

This type of cooperation was instrumental in building in 1980, Hospital St Joseph, the first in the region caring for about 40,000 people. Other projects were carried over the years: construction of schools, marketplace, roads, soccer field, and a playground. This is his way to reach back to his community. During his numerous visits to La Vallee to follow up on the projects he always take time to encourage the people especially the youth to continue the effort, happy to see his childhood dream becoming slowly reality: Make of La Vallee a place where every child has a chance to develop his/her potential with less hardship.

“In 1975 after eleven years away from Haiti I arrived in La Vallee for my first visit. It was about eight o'clock at night and raining lightly. We were on the road for fourteen hours. I arrived just on time to witness a terrible scene. A poor mother in difficult labor was been hand carried on a stretcher during the night to Jacmel, a town 5 miles away.

I learned later that the mother and the child died. So when in New York we received the call from La Vallee who already have organized themselves in an organization named CODEVA, to help them build a small hospital, we in turn motivated Valleens leaving abroad and formed Fraternite Valleenne. In 1980 St Joseph Hospital was built. That was the beginning of the involvement of Fraternite Valleene which later included building schools, roads, a children park, a library, etc.

Mr. Lauture and his lovely and devoted wife, Louise, are one of the best allies that HTCF has to pursue its goal in Haiti.