MIAMI – A beloved woman known for opening her heart and home to Haitian migrants in South Florida was honored this past weekend for decades of selfless service.
An event celebrating Mrs. Emma, described as a warm Southern belle and a pillar of the Overtown neighborhood, was held on Saturday at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex.
Since the 1970s, she has taken in Haitian families arriving in Miami, helping them get on their feet in a new country.
“I have so many other kids that’s have come to me and said that if it wasn’t for you, I don’t know where I would be right now and I appreciate that, because they appreciate what I did for them,” Mrs. Emma told Local 10’s Alex Finnie.
Over the years, she says she has helped roughly 70 people transition into life in the United States, offering food, shelter and guidance until they were able to establish themselves. Her efforts, she said, were guided by faith.
“I look back on my life and I see where my husband and I did what I think God wanted us to do,” she said. “There were so many Haitian people that came to the United States and they would put them in a little holding area and my husband would go.”
Her home became a sanctuary for the Haitian community, many of whom still consider her a second mother.
“I really did make a difference in their lives but they took control of that nourishment, that help that I gave them and became productive young men and women in society,” she said.
The free event, called Rooted in Soul: Bound by Love, was held at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex. Organized during Haitian Heritage Month, the event featured an immersive celebration of art, culture and cuisine.
One of the organizers is Gabriella Charles, founder of Dine for Design Inc., who was also raised by Mrs. Emma through family ties. She says the event is a chance to give Mrs. Emma her flowers while she is still here to receive them.