Charity

La Belle Deesse Dereale has devoted herself to helping feed the poor since December of 1976, a year after the birth of her first child (La Belle Deesse, Jr.)

It all started in December of 1975 in front of the Church of Immaculate Conception in a Vile Port-Au-Prince. La Belle Deesse was in the hospital waiting to give birth, but she was having lots of complications which demanded a caesarean section (C-section) birth. Back then a C-section was a big deal and she had already been in the hospital for an entire week. So, on December 8th (which was also the Immaculate Conception’s birthday), she walked across the street in all of her pain to the Church to ask for deliverance. Within three days, her prayers had been answered. In her dreams she saw a lady who said, “Good Morning!” to which she replied the same. Then she said, “Don’t you see you’re going to die?” She said, “Yes.” Then the lady replied, “Only if I didn’t exist.” Then she put some water in her mouth and threw it all over her. Meanwhile she’s screaming, “Water, water, HELP.” She thought she was drowning, but in actuality, her water was breaking. They called for the nurses, but by the time they arrived, she had already given birth without getting cut or with any other medical intervention. She had no pain during and after her birth thanks to the grace and help of the saint. She has since considered the baby to by the child of the Immaculate Conception and ever since then, she has devoted her life to helping the poor. She’s still trying to feed as many as she can and concentrates on kids from newborn to about 14 years of age.

It still surprises some people that a Vodou Priestess devotes so much of her life to charity. They think that being a vodouisant is devil worshipping. Part of our job here at La Belle Deesse Dereale is to prove them wrong. Voodoo is our religion, culture, tradition, and it’s as pure as our hearts can be. Voodoo is one of the most beautiful religions in the world, but it’s also the world’s most misunderstood. Being a priest or a priestess means we have a responsibility that’s greater than we could ever imagine and we have to use it for the good of everyone – especially those in great need.