Joasil Déméus Débrosse (12 January 1968 – 13 January 2013) was a Haitian

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. He ran for the Haitian Congress twice and lost. He believed every child deserves free basic education, clothing, and food. His vision continues through his foundation. He died on January 13, 2013, in a hospital center in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

. He was the Radio Star Presenter of ''Morning Train'', a program broadcast every morning on Radio TV Zenith.

Early life

Débrosse was born in the Province of Artibonite. He was one of the eight children of Joseph Dieulifort Joasil and Marie Merzila Elysée Joasil. Because of his intelligence, he was sent to Port-au-Prince to continue his education.

Career

He first ran for elected office in 2000 and found it necessary to

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

the elections when Fanmi Lavalas, the political party of President

Jean Bertrand Aristide Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born 15 July 1953) is a Haitian former Salesian priest and politician who became Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in ...

, was about to win. After Lavalas' parliamentary victory in 2000, Joasil retreated from politics to concentrate on

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

and philanthropy. He sent scores of impoverished children to school using his own funds. He had no children of his own. He used his last savings to feed street people and have-nots. Joasil created the Noël Emmanuel Limage Foundation, the namesake of a former Haitian Senator from Artibonite. Through the foundation, he accomplished his social and philanthropic works. At the same time, he restructured his radio show and named it: ''Train Matinal'', a program whose content was clearly social, political, and religious. His show presented diverse views representing the diverse beliefs of Haitians inside the country and in the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

Personal life

In December 2010, Joasil Déméus Débrosse married Jerry Milfort, a nurse in

Arcahaie Arcahaie ( ht, Lakayè) is a commune in the Arcahaie Arrondissement, in the Ouest Ouest (French for west) may refer to: *Ouest (department), Haiti *Ouest Department (Ivory Coast), defunct administrative subdivision of Ivory Coast * Ouest Province ...

. They had no children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Debrosse, Joasil Haitian journalists 1968 births 2013 deaths People from Artibonite (department)