Over two centuries ago, Marie Claire Heureuse Félicité Bonheur Dessalines, the first empress of Ayiti (Haiti), began the tradition of distributing Soup Joumou (a squashed-based soup), AKA Freedom Soup, across the island.
Her mission was to honor this renewed freedom for many Haitians by promoting health, education, and justice. She and her team would prepare Freedom Soup every year, in its authentic fashion, purely vegetarian. One of her famous quotes: “When those who have plenty share with those who have less the world is balanced.”
Today, people from various parts of Haiti receive training on how to properly prepare and are given the means to procure and cook the soup in their localities. In some cities, barrels of soups circulate to reach those who wish it as well as those who could not access the resources to prepare the delicious and highly nutritious Freedom Soup, some also call it Felicite’s Soup. It is often distributed in hospitals and prisons.
During Empress Felicite’s time, the distributions occurred from sunup to sundown and lasted for the entire first week of January. This spirit of sharing is the legacy that FONDASYON FELICITEE wants to continue to carry onward! Wouldn’t you care to give a helping hand?