Hello! I’m Veronica Rolle, and I’m Philippa Hypolite. 

On June 1st, 24 years ago, we began training together at Sister Emma Cottage as part of its first group of caretakers. 

The program is a special part of Queen Louise Home for Children, where we care for children and young adults with severe disabilities.

We still remember sitting on the floor of the then newly renovated Cottage. The space was originally a home for the administrator and her family to live on campus. LSSVI then expanded it to accommodate eight children with disabilities and started Sister Emma Cottage. 

From the beginning, Sister Emma Cottage was a fun and challenging place to work. 

Pastor Terry Skepple, the program coordinator then, convinced me to move from being a replacement worker at the Queen Louise main cottages and come to Sister Emma. We were one big family, and we loved the children as our own. At that time, there was a nurse on every shift. The children also had an in-house teacher and a therapist who would work with them on learning and growing. 

We have seen over 30 residents come and go over the years,

with many more who stayed temporarily for respite care. We learned the language of each of the children; they speak to you in different ways. What they cannot say with their mouths, they say with their eyes. They are my children, and I love them all. Some come and go, and when they pass away, it especially hits home. 

We worry about them, whether they are still here or not.  We get attached to them, but we can only do our best to love them while they are here.

We are both the longest-serving employees at Sister Emma Cottage,

and we do our best to share what we have learned over the years with all the new staff members who come in. Every day, we prepare meals according to the residents’ feeding abilities, including tube feeding. A nurse comes twice a week to work with us in giving medication correctly. We are the residents’ caretakers and teachers. 

We stay for the children. They are why we are here. 

We want all that is best for them, so we come to work every day and make sure we give our best. Our love has remained the same over the years, and there is still so much more that we want for the residents – more therapy, more learning support, more accessibility. We want to see them get the attention and care they deserve.

We celebrate both Ms. Hypolite and Ms. Rolle 

for 24 years of exceptional care for the residents at Sister Emma Cottage. We see the love and recognize the commitment it takes to care for our residents, and we appreciate all they do. You can support their care in our Week of Giving. Every gift goes towards supporting the children in our care.