The wall-to-wall international coverage in the aftermath of Haiti's devastating earthquake has lessened. But the effects of the tragedy are still raw for Twin Cities lawyer and author Jacqueline Regis, a Haiti native who lost a cousin in the Jan. 12 quake.

"When I see the pictures, my heart gets broken all over again," she said. "Before, people had nothing. Now, they have less than that. But there is an opportunity to remake Haiti for the better."

Regis, who speaks Sunday on a panel at the Rondo Community Library in St. Paul, wants the rebuilding of Haiti not simply to be in terms of roads and buildings, but also of a culture that, as she sees it, does not sufficiently value children.

In her 2009 memoir, "The Daughter of L'Arsenal" (Sterling House, $18.95), she writes about her poverty-stricken childhood in rural Haiti and the determined, forward-looking mother who raised her and her siblings as a single parent. Her mother rescued her from an insidious Haitian practice called restavek, in which children are given over to servitude in exchange for food and shelter.

"This is the kind of practice that holds a society back," she said. "If you put kids in servitude, to make them fetch water or clean, instead of getting an education, the country can't have any progress. The only key is to value the children and give them education, education, education."

In her own life, Regis escaped such a destiny because her mother, who turns 100 this year and lives in Miami, made a way for her. Regis moved to New York at 17 to live with a brother. Through her mother's efforts, she was able to go to an elite school in Greenwich, Conn., then to law school. She now works for UnitedHealth Group.

She feels a sense of sharing her story because she wants to see her homeland remade.

"I'm fully assimilated in the United States, which is my home," Regis said. "But I want to do something to help Haiti come out of its nightmare."

She said proceeds of her books have gone to Haitian relief.

The earthquake has made her story about growing up in poverty in Haiti, seem, if not idyllic, then certainly less harsh.

"It's all a matter of perspective," she said. "I didn't think things could get worse for Haiti. But there are over 200,000 dead, and lots of kids with missing limbs.

"We shouldn't give up on them. They are the future."

Rohan Preston • 612-673-4390