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Michaëlle Jean chose a small gathering of Haitians to speak publicly for the first time of her 10-year-old daughter's pain over the loss of her beloved godmother in the Haitian earthquake.

"She's in mourning, like I am, like so many of us are," the Governor-General said in an emotional speech to a small group of Haitian and Caribbean Canadians in Vancouver yesterday.

Her daughter, Marie-Eden, is making bracelets and necklaces to raise money for the relief effort as her way of dealing with the loss, Ms. Jean said.

Like others in the crowd, Ms. Jean lost many dear friends.

Speaking at times in Creole, and mostly without notes, her descriptions of her devastated homeland and personal loss moved many in the crowd to tears.

"I've lost many friends, many good friends," Ms. Jean said. "I had relatives also who were badly affected ... and I'm not the only one. Many of you here went through exactly the same."

Others in the crowd drew strength from the optimistic tone she struck about how Haiti will be rebuilt with the help of Canadians and others around the world who are rallying to her native country.

And then she spoke of her daughter. Ms. Jean and her husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, adopted Marie-Eden from Jacmel, the seaside city where Ms. Jean has deep family roots.

Jacmel was heavily damaged in last month's earthquake and is one of the communities that the Canadian military is focused on rebuilding.

"She's been making necklaces and bracelets to raise money for the Red Cross," Ms. Jean told the gathering at Vancouver House, the city's Olympic venue. "She needed that to overcome these images and her own pain because she's lost her godmother in the earthquake, so it's terrible for her."

Marie-Eden's godmother, Magali Marcelin, was a leading women's rights advocate in Haiti.

Ms. Jean, who is in Vancouver to open the Olympic Winter Games tomorrow, reminded the group that "every gesture is important, every word is important, every action is important."

Many in the crowd cried as they listened to the Governor-General. The Haitian population in Vancouver is tiny - in fact, it's not clear how many Haitians live in the city because it's not an organized community. About 60 people attended the speech.

"We know that Haitian people are very courageous," Ms. Jean said. "Sometimes, you know, you wonder when the ordeal will stop."

She said the people of Haiti know they are not alone and she is convinced that Haitians and Canadians will grow stronger for having come together in a time of need.

Philippe Murat, who attended the speech, said he wanted to help. He said the Haitian Prime Minister has asked the diaspora to help but there is no leadership.

Haitians like those listening to Ms. Jean's speech "have to be called upon and we have to rally them in order to spearhead a concerted effort," he said.

"So that is something we are eagerly waiting for. If they would give me a shovel I will fly to Port-au-Prince today."