Back to Haiti

A group of 12 will return to Haiti this week taking much needed items purchased by the generous holiday response from our friends like you. We will be taking 3 treadle sewing machines, sewing supplies, shoes, hats, music stands and music and most importantly, boxes of medicine – including the medicine needed to expand our Medika Mamba program for malnourished children to new communities- and much needed medicine for the goat project.  The end of 2011 brought an outpouring of generosity from our friends and family. This week the people of La Gonave will receive some of those gifts.

And, for 2012, we have already received two new gifts that have humbled us as well. In January we had two friends of the Partnership go onto the website and set up a monthly “giving stream.”  Oh yeah, that thing. We knew we had that capacity when we set up the website last year, but nobody had ever done it and we had been so busy doing what we do that none of us had  thought about it.

The first one came in as a gift of $25 a month. Now, that doesn’t sound like a huge gift in the scheme of things, but I began to ponder what we could do with $25 a month.  Well, here is just the beginning of what it would do:

Treat one child with severe malnutrition for a month

De-worm 50 children to help prevent malnutrition for 6 months

Provide half a month’s salary for a Community Health Worker

Provide goat medicine for the goats in one village for 3 months

Provide an Adult Literacy educator for one village for 1 month

About the time we began to get our mind around what a huge gift this really was we got another one. This time for $50 a month, giving us three times the ability to provide the list above.

The fact is that $25 a month ends up being $300 at the end of the year. For an organization that prides itself in having no over-head costs that is an enormous gift.  So, at the close of this post, I intend to go online and begin my own giving stream gift. With a monthly gift of what many spend weekly stopping for coffee on the way to work I can make a real difference in the lives of the people on La Gonave.  That is a simple, generous gift. It makes me wish I had back all the monthly payments I have made for gym memberships that I never used.

Enough said.

https://secure.piryx.com/donate/gkMizOx2/LaGonave-Haiti-Partnership/

Deb Griffin

For the Partnership

We Made All A’s!!!

Here is our first “report card” from Fonkoze the Adult Literacy trainer in Port Au Prince who has been our collaborator on the new Adult Literacy project. We just began in September, a program that grew out of one young woman who spoke up in a community meeting at Nan Mango: “What we would really like is to learn to read like our children are learning.”

After we cleared our tears (during the thunderous applause she got from her neighbors) we vowed to help them learn to read. Thanks to a quick response from our friends (like you) we had the program up and running in less than 6 months. And now, our first report card. We feel like kids again!

I am very pleased with the prospect of meeting you next month, as you have requested.  Today we had a meeting of the Education Agents at the officce in Port au Prince.  I was enchanted with the reports that Robert, gave on the work going on in Lagonave.  He is very satisfied with the collaboration he receives from Pere Soner and others from his Congregation, and it turns out your program is the best in attendance and commitment from both participants and monitors.  Congratulations on a well motivated group of beneficiairies in your program.

And, a huge thanks from the people of La Gonave. They are finally learning to read.

Lee Wilder

For the Partnership

…And we’re off!

A very happy new year to all. We wrapped up 2011 feeling good about what had been accomplished and were eager to wade into 2012 to see what was going to be next. It has not taken long for us to be off and running again with new projects that have grown out of our work and relationship with the people of La Gonave.

Last summer at a partnership meeting in Charleston we began a conversation with Dr. Laurie Harrell from St. Phillips in Charleston.  She is a radiation oncologist by training but has a long history of medical mission work in Honduras.  She raised the subject of soil transmitted helminths (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16679166) and their effects on the health of the affected people.  She had used this treatment in Honduras and, after a trip to La Gonave, became interested in bringing this treatment to the people there.

After our discussion I returned to La Gonave in the fall to monitor our new Medika Mamba program. In the course of attending a number of MM clinics over the 3 weeks it became clear to me that many children did not need the full 8 week treatment cycle of the peanut butter medicine and that, in fact, once they were treated with Albendazole, the de-worming medication that is part of the protocol of Medika Mamba, the children were able to make use of the nutrition available to them and quickly gained back to their target  weight. Sometimes in as short as 4 weeks.

(This is where I extol the joys of collaboration)

How easy it would be to miss what was going on. After my initial shock at how quickly some of these very malnourished children were recovering I began to ponder why that would be. My conversation with Laurie came back to mind and I discussed the possibility with a nutritionist that was on the trip with us, Laurie Sauerwein, and we surmised, correctly, that many of these children just needed to be de-wormed.

We knew the amazing results from the Medika Mamba. That had been documented. It would have been easy to stop there and ramp up the MM program. But, as happens over and over on La Gonave, because we are always talking to the people there, as well as seeking out other who are attempting to do the work we are doing, we made another connection that has a huge impact on the folks there.

Because of this, and with the help of Dr. Harrell, in six weeks we will launch a program to enhance and parallel our newest Children’s Nutrition Program initiative, Medika Mamba.  We will begin by administering clinics to treat soil transmitted helminths at two of our partnership schools on La Gonave.  We will treat 500 children and try to pass out shoes for as many of those as we can as shoes are one way to limit exposure to worms and parasites.

This new addition, which is the next step in children’s health, will endeavor to reach all the schools in the partnership so that they can be de-wormed twice a year (with the Albendazole that means only one dose every 6 months) to ensure that they can get the nutrition from what their families can provide. It is our hope that we can eventually expand that program to treat child-bearing women.

Unfortunately, during our monitoring of the Medika Mamba program in October, some of the saddest cases we saw were of infants who had lost their mothers in the first few months of life.  And, while we are not sure that it was due to mal-nutrition or worm load issues, this is how we move to the next thing that seems to be part of what we are already doing.

Our motto has been “don’t start a project unless it touches something we are already doing.” This has served us well and it keeps up focused on the needs of the people and makes best use of our resources. This motto has led us to believe that the de-worming project is the next best thing to be doing and we see a need for more comprehensive maternal health on the horizon.

These are exciting times and we are every grateful that you are accompanying us on this journey. Thanks again for your year-end giving. Your generosity was over-whelming to us and we are ready for the challenges of a new year.

Deb Griffin

For the Partnerhship

Year End Report 2011

There is a certain satisfaction to be planning your 20th anniversary and to have so many new beginnings in the same year. It has made us all aware how vital and important this partnership truly is.  Haiti continues to struggle after the earthquake. Progress is never as fast as one would like and people grow weary of waiting.

What we have to offer is a friendship of 20 years that has proven over time that we will be with the people of La Gonave no matter what.  And not that we will just show up, but thanks to many of you, that we will show up with new programs to educate the adults as well as the children. That we will listen and show up with programs that address their need to have a way to earn money to educate and feed their children. That even when we can’t meet all their needs, we will never quit showing up.

Aid in times of disaster is important, but good development means the ability and will to accompany folks towards a fundamental change in areas of human justice: food, healthcare, education and economic development. It means sharing success as well as failure. Sharing meals, work, heartbreak and political upheaval.

This year has made us more aware of how important this commitment is to the people of La Gonave, Haiti. The success of our new Medika Mamba program that is now providing state of the art treatment for malnourished children has brought light to the eyes of mothers and their children. In six short weeks children are healthy and active once again. Mothers report it as if it were a miracle. What we have discovered is that the anti-parasite medication, part of the protocol for the program, is crucial in decreasing the worm burden in each child and allowing that child to fully use the nutrients from the food they eat. For this reason in the coming year we will begin an island wide program to get this treatment for all the women and children in our communities. This is the gift of long-term commitment to a community.

This year, acting on a request from a community of women high in the mountains, we have developed a program that provides sewing jobs to women who have precious few opportunities to earn money for their families. By connecting these women with Laura Martin of Ties That Matter they are developing products that are of interest to the Caribbean Craft Council and has the possibility of allowing the community autonomy in the marketing of their goods. This is the gift of long-term commitment to a community.

This year we heard the pleas of adults who work hard to educate their children, but cannot read and write themselves. Through the generosity of our friends we were very quickly able to respond to this plea and we now have 10 communities with Adult Literacy programs funded though the first year. Two to three times a week people flock to the churches and schools with their homework in hand to study, sing and rejoice in an opportunity that before this year had seemed almost impossible.  This is the gift of long-term commitment to a community.

This year we visited a village that was two hours from a city over very difficult and sometimes impassable roads. We were there for a goat clinic.  This was one of the first communities to benefit from our goat project and they have had an active program for over eight years. People came leading five, six, eight goats of all ages, telling exciting stories about how their goats support their families, stories about sharing their goat’s off-spring with neighbors  who had less.  More than a hundred villagers abuzz with joy and stories of successful goat farming. This is the gift of long-term commitment to a community.

So, for all of you who have supported the work of the La Gonave Haiti Partnership this year and will continue to support our work in the years to come, savor these stories of success for it is the results of your long-term commitment to our community. Without you none of this would have been possible. The people of La Gonave, Haiti work hard to be worthy of your commitment and they are full of appreciation.

Happiest of holidays and a new year of blessings for those less fortunate.

The Gift of a Goat

The Gift of a Goat

 

In early November, I had the privilege of traveling to Lotorre with Jean Thoney, the administrator of our partnership’s goat project.  He was conducting a veterinary clinic for the farmers of that community.  After a torturous and, seemingly endless, ride in the back of a pick-up trip, we arrived at Lotorre and set up shop in a shady area under the trees.  Within minutes, people began converging on the area with strings of two, three, four goats.  Several farmers had five or more goats.  The partnership starts each participating farmer out with one pregnant doe and training.  Some farmers never advance past that first goat but others are able to build a business of raising goats, and we were happy to see that Lotorre is a real success story.

Jean Thoney gathered the community under the trees and introduced us a representatives of the partnership.  He explained that the money they would pay for this clinic did not cover all expenses and the partnership provided long term financial support.  We received a touching and warm round of applause and thanks.

Over the course of the afternoon, Jean Thoney vaccinated and treated over 50 adult goats and examined countless kids.  We had the opportunity to talk to several families to find out what the goat project means to them.  We were routinely told that goats allowed families to feed their children needed meat, that goats could be sold at market in order to purchase other foods and that goats could be sold for medical expenses or for school tuition.

The most humbling moment of the day was when we followed a woman named Monique to her house.  She has four healthy children yet lives in a tiny, decrepit house.  Monique told us that raising goats was the primary source of income for her family and that one time she was able to give a goat to a poor friend.  Monique, who has virtually nothing, gave a goat to another needier person.  In tears, we were able to comprehend the true meaning of the goat project.  Having goats  IS economic security in Haiti.

Sew for your life

No matter the language, a room full of women sewing has a lovely hum. We like to create, talk about food and children and…more importantly…laugh at our mistakes. Such was the case the last week of October on the island of La Gonave, Haiti. Laura Martin, of Ties That Matter, and Sandy Chai, of Beatitudes, Inc, had gathered to work with women to learn and to work as a group to better the lives of themselves and their families.

With a huge duffle bag of donated ties, scissors, thread and imagination they created Haitian dolls in lovely silk dresses. Each with a personality of their own, sewers and dolls alike, the room was filled with joy and learning. Heads tied in iconic silk scarves the dolls lacked only a big basket of plantains or mangos to be real.

The women listened and learned. They know all too well that their options are limited and they have children to raise and educate. It is humbling to see what women will do to give their children the basic necessities of life, especially when one comes from a nation that takes much of that for granted. And, there was no doubt in this room that this day represented the possibility that hard work and cooperation could make a difference.

It is easy to stand at a distance and think that all people can have what you have if they work hard enough. It is harder to stand in a room full of women and realize that they would do anything to have a better life. But, it is an easy way to make friends for whom you would do anything just to help them realize their dreams.

See for youself!

 

Three Weeks on La Gonave

Dear folks,

 

Adult Literacy Training

Hope has paid off! We have a group of newly trained Adult Literacy Educators and we have had a good response to our funding requests. Just four short months ago the women of Nan Mango came to us and said of all things the needed learning to write and read was on the top of their list. We were so moved by their sincerity and hunger to learn that we made it a top priority of ours as well.

Today we received news from Pere Soner that the first group is trained, they will be commissioned at the Feast Day of St. Francis in Anse-a-Galet this Sunday and he will begin to make placements. There were 14 women and men trained. Ten will move on to be teachers and of those 10 2-3 will be selected at the end of the 4 months to go into Port Au Prince and receive further training.

Pere Soner had the nicest things to say about how well the Fonkoze trainers had done their job and he is encouraged about the long-term growth and sustainability of this program.

Congratulations to our friends on La Gonave and to all of our friends here who are helping to make this a reality. We are truly humbled.

 

Lo Torre Clinic

The Lo Torre Clinic on La Gonave, Haiti

The Community of Lo Torre

Lo Torre is situated on the southernmost crest of La Gonave Island at altitude of ~2000 feet. As the crow flies it is actually closer to Point a Raquette than Anse a Galet.  Lo Torre consists of approximately 11 neighborhoods all with limited access to water, healthcare or medication. There is a local community health worker (CHW), Yvenia Saint Cyr who is funded through the La Gonave Haiti Partnership (LGHP) at Bill Rice Clinic. There is no electricity or system of sanitation. The character of the area is very rural. There are minimal opportunities for employment; most income is earned through farming and local commerce. It is a 2+ hour drive west, then south from Anse a Galet.

History of the Partnership and Clinics

The St. Francis church of La Gonave has partnered with All Saints Anglican church of Pawleys Island SC for 20 years to establish and maintain St Barnabus church and primary school in LoTorre. The clinic for LoTorre evolved as an outreach of this partnership. Every four months a multidisciplinary team coordinated through All Saints travels to the community and sets up a 3 day clinic in the school’s classrooms.  A fully staffed clinic will treat approximately 700 patients on a trip. A Haitian physician and nurse from the Bill Rice clinic travel up with the American team. The local CHW as well as other young adults from the community are employed during the clinic days to assist with patient care including lab testing, equipment management, registration, translation and cooking. Over time the clinic effort has developed into a truly Haitian/American team.

Each clinic trip provides a pediatric clinic, a dental clinic and an adult clinic. Because there is no access to over the counter or prescription medications the American team purchases all medication in the US, packages them in per-patient bags with instructions in Kreyol. Patients register with the church lay minister and pay for care on a sliding scale. Medications are provided free of charge. All supplies, including food, water, gasoline, sleeping bags, dental chairs, etc. are packed and transported up the mountain in the aging “ambulance” and supply trucks. It is a physically demanding effort for everyone.

Patient Care

The dental clinic is coordinated by Dr. David Grabeman of Pawleys Island SC.  He is assisted by 3 members of the Lo Torre community who provide cold sterilization of equipment and manage patient flow. When a second dentist travels, the clinic is able to run 4 chairs at a time. Care is limited to extractions and management of abscesses, fluoride treatment and teaching. Patients are treated with local topical and injected anesthetic and provided with antibiotics and pain medication to take home as needed. American volunteers assist by preparing trays and equipment for the dentists and comforting patients.

 

The pediatric clinic is coordinated by Dr. Amanda Drosieko of Pawleys Island SC. She is assisted by a translator and an American nurse or other volunteer. The clinic provides episodic care, as well as treatment for malnutrition, parasites and chronic conditions such as asthma and anemia.  Mothers are provided with medication for fever, pain and vitamins if needed. Children receive immunizations through a clinic coordinated by WorldVision and nutrition assessment through the Medikamamba program.

The adult clinic is coordinated by Dr. William Fairey of Pawleys island SC. It is the highest volume clinic and sees 300-500 patients per trip. Patients are registered by Haitian staff and vital signs are obtained by the Bill Rice Clinic nurse and the CHW, Ms. St. Cyr. Patients are seen by American and Haitian doctors, American nurse practitioners and registered nurses from both the US and Bill Rice clinic. Basic finger stick glucose and hemoglobin testing is provided by Lo Torre employees. All patient meds and diagnoses are entered into a database stateside to provide information for inventory, follow up and efficacy of the efforts.

Veterinary Clinic

Once a year a Haitian/American veterinary team is provided to the community which augments the day to day care for livestock provided by the LGH Partnership through Jean Thoney. Veterinarians and technicians provide immunization, deworming, castration and emergency care at the St Barnabus school and out in other gathering areas of the community.  There is always a great deal of excitement and energy when the vet team is visiting. The school’s “parking lot” is filled with donkeys, pigs and goats to awaken us each morning.

Long Term Goals

The team has formed a 501(C)3 called “Logos LaGonave” in order  to channel funds raised in a transparent manner. We hope to purchase land and construct a permanent clinic in the Lo Torre community. The excellent reputation of the Bill Rice Clinic in Nouvelle Cite inspired us to dream of a clinic staffed with Haitian doctors, nurses, agents and technicians to meet the day to day health needs of the community. We envision augmenting care with American specialty medical teams until the Haitian medical system can one day supply adequate specialists of their own. Our novel system of mapping patient houses using GIS and house addresses has enabled us to develop not only an adult patient medical database, but the beginnings of a community census that allows visualization of population density by neighborhood, using a GoogleEarth overlay; this will aid us and other groups in choosing advantageous sites for clinic buildings and water systems. We hope to add pediatric and dental patient information to our database in the coming year.  This will allow us to follow the health of the community across the lifespan.

Needs

• Financial Donors- to purchase medications for each clinic (approximately $ 7500 per trip for meds and baggage charges), to assist patients who are referred to hospitals for care, to assist the LGH Partnership in purchasing/maintaining transportation for teams and supplies, to build a permanent clinic.
• Health Care Providers- especially optometrists, ophthalmologists,  family practice/emergency physicians and nurse practitioners, dentists, pediatric physicians and nurse practitioners,OB/GYN physicians and nurse practitioners, farm animal veterinarians.

For more information please contact team member Leslie Jordanger : jordangers@gmail.com

 

Adult Literacy

“You gotta have hope…musn’t sit around and mope.”  So goes the old song from Damn Yankees and we decided to take this seriously. With only half the money promised we decided to go ahead with hope and the response has been encouraging. We engaged Fonkoze to train a person this week so we could begin our program next week. We were able to use funds available to make this happen and that is also where the hope comes in.

We are hoping that all of you believe that literacy for all is an important part of economic development and justice for all. We are hoping that all of you will be willing to make a contribution to see to it that this program is fully funded and sustainable. With our faith and hope we have told Pere Soner to go ahead and tell the people who will be our new teachers to show up next week and begin their training. We are committed to funding this program so that the people of La Gonave will have the opportunity to become educated and take their place in the economic development of the island.

In four short weeks we will be on La Gonave to meet with these Adult Literacy groups, to observe the training and to be sure the program is on the right course. We are sure that the money we need to make this happen will come and we will be happy if we can tell everyone “this program is fully funded.”  Please show us that this hope is not in vain, for we truly believe what Fredrick Douglass once said: “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”

To donate use the button to the right of this page or go to our website http://lagonavepartners.org/ and under Education you can find the Donate Now button that will specify your gift to further Adult Literacy.