…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
School Lunch Program
Holy Cross Church/School partnered with First Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, GA
La Gonâve Haiti
June 6, 2011
While our Mission team was visiting our Partner church/school in Nouvelle Cité on the island of La Gonâve in January of 2008, we noticed that school enrollment was down and many of the children showed signs of malnutrition. The possibility of a school lunch program was discussed as a potential nutritional remedy with the additional benefits of both increasing regular attendance as well as raising academic performance. The Haitian food shortages along with skyrocketing prices in April of that year brought a sense of urgency.
Once a Proforma was received from the Priest in charge, funds were sent for the purchase of the utensils and supplies needed to begin. Cooks were hired to prepare and serve a hot lunch to the students and staff two days a week. All of the supplies and the water needed were carried to the school either by truck (if available) or by the cooks and other adults. The food was prepared and cooked outside the classrooms in large iron pots over charcoal fires.
When lunch was ready, the older students picked up the plates two at a time and carried them to each classroom where children sat waiting for what was often their only meal of the day. Only when everyone was served, and the blessing was said, did they begin to eat. After lunch, the plates and spoons were picked up and returned to the cooks who washed the items outside in large pans and buckets.
In January 2010, during our yearly health fair, we found that the students looked healthier with fewer signs of malnutrition. The teachers reported better school attendance as well as improved academic achievement. While we were visiting, Haiti was hit by a devastating Earthquake that changed the lives of many Haitians as well as those of our mission team and people watching around the world. Schools were no longer in session and survival became the number one priority. Many trips were made to the island of La Gonâve with supplies donated from throughout the Atlanta area. During this time, the lunch program also continued serving a meal two days a week to anyone in the community in need.
After reviewing the positive results of this program with the Priest in charge of the school, we requested a Proforma for construction of a three room building used for food preparation, cooking, storage and dining. Following committee approval, construction began in July of 2010.
This new facility was dedicated with great joy in January 2011 during our mission visit with our Partners. With the continued support of the church, and many others in our community we are currently sending funds for 178 children and staff to enjoy a hot lunch three days a week during the school year. The results are amazing and gratifying. This program is changing the lives of these children, offering them hope for a better life through improved health and education We pray that one day this program will be able to expand to offer each child a meal on every school day.
Children’s Nutrition
One trip to Haiti and the images of the smiling, friendly children are with you forever. In Haiti, 42% of the population is under the age of 14. Of those, 42% of children under the age of 5 years are malnourished. Nearly 8% of the babies born never make it to age 5. These are grim statistics. They are the reason we feel so strongly about the Childrens’ Nutrition Program.
For the last 20 years the program has been providing Achamel, a mixture of beans and rice fortified with protein supplements to malnourished children. It has been a mainstay in fighting malnutrition, but in March of this year we received a grant from Meds and Foods for Kids, located in Cap Haitian, to train our clinical staff to distribute Medika Mamba. http://mfkhaiti.org/
This amazing new product, made in Haiti by Haitians using peanuts from local farmers, has revolutionized the treatment of severely malnourished children. Given in an 8 week course, this peanut butter based paste can restore a child to normal body weight and good health. The cost of this treatment per child is $65. A small cost for good health and a better chance at life.
Mothers, who often have to leave young children to go to the well or to work at the market are able to leave their children at home with family members knowing that they will be fed nutritious meals. Often this work can take them away from home for 4- 6 hours of the day. Walking long distances over unpaved roads.
With Medika Mamba, a ready to use therapeutic food (RUTF), there is no need to build a fire to feed a child. It comes in a foil packet and is stable up to 18 months.
With this program, families receive instruction in better family nutrition, family planning and other public health concerns. Please help us as we work to make the children of La Gonave healthy, happy and ready to learn.
