Current Projects
Infant and Maternal Health Program
Haiti has the highest infant, and maternal mortality rates in the western hemisphere. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of access to medical care, and lack of education. Duchity in particular has no hospital. This means that when a woman discovers she is pregnant unless she has the means to pay for a private doctor, or to travel to the city of Les Cayes 45 minutes away she will receive no medical care throughout the entirety of her pregnancy. Then when it is time to deliver she will most likely do it at home on a dirt floor with the assistance of family members, or a traditional birthing attendant which has no professional medical training.
We want to rewrite this story! In January 2019 we began this transformation by opening The Center for Health Education in Duchity. Our Nurse/Pharmacist Nacize began registering pregnant women and held her first educational classes in February. Our grand opening was so successful we had to add additional classes in order to accommodate all of the women who showed up. We currently serve on average 100 women a month. Nacize goes up to Duchity every Saturday to hold health education classes with the women in the community. It is our vision that we can expand these classes to include more formal health care including monthly doctors visits, and to meet the physical needs of the women we serve by providing for their nutritional needs. We would love to get to a place where each woman we serve is able to receive food/vitamins/and clothes for her new infant. We know we are just at the beginning of this journey and that the road ahead of us is long as the needs are great, but we are confident that in time with support from people like you we can change the story of birth in Duchity from one of tragedy to one of joy!
School is in Session
It has long been on our hearts to open a school to serve the community and to maintain connection with the women and children we meet through the Maternity Center and this year we will do jus that! After a slight delay from the Government after the earthquake we will official welcome our first class on Monday October 11th! To say the community is excited is an understatement we have already been approached from other localities in Duchity asking us to please replicate this project in their towns. God willing we would love to do just that! For this year we will be grateful for the opportunity to serve the 20 families currently enrolled. Our vision is to grow the school slowly and intentionally by adding a grade each year until we have a pre-k to high school program. To sponsor a student visit our how you can help page or simply sign up for a recurring monthly donation of only $15 through our pay pal link!