Haiti Rehabilitation Centre

For people living with spinal cord injuries and other complex disabilities in Haiti, returning home after rehabilitation can elicit emotions of both excitement and trepidation. There are often new obstacles to navigate, practical adjustments to make, and questions about how to maintain the progress achieved during months of therapy.

That's why, thanks to your support, Grace Rehabilitation Centre (GRC) has recently launched a new outpatient discharge programme - designed to journey alongside patients as they transition back into their communities and continue building independent lives.

The first patient to complete this programme is Malexson.

Malexson arrived at GRC with a spinal cord injury in February 2025. He had very limited mobility and steel rods in his lower spine following surgery. Simple movements were difficult, and the road ahead felt uncertain. Over the months that followed, he worked closely with our rehabilitation team, taking part in regular physiotherapy sessions and steadily rebuilding his strength.

Progress came gradually. Through consistent therapy and his own determination, Malexson regained mobility, confidence, and a greater sense of independence. 

As Malexson recovered, the time approached for him to leave the centre, and he became the first patient to enrol in our new discharge programme.

Within this programme, patients are given emotional support, clinical follow-ups, counselling and practical assistance when needed in order to help their transition from the clinic into everyday life. This support also includes a stipend to help patients start a small business (in line with their business plan), as well as financial assistance to support their housing needs during the transition period.

The team reports that Malexson is adjusting well to life outside the clinic.

“His growth over these past couple of months has been remarkable, Malexson's journey is a powerful reminder that with dedication support and resilience, meaningful progress is always possible” - Joe Janvier (Haiti Programme Assistant)

For our team, programmes like this are about ensuring rehabilitation creates lasting change. Recovery is not simply a milestone to reach before leaving the centre, but an ongoing journey.

Thank you for helping ensure that people living with disabilities in Haiti can access not only specialist rehabilitation, but the ongoing support needed to thrive long after they leave our doors.

Thanks to your continued generosity, Grace Rehabilitation Centre (GRC) remains a lifeline for people living with spinal cord injuries, strokes and other neurological conditions in northern Haiti. At a time when services across the country are under immense strain, GRC continues to be the only centre in the whole of the north of Haiti offering specialised spinal cord injury care. Every day, your support enables our Haitian team to provide consistent, compassionate care to both inpatients and outpatients.

One of those patients is Gustav.

Gustav is originally from Mirebalais, in central Haiti. Last year, escalating gang violence spread beyond Port-au-Prince into towns like Mirebalais, forcing many families to flee. Gustav lost his home when gangs burned houses in his neighbourhood, and he had no choice but to leave.

Years earlier, Gustav had already faced a life-changing injury. After leaving school to help support his family, he travelled to the Dominican Republic, where he trained and worked as a carpenter. In 2012, while working on the fifth floor of a building, he fell with heavy materials on his back and sustained a spinal cord injury.

After his accident, Gustav sought care in multiple hospitals, both in the Dominican Republic and in Haiti. Over time, his wheelchair broke, and without the means to replace it, his mobility disappeared altogether. As he shared, “I would be in the house, and I would be thirsty, but I couldn’t even go out to get a water.”

Gustav arrived at GRC in October and was admitted as an inpatient. He was provided with a wheelchair and began a structured rehabilitation programme. Reflecting on the difference this care has made, he said, "I went to many hospitals, I found care, but here it is different. Here I feel like I’m not sick. The way that the centre is adapted, the way that they care – I feel really comfortable. Since the time that I had my accident I felt like I didn’t receive any care at all. But when I got here I feel a lot of improvement.”

Gustav is now learning to use a walker and rebuilding strength and stability. Despite being far from home and without family nearby, he told us, “The way everybody behaves with me, they treat me well. I don’t have anyone here but I feel I am independent.”

Looking ahead, Gustav hopes to return home with renewed confidence and to set up a small business. “I hope that I return home a different person to how I was when I came here.”