Making a Healthplan for Life for Haitian Children

Dear Friends,

In June 2018, I was in Haiti enjoying the street celebrations that were taking place after the World Cup matches that were shown on large screens in local town squares.  Then the mood changed and protests started quickly. The government had announced fuel price increases as a result of reductions in international subsidies. Over the last year and a half, protests have intensified and then died down, however, again, when I visited Haiti in mid-September this year with other SHH members, we saw that the situation had become dire. There have been protests in Haiti in the past, but these are different. 

Roadblocks and protests have shut down the country for several day stretches, but more recently, the entire country has been in a total lockdown called peyi lòk, or Operation Lockdown. Schools, businesses and government offices are all closed. Hospitals are running out of resources and have limited staffing. Patients can rarely make their way to the facilities. There are pleas on an Internet group for medical providers in Haiti for basic medications and supplies such as oxygen as asthma inhalers. Clean water is scarce which is intensifying the healthcare crisis. People are locked in their homes and when they do venture out to buy food and water, they either find nothing on the shelves, or exorbitantly priced supplies.

Flights to Haiti are empty since there is almost no way to get out of the airport once passengers arrive, and to put stress on hotels or friends to support more people would be counterproductive. At times like this, I believe that bearing witness to the tragedy, spreading the word about the suffering of 11 million people, our neighbors, in an honest and open way, lobbying our elected representatives for action, and propping up people and institutions that we have faith in, both financially and with networking support, are all ways we can help.

This past August, SHH celebrated its tenth anniversary. We had planned many great things for this fall including another medical trip with 15 doctors, nurses and medical technicians, the building of the courtyard and shower, and a kick off of the agricultural program. While all activities that require travel to Haiti are cancelled indefinitely, our work continues. We are selling bracelets and greeting cards, holding a fundraiser at a restaurant, continuing to design the courtyard, developing the educational programs for primary health and nutrition, and following the progress of the girls’ basketball team. We also need to dig a new well to renovate the showers in the children’s dormitories which are substandard and affecting their health.

We look forward to our next report providing positive updates on all these initiatives but are asking all of our supporters to be good witnesses on behalf of the Haitian people in their suffering.