HopehProjects

Education in Haiti is especially difficult to attain. Though all Haitian families want their children to receive an education, not all can because the public schools are overflowing and there is no room for any more. Even though private school tuition in the remote areas is only $15/month, this small amount is beyond the average Haitian’s ability to pay. Thus many Haitian children receive no education at all.

In order to help educate as many children as possible, HOPEH offers and supports an educational sponsorship program, which allows an individual or group to sponsor one child, or more, helping the child’s family pay tuition; or allows them to sponsor one or more teachers by paying their salaries. HOPEH also encourages village pastors and congregations to help with tuition for the children.

As HOPEH continues to raise funds for teachers’ salaries, village churches have opened their buildings to provide school facilities. Currently, HOPEH is sponsoring 12 teachers at 4 different church facilities. The goal is to increase the number to 24 teachers to provide education for the entire Juampas village and other villages in this remote region.

In 1998 HOPEH joined with Medical Wings, a group of American Airline employees who had already begun taking aid to orphanages throughout Haiti, and adopted a poor village called Juampas deep in the mountains of the island about 35 miles from Port-au-Prince. The conditions in this village were desperate; many children died due to the lack of basic medical care.

In 2001, joining resources with the Carroll County Haiti Mission Project (CCHMP), from Mount Carroll, Illinois, HOPEH helped CCHMP begin construction of a greatly needed medical clinic in Juampas. Limited funds prolonged the construction project, and it was not until February 2006 that HOPEH was finally able to open Juampas’ Mount Carroll Medical Clinic. During the construction period, medical doctors from the United States traveled twice a year to the village to bring medicines and treat the people, especially children, using one of the village churches as a make-shift clinic. Although construction is still not 100% complete, the Clinic has been able to hire a physician, a nurse, a nursing assistant, and two administrators to enable it to take in patients. It is a challenge to keep the Clinic operational because Haitian patients cannot even afford the 75-cent fee for treatment; HOPEH must rely solely on donations to pay Clinic salaries.

In June 2005, HOPEH began a program to vaccinate 160 children with the Hepatitis B and HIB vaccines; the goal in 2007 is to vaccinate 900 children. Other goals include: 1) equipping the new physician with basic medical instruments; 2) setting up a pharmacy and discovering ways to pay for and maintain consistent and ample sources of medical supplies; and, 3) raising funds to pay the Clinic staff.

70% of healthcare problems could be resolved with clean water. Bill and Lester have had numerous discussions about options. Lester has partnered with D Chris Swan - a professor of engineering at Tuft's University in hopes that students could help with ideas on how to cap springs. Bill has contacted Gift of Water an organization which developed biofiltration systems for cleaning dirty water- used on the ground in Haiti.
This issue around water seemed to need a multi-pronged, multi-system approach- the onion skin phenomena. It is based on the premise the further from a clean water source a child has to walk to transport the family daily water supply- the less likely they will go to that source but rather pick the closest source (this concept is mentioned in Dr Paul Farmer's books) hence systems must be in place to compensate for this factor-one thought is below:

Conclusion from this qualitative study:

1) A minimum of 66% of the mothers continued to use the netting. Factoring in for 1 not available and one not visited that percent could go up to almost 86% compliance rate!

GREAT JOB ST PAUL'S JUNE TEAM!!!!!!!!!!! Of note 1 mother had a small hole in the net easily repairable. She has a headboard on her bed.

Lester brought 10 more nets this time and gave one to Dr Aida as she is pregnant as well. Unfortunately time constraints and the size of the group did not allow visits to huts of new mother but rather pregnant women who came to the clinic for tetanus shots to prevent neonatal tetanus were given education and instructions on nets and distributed to them. Unfortunately they were from several towns and it will be difficult to locate them.

Lets' follow-up with our prior group next trip and continue to sustain this program. Of note these e nets being state of the art in the sense the insecticide will last 5 years. These nets cost $50 apiece- perhaps we can pursue cheaper options but that will trade-off on compliance. Another 10 for February!

EDUCATION