Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the delay in writing up our recent activities, but we were very busy these past couple of weeks as I prepared to leave Haiti for some family events. This will be the only post until I return October 15.

All of our donated medical supplies are now out in the field. It is encouraging that young docs and nurses are walking in what feels like 104 degrees to work under mango and breadfruit trees to keep cool while serving those in need.

It is a good thing that the supplies were distributed because there is now a fuel shortage. Town power is limited to 4-5 hours a day. The shortage is due to the complete blockage of transport by gangs in Martissant. It is unclear when there might be some relief.

Our partners are continuing to raise funds and purchase medical supplies – now it is important to address chronic health conditions that have been neglected during the emergency response. People lost their regular medications in the earthquake and these have been hard to replace, so the doctors say they have been seeing many patients with very high blood pressures.

Food and water are still of great concern. A collaborator from Maine came with a team and traveled by boat to Pointe Sable to assess the damage and what they could do…one of the team members stayed for a week and was impressed with the sole nurse in the clinic there, serving as many as she can. This nurse is one of our breast cancer volunteers. We are still hoping to receive solar water purification systems from a consortium called “Palm Beach County Cares”. We just learned today that a smaller unit has been donated for use in the Jérémie area. We will be following up on that in the next few weeks.

Though 175 schools were completely destroyed in this region, children are hoping to get back to school and some normalcy at the beginning of October. GAHDA is supporting as many children as possible with uniforms and shoes, books and administrative fees.

Over 200 people received consultation at the mobile clinic held on Sept 16, 2021, see pictures below. The pharmacy was supported through donations from Project Medishare, Cross Catholic Outreach and Cashman Family Foundation. While many rural people are in need, GAHDA prioritized pregnant women to receive buckets of food or hygiene kits from Project Medishare and blankets from Cross Catholic Outreach in addition to prenatal care and vitamins.

One of the women with breast cancer just returned from Port-au-Prince after months of chemotherapy, mastectomy, and more chemotherapy. She received support for her 2 children to go to school. She also was given one of our plastic 55-gallon drums that had been used to ship medical and educational supplies to GAHDA in the past year. She is happy to be home in Jérémie again.