Water and Light

Things that have changed since we last wrote:

3,750 people now have access to clean drinking water.

We are significantly more prepared for the cholera outbreak, thanks to so many of your generous donations over the last few weeks.
 

And another local hospital has run out of oxygen

So, we are helping to supply oxygen to kids who would normally be hospitalized.

Things that haven’t changed:

The number of women coming to our centers. 

We are still seeing just as many women during prenatal consultations.
Just as many women filling seats during prenatal classes each Thursday.
And just as many new mothers in the postpartum clinic with loosely swaddled infants.
 

We are actually seeing more clients than before the unrest began and they are coming from farther and farther away.

Despite dangerous road blocks and high transportation costs, women still want to give birth in a safe place.

Wouldn't you?
 

Last Friday we had our first client come from Port-au-Prince— an area more than 80 miles from our Cap-Haitien Center and the area most impacted by gang control over the last two years. She'd come seeking safety. 

Prenatal care was difficult to find in her home community.
 Her care had been so limited—in fact—that she had never learned she was carrying twins. 

When she arrived at our center she was showing signs of one of the scariest pregnancy complications, preeclampsia. But she was nervous about going into labor, since she didn't know where she would sleep with her newborns.

We are continuously in awe of the strength Haitian women show as they face incomprehensible hardships and so many unknowns. 

We are happy to be able to give them some measure of certainty by keeping our doors open despite everything that is happening right now in Haiti. 

Tomorrow is uncertain.
Except for the fact that there will certainly be a couple of new parents who need support.

We have Midwives and light. 
We have a comfortable place to rest after birth.
We have you to thank. 

❤️ from Haiti

Developments in Saint-Raphaël

Solar Street Lights in Saint-Raphaël

On May 14th, we partnered with community members in Saint Raphaël, Haiti, to install 20 solar street lamps, lighting the road just outside our Saint-Raphaël Family Center. The addition of night-time light has already begun to help laboring women and families find their way to the Maternity Center during the evening hours. 

The lights also aid students who want to study and entrepreneurs who want to launch evening business (such as selling food after the sun goes down). But most importantly, the street light help the children and families of the community feel safe. It doesn't get much better than that!

Saint-Raphaël Malnutrition Center in full swing

On May 23, we opened the Malnutrition Treatment Center at our Saint-Raphaël Family Center. That first night, our team welcomed a mother and her twins who transferred to the new center from our Cap Haitien campus -- a move which brought her much closer to home.

Now that local health centers and former program beneficiaries have begun referring families in need to the new center our beds are starting to fill. We are currently supporting 22 families in Cap Haitien and 8 families in Saint Raphael for in-patient malnutrition rehabilitation. 

In addition, fifty former graduates of the Cap Haitien Treatment Center are now coming to follow-up visits in Saint Raphael as the new campus is a shorter distance for them to travel. 

The first four families at the Saint-Raphaël Malnutrition Treatment Center pose for a group photo before heading back to their homes for the weekend. 

Kerline, the Project "Manman"

“Miss Kerline” has been the Malnutrition Program Manager since 2013. She was there the day the first family arrived at the center and she’s been there to welcome every single family since--more than 900 families since our opening! Because of her longstanding history with Second Mile Haiti, Kerline is affectionally referred to by her colleagues as the “Manman” (mother) of our Nutrition Center.

Kerline helps determine which children are admitted to the program and makes critical decisions about their care. She is instrumental in collaborating with other health centers and organizations working in the health sector. Kerline loves kids and kids love Kerline!

Kerline wears many hats and keeps busy throughout the year. But this month in particular, she’ll be following up with the children in our school sponsorship program as they finish their last few weeks of the school year AND supporting the team at our Saint-Raphaël Nutrition Center as they deal with inevitable growing pains and the variable “firsts” that come with starting a new program. We are so grateful to Miss Kerline, an integral part of the Second Mile Haiti family.

We've moved... well just our Mailbox. 

Attention! We are now receiving mail in a new location. If you are someone who prefers to donate by check, this message is for you! For some of you, this won’t be a new address, but for others who are in the habit of mailing checks to Oakland, CA please update your records and send any future contributions to the address below:

Second Mile Haiti
5251 W. Desert Falcon Ln.
Tucson, AZ 85742

Many thanks!