Every week we see incredible transformations at our Malnutriation Treatment Centers. It’s truly incredible to be so close to such visibly life-changing work.
With the right interventions children can transform from frail and sickly to healthy and vibrant in just a few weeks.
But there’s something extra special about helping mothers with premature and very low birth weight babies.
At Second Mile Haiti, we regularly have the privilege of standing beside these caregivers as find their way on the difficult journey of nourishing such a small infant.
It’s not easy to have a small baby anywhere in the world. It is all the more difficult in Haiti.
This past month we got to celebrate a special milestone for two such babies. Steven & Marvens turned one!
These two graduates of our Rehabilitation Program turned 1 in November. But it was the truth about their first few months of life, that made this milestone that much more significant.
While Marvens & his mother Rose Guerline were supported by our team in Cap Haitien, Steven and his mother Singline were 90 minutes away at our Saint Raphael campus.
Both babies were less than 3 lbs when they were referred to our center. And though both mothers were young and visibly intimidated by the weight of their circumstances, they were in good hands with Second Mile Haiti’s nursing staff.
Most of the nurses and managers at our Malnutrition Treatment Centers have between 5-10 years of experiencing working with families at Second Mile Haiti. With so much experience under their belt, they have developed special methods for encouraging mothers like Singeline and Rose-Guerline.
“We show these mothers the early photos (and present day photos) of small babies born to moms that were in the same situation. This way they can begin to imagine what is possible.”
Giving them hope and helping them keep their eyes on the prize!
Past Graduates of Second Mile Haiti whose photos inspire today’s parents
Nurse, and the Rehabilitation Program Manager in Saint-Raphael, Miss Anne Rose, loves working with mothers like Singeline. She taught Singeline how to express her milk to increase her milk supply, how to help Steven latch without pain, and how to supplement nursing sessions with expressed milk.
Anne Rose is a mom herself and knows how scary it can be when your birth experience doesn’t go exactly right. For Anne Rose it was preeclampsia at the end of her pregnancy and the threat of a premature birth.
For Singeline it was the surprise of going into labor before it was time, and the fear she felt when seeing her tiny baby for the first time.
When asked what she likes about working with mothers like Singeline (above) and tiny babies like Steven she said: “At this stage, the mother has what she needs to nourish her child because all the baby needs is breastmilk. But without information, she can still loose her child. I like that we can save a life simply by providing a parent with information.”
We’re so grateful for this community’s continued investment in Second Mile Haiti. When you donate to our programs, you plant a seed.
Whether that is an actual seed in one of our campus gardens, or a seed of health and recovery for little ones like Marvens and Steven, we want you to see how far they’ve grown.
We get to see it everyday.
Here’s to sharing it with you!
❤️ from Haiti
Happy December.
