Hi friends! Happy September.
The last few weeks have been so beautifully full of activity that we missed writing to you last week.
We’re back today with a hodgepodge of updates
—updates you won’t want to miss!
The month of August truly started with a bang with a successful annual Number Fundraiser—online and in-person in Texas!
Thanks to the support of so many of you, we have been able to increase the number of Malnutrition Center graduates who will have their school expenses covered by Second Mile this year.
The new list includes graduates of our Centers from the last 10 years who now range in age from 5 to 16—kids like Fridelove, who beat the odds and survived a battle with acute malnutrition in 2018, 5 years ago.
Fridelove is now 6 and entering the first grade.
Enrolling 150+ children means traveling to more than 80 different schools—all over Northern Haiti—to pay the school fees in person.
The logistics are challenging—especially since Haiti’s summer break is only 4 weeks long this year—but thanks to the depth and adaptability of our team we’re getting it done. 😅
Two weeks ago we met with all the parents in a massive 3-day endeavor that involved eye and dental exams for 140 students. Today, parents are returning our Center to collect their child’s textbooks and workbooks for the year.
Today is also the day that the kids who needed them will be fitted for glasses!
See we told you these updates would be exciting!
Meanwhile, at our Malnutrition Treatment Centers, children are recovering from Severe Acute Malnutrition, while their parents benefit from the many opportunities we offer as part Rehabilitation Program.
It brings us so much joy to see mothers, young and old, cultivating their dreams through art therapy…
taking home food from our campus gardens while preparing to start their own…
and starting businesses following their child’s recovery.
Annelia is just one example of a mother who had no source of income when she arrived at the Center with her ailing son.
Now that her son, Lentz, is doing much better, she has been able to relaunch her business—something that she’s not sure would have been possible without Second Mile’s support.
Islande, and her daughter, Tama, are another pair we were able to celebrate with this past month.
When Tama started her recovery from Severe Acute Malnutrition, she was 8-months-old and weighed only 6 lbs.
After a long, multi-month stay at our Malnutrition Treatment Center in Cap Haitien, we now see Islande and Tama at follow-up visits.
Baby Tama recently celebrated her 1st birthday much to the delight of her family and everyone here who played a role in her recovery.
Did we almost forgot to mention this month’s solar panel installation?
We did!
Since 2021, we’ve been working our way through the surrounding communities—installing batches of 20 solar-powered street lamps at a time—in hopes that soon, the entire area will benefit from the added security that light provides.
These installations are always exciting. Inevitably, we pass community members who have their own stories to share about how the street lamps have made an impact on their lives.
From the teens that use them to study for exams to the hustling entrepreneurs who set up their soup and sandwich stands under the glow of the light—the impact continues to grow with each installation.
We’ve now installed more than 200 street lamps in the communities surrounding our two campuses in Northern Haiti.
Finally, we can’t forget about pregnant women and their new babies!
We completed the Maternity Center Expansion, adding 3 rooms to care for more patients. We hired a new midwife and had a record-breaking month with births, prenatal visits, and education class attendance.
We still need a few more items to furnish the new rooms. Still, we welcomed 99 new babies between our two centers and cared for women during 1,480 prenatal, postpartum, and family planning visits.
And that’s a wrap!
As always, we are so grateful for you.
Thanks for standing with families in Haiti.
Keep smiling!
Love from Haiti 🇭🇹