Last week we had a beautiful day installing solar panels alongside our neighbors. Since you couldn’t be here with us, we wanted to paint the picture for you.
Imagine this.
It’s 6:30 AM, the sky is a pearlescent indigo.
There are 12 steel poles in the back of the “Truck Ayisyen” —a vehicle that has seen better days, but still get’s the job done.
Also in the truck bed: a generator, a small welding device, and a stack of solar powered street lamps still in their original boxes.
Say hello to the residents of Bouyaha!
Bouyaha is home to the Saint-Raphaël Family Center (and the Maternity and Malnutrition Centers within) that serve families in the greater Saint-Raphaël region which is home to more than 60,000 residents.
Over 26% of the world’s population doesn’t have access to clean drinking water. That’s 1 in 4 people.
In Bouyaha, access to safe drinking water has been a struggle for everyone for as long as they can remember.
That is why we installed this water filtration system to provide free access to safe drinking water to more than 2,500 people. It uses reverse osmosis and UV light to make water safe to drink.
Gladys—who has lived in Bouyaha since she was a girl—recalled the many times she’s had to drink untreated, river water over the years, calling it “the same water that the animals drink.”
She plans to avoid the river by stocking enough water for the week ahead.
We reminded her that she can come back daily, if she needs to.
When Angeline, a member of OFADIS, a local women’s group, got a behind-the-scenes look at the treatment system, she shook her head in disbelief.
“It’s over!” she said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “The cholera epidemic is over for us!”
The women beside her shook their heads and clicked their tongues in agreement—each one likely remembering the faces of those they’d lost to the disease.
But it was the taste tests that generated the MOST excitement.
We’re happy to report that this water passed not only the “taste test”—and Gladys is a fierce judge—but all of the safety tests as well.
We were thrilled to see community members enjoying the fresh taste of filtered, well water, but we’re even more excited about what proximity to clean water means for them—
More time, less illness, and fewer resources spent on something that should be readily available to all.
Best of all, parents can rest easy knowing that the water they offer to their
little ones is 💯 percent safe to drink.
Before Tuesday, there wasn’t anywhere within walking distance for people in Bouyaha to buy safe drinking water. Now they can access it for free, everyday from 10 AM to 2 PM.
Better get there early! These girls will likely be first in line.
Want to see more? You can. Watch the video below!
Stay hydrated friends! And please consider joining us for our annual Number Fundraiser happening August 5th.
Love from Haiti 🇭🇹
It’s time for another weekly update.
We missed you last week!
Black Friday was amazing by the way. We are so thankful for everyone who helped make it a great! More on that soon.
Donations from the Holiday Catalog stacked in the halls after our Black Friday event
Our first story comes from 6 days earlier. And for the sake of my brain which loves to work things out in consecutive order let's start there.
It was almost noon on a Sunday and it seemed as though we were going to make it through the weekend sans emergency, sans crises.
But then we heard word from the maternity team. And it wasn't great news.
They were treating a woman, Eliona, who had just arrived at the center with severe dehydration.
Bird's eye view of our Cap Haitien Birth Center
Eliona was still 3 weeks from her due date, but she'd been vomiting and had had diarrhea since 8 pm the previous night. Now her blood pressure had dropped to dangerously low levels.
(Quick Note: Low blood pressure is a common result of losing too much fluid. As a last ditch effort, your body pulls water out of your blood stream and into your cells to save them. But when your blood volume drops, there isn’t enough pressure (blood pressure) to keep your blood pumping adequately throughout your body. And that’s bad.)
Perhaps it’s common knowledge that you can die from dehydration.
Or maybe not.
I was in Haiti during the first cholera epidemic in 2010 after the disease was introduced into the country by a troop of UN relief workers who failed to do the necessary health screenings before they deployed to Haiti---mistake #1. And subsequently neglected to properly dispose of waste at their base, letting waste (laden with the cholera bacteria) flow into a nearby river—mistake #2. It polluted the the water support of an entire region.
We lived in Haiti at the time, although Second Mile was still just a dream, and Amy volunteered at one of the Cholera Treatment Centers that had popped up around the country to treat those who were experiencing cholera’s extreme symptoms.
Tents like these are coming back.
Photo of clinic in Port au Prince, Oct. 7, 2022 (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
Cholera causes such severe diarrhea and vomiting that you can die from dehydration within 24 hours.
More than 10,000 Haitians died in the months that followed.
***
Eliona was on the 16th hour. Unable to stand, too weak and too dizzy, she laid in one of our consultation rooms while we gave her bag after bag of I.V. fluids and the recommended antibiotics for cholera.
Her mother fanned her with towel as we kept an eye on the baby’s heart rate.
Over the next 8 hours (after receiving all of the fluids pictured above), Eliona gradually transformed into an entirely different person. She eventually managed to sit, get up to pee, and even walk.
At midnight, the baby's heart rate took a turn for the worse. But Eliona was able to walk to our emergency transfer vehicle. She gave birth by c-section around midnight.
We may not have been able to see Eliona all the way through her birth,
but we feel pretty great about being able to save two lives.
Thanks to you we were adequately prepared for our first cholera encounter of 2022.
We know that not everyone affected by cholera will know where to turn. Not everyone will feel confident going to their local health facility— especially in light of the supply and security issues currently facing the country of Haiti as a whole.
Eliona’s life was saved because had grown to trust the care she would receive at Second Mile Haiti. She had received everything she needed during her prenatal check-ups and had come to expect that this would also be true when her life was on the line.
Thank you for helping us be that place for so many.
Eliona is currently at her home with 11 day old baby.
❤️ ☕️
warm wishes
from all of us at Second Mile Haiti
The Gift of a Goat
This year alone, we’ve gifted 141 goats through our community education, youth development, and leadership programs! By raising goats, adults and young people alike can access the financial means to makes their dreams a reality.
We are so thankful for our partner, S.H.A.R.E. Agriculture Foundation, for supporting these meaningful programs.
Extending the Route
Last year, twenty solar-powered street lamps were installed by the Second Mile Haiti team in Jean Louis, a close-knit rural community just outside the city Cap Haitien. Jean Louis is home to our flagship Malnutrition Treatment and Maternity Centers and we love to work with the community to improve, health, safety and access. The solar panel installation in 2021 was so successful and so well received that in May we repeated the process. This time, in Saint-Raphaël outside of our second Family Center.
Flash forward to June, and just like that, the Second Mile Haiti team has installed an another 20 solar-powered street lamps in the community of Jean Louis, with 40 solar-powered streets lights lighting the major roadways, hundreds of families and more than 5,000 individuals are impacted by access to night-time light.
This month, we feel extra grateful to the friends and supporters of Second Mile Haiti who make these projects possible.
Anide gave birth to her first baby at one of our Maternity Centers in Northern Haiti. Her mother and aunt attended her birth. They were fiercely protective of her as the family had recently lost Anide’s 18-year-old cousin due to a complication in childbirth. As beautiful as it can be to bring a baby into the world, in so many parts of the world, including the US and especially for people of color, pregnancy can be a death sentence.
Going through the pregnancy and birth process with Anide---so soon after they'd lost a loved one---was a kind of trauma for her family---even though her birth progressed without any complications and the outcome was one that everyone had been hoping for.
Here they stand triumphant.
Your donations make this possible.
This is a fun one. We have so much fun doing this with you all, every year. This will be YEAR #10! Can you believe it?
It would be a special 10th Anniversary treat to clear the board this year.
Here's how you can help:
+ You choose any number that's meaningful to you and contribute that amount to Second Mile Haiti.
+ We take your number(s) off the board.
+ Your support saves lives and keeps families together.
Hope to see you (online) Saturday, July 9th!
Nap tann ou!
(We'll be waiting for you!)
You can support the work of Second Mile Haiti any time.
Second Haiti’s 2nd Malnutrition Rehabilitation Center is officially open for families! Between our center in Cap Haitien and our new center in Saint Raphaël, we now have the capacity to host 42 families at a time as we work together toward health and economic stability.
Monday was the opening ceremony in Saint Raphaël!
🎉
We cut the ribbon.
...celebrated the milestone with representatives from local government, women’s groups, and health centers.
Welcomed the first family.
Solidified local partnerships.
...and took some photos with our guests!
To our supporters, we want to say a big thank you!
This day would not be possible without you.
We're excited to partner with YOU, with families in Haiti, and with everyone pictured here for the benefit of children and families in Haiti, for many years to come.
If you're not already a monthly donor, now is a great time join with Second Mile Haiti through regular, recurring gifts.
It's easy to start a monthly donation through our secure online profile. With one click, donations continue monthly, with no further effort on your part! It's simple and safe. Start yours today!
