Hi friends! Jenn here.
Well, let’s just get right to it. We’re expanding. Insert all the happy emojis here.
If you have been with us for a while now, you know that Second Mile operates a Maternity Center and a Malnutrition Rehabilitation Center in Jean-Louis, a rural area outside Cap Haitien, Haiti. The Malnutrition Rehabilitation Center came first, as it's doors opened in 2013. Since then, more than 700 families have stayed in the 7-week residential program. Through your support, we’ve helped 420 women start businesses and more than 600 children recover from malnutrition.
In 2017, we built the Strong Start Maternity Center which began providing prenatal, postpartum, and family planning services the following year. We followed that by opening the birthing wing in March 2019. By now, the team of midwives and nurses here have conducted over 5,000 visits and 199--wait, make that 200!--births.
If you’ve been with us on this journey, you probably know that it hasn’t just been about business and recovering from malnutrition and giving new babies a Strong Start, we also grow food, provide community education, and raise goats. I always seem to forget the goats! In 2016, we started a program where community members could learn about malnutrition prevention and receive goats to help generate income for their families. Close to 400 adults have participated to-date. This area is filled with thousands of thriving families (and thousands of baby goats) thanks to you.
Through it all, we have continued to evaluate and improve our existing systems so that kids, parents, and families get the very best care. And you can be sure that we’ve continued to dream (and scheme) in the background.
Our programs have worked so well, they have gained praise from government officials and community leaders alike. Why is that? Well, because they have been very effective at reducing the number of children living in Haiti’s orphanages.
So what’s next?
We are taking all of our programs and expanding to San Raphael, Haiti. San Raphael is a 70-minute drive (22 miles) from our existing facilities. We will be building one center, a Family Centre, that combines our maternity and nutrition services, and community programs. Despite everything that has happened so far in 2020 our partners, McPherson Family Foundation, told us “don’t take your foot off the gas.” We are thrilled to say they will be partnering with us to build the San Raphael Family Centre.
You might think it’s a bit quick, but actually, we have been dreaming about replicating our model for years. Through every decision, big and small, we’ve asked ourselves, “Will this be replicable?” We are only satisfied when the answer is yes.
This expansion has been a few years in the making. Now it’s just (finally) “go time.”
Here’s what’s happened so far:
In March, our team conducted a Needs Assessment in the San Raphael area in order to hear from the community and learn more about their needs. Over the course of a month, we collected and analyzed survey responses from 100 mothers. Here’s a glimpse of what stood out to us:
Less than 25% of the women surveyed had completed primary school (K-9th) and only 3% completed high school.
65% of people do not have consistent access to safe drinking water
42% of respondents have lost at least one child, and 20% have lost 2 or more children
Of the children that died, 84% died before the age of 5. This just shows the importance to continue following-up with children until the age of 5 (like we do at the Jean-Louis Nutrition Center)
88% of all births happened at home
94% of women chose to breastfeed their last child (this is great!)
74% of families introduced foods or liquids other than breastmilk before the child was 6 months (a practice that can lead to infection, diarrhea, malnutrition, and premature death in children)
This information, along with future community meetings, will be helpful as we continue to tailor our programs to meet the specific needs of the community of San Raphael.
In May, we officially signed the land papers. In August, we will break ground! After that, our first priority will be maternity and family planning services (including prenatal and postpartum care and midwife-assisted birthing space). If all goes to plan, these services will start by the end of the year.
A glimpse through the front gate
Local healthcare workers have insisted on maternal health care as the number one priority. Currently, the nearest maternity service is in the neighboring town of Pignon (35 minutes away) and there is no reasonably priced method of transportation between the two cities.
Before I sign off, I want to tell you how much I appreciate your support. I am thankful to be surrounded by board members, volunteers, donors, and supporters that continue to push our team to reach new heights. I was first told that Second Mile's model for supporting families should be replicated throughout Haiti back in 2015. Today, I get to share the good news: we are on our way.
Sincerely,
