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Parents in rural Haiti sacrifice a lot for their children.  We see it on a daily basis as they walk for miles with little children in their arms under the hot sun, in the rain and on muddy or rocky terrain.  One little 14 month old girl was brought to the clinic as an emergency…

We’re back to beanies again and this little girl was so scared when she saw a beanie for the first time that she screamed. Then, the temptation to touch the beanie was too much for her and, in spite of her fear, she cautiously reached out and touched it. Finally, she and beanie became best…

One of our most faithful patients is little 7 year old Nadege Jean Louis, who has sickle cell anemia.  She’s a quiet little girl who always seems to appreciate coming to the clinic, even when she is having pain or fever from her sickle cell disease.  On a recent visit, her mother told me that…

When people in the US give us gifts for our patients, they often take months to be shipped down here in drums on a shipping container.  But, they eventually arrive and we like to let them know that the gifts are being used and appreciated. Last November, my home church, Kingston Presbyterian Church, had an…

We’ve recently started a program for malnourished children through the Haitian Public Health Department.  Every child under five is weighed and measured to determine if they are normal, at risk of malnutrition or have definite malnutrition.  If they are malnourished, they are entered into a program where they are given “Plumpynut”, a peanut butter mixture,…

We are blessed to have a lot of churches, children and adults who send us toys and beanie babies so we can give them to our pediatric patients.  In the US, most children love little beanies and stuffed animals and grab them tight when they’re given to them. In Haiti, though, most little girls are…

In rural Haiti, it is traditional that parents do not cut a boy’s hair until he is walking and talking.  So, most boys under two years of age have long, braided hair that makes them look like girls! I always laugh about it, asking parents what connection there is between hair and feet?!  Of course,…

In the midst of all the political upheaval in Port-au-Prince lately, life here in Jérémie has been relatively normal.  We are in the process of advancing our latrine building efforts to include the communities of Duchene (just down the mountain from the clinic) and Gatineau itself.  These are communities where we do not have volunteer…