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EDUCATION
Since its inception in 2015, our school sponsorship program has been in very high demand. Even public schools in Haiti carry a charge and are not affordable to the very poor. School age children are seen playing barefoot on the streets. In view of our mission and given the importance of education, we consider that program a top priority. We have a long waiting list. Unfortunately, we can only accommodate very few children as a result of our limited resources. Through donations, we are able to pay the registration fee, tuition, school uniforms, books and the teachers’ salary. Throughout the year, we collect bookbags, and other school supplies to distribute to the students at the beginning of each academic year. Starting with 21 students, our program has grown to 25 students ages 5 to 23, who are learning and advancing in grades. To date, we have 3 graduates, 1 in carpentry, 1 in plumbing and 1 in baking and pastries who are making a living with their crafts. This sponsorship not only brings change to one person, but it strengthens an entire community.
Along with sponsoring their education, our hope, in the future, is to also provide one meal a day to our students and continue our support until they reach their final professional goal.
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We are excited to announce our new initiative, Nurses for Hope, in which we are sponsoring four nursing students. Our hope is that we will open a local clinic in which these four nurses with the help of doctors will provide necessary preventative and emergency care, as well as public health education.
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HUNGER ALLEVIATION
With political upheaval, social unrest, the constantly rising cost of living, in addition to unemployment, food has become a luxury in Haiti. Since our first food distribution in 2008, HACA created an annual food distribution program to help alleviate the hunger crisis. We purchase non-perishable staples such as rice, beans, cornmeal, spaghetti, canned salmon, cooking oil, and soap from a Haitian supplier. With the help of volunteers, the food is portioned, packed in bags, and distributed to the neediest families identified by the communities’ church leaders. The program has grown so much that we have had to do it twice a year and serve two different groups to help more needy families. At our last event in December 2018, we distributed food for two weeks to 400 families of at least 5 people. Despite our precautions, the number of families that show up to get food is always greater than the number expected. It’s painful to turn down needy families. We hope to be able to serve as many of them as possible in the future.
HEALTH SERVICES
The problem of health care is very serious in Haiti, but it is worse in underdeveloped mountainous areas where bad roads make travel difficult. It takes hours to get to a hospital, and those who need urgent care very often die before they can be helped. Only those who have money can afford private care. The great majority of the people in the area do not have basic preventive care. The only clinic in the area closed four years ago. In July 2012, HACA organized a very successful ambulatory clinic in Haiti where we partnered with local and Haitian American doctors to provide eye, pediatric, and general care to several communities. Over 400 families attended. That program was repeated two more times. Our hope is to reopen the clinic and provide urgent and regular preventive care to the communities of Bellevue de la Montagne.
NURSES FOR HOPE
The problem of health care is very serious in Haiti, but it is worse in the mountainous rural areas where bad roads make travel difficult. There are no local clinics in the area. It takes hours to get to a hospital, and those who need urgent care very often die before they can be helped. We started a new initiative, Nurses For Hope, in 2019 with the idea of preparing the nurses who will staff the healthcare facility we plan to open in one of the communities we serve. With the help of doctors, our nurses will provide preventive and emergency care. They will also provide public health education to the surrounding communities. We started with four young ladies and now have five nursing students.