February 3, 2010
Maine's generosity helps Konbit Sante make an impact in Haiti
The Maine-affiliated group is working to help earthquake victims, and couldn't do it alone.
A letter from Konbit Sante Executive Director, Nate Nickerson
(Cap-Haitien, Haiti) On behalf of Konbit Sante Cap-Haitien Health Partnership, a Maine-based health partnership working in northern Haiti, I want to express our deep appreciation to the many individuals and organizations who have called, written, raised or donated funds to show their concern for the people in Haiti. I want to share what I see in Cap-Haitien and the impact your generosity has had.
Northern Haiti seems deceptively calm. We are not at the epicenter of the earthquake. The buildings here were not destroyed, but we are constantly reminded of the impact of the quake. Perhaps the most obvious impact is the arrival of refugees from Port-au-Prince, some injured and maimed. The mayor of Cap-Haitien quickly began to send busses south to find people who needed evacuation, and brought them to safety in the north. Konbit Sante has helped fund the gas for these busses, approximately $250 for each round trip, and helped coordinate the complex and often frustrating issues of transferring patients to the Justinian Hospital, our partner hospital in Cap-Haitien, 85 miles from the capital. We are still working to try to maximize the hospital's contribution to this national crisis.
I have recently learned that subtle indications of earthquake damage to a building, that would not be evident to an untrained or casual observer, can portend very serious structural damage to it, rendering it unsafe to enter. Cap-Haitien, like the rest of the country, is much like a building with hidden earthquake damage. There are now tears in the fabric of everyone's life in Haiti that put an already vulnerable population at greater risk, and yet they are not so dramatically obvious or as visual, as the flattened buildings of Port-au-Prince.
Port-au-Prince was the nerve center of the country. Its destruction affects everyone. An estimated 1.5 million people have been left homeless. There are more than 200,000 seriously injured survivors who will need a myriad of treatments for months and years to come, including post-operative and wound care, re-setting of bones, treatment for infections, and psychological support. Here in Cap-Haitien many people I know have taken in six, seven, or more people. The Haitian people are demonstrating great compassion, but these acts of kindness stretch their already meager resources to the breaking point. For most, Port-au-Prince was part of their economic lifeline. The small items that poor women sell in the market, for instance, often originated in Port-au-Prince, and now they have nothing to sell. The price of food and other necessities that came from Port-au-Prince are increasing daily. The medical residents at Justinian Hospital were largely supported by their families in Port-au-Prince, but now many have lost both families and support. The hospital has stopped receiving its small operational budget from Port-au-Prince.
Konbit Sante is focusing on what we know best - supporting our long-term partners in their efforts to provide care for the local vulnerable population, the growing refugee population, and the injured from the south. I was frankly concerned- terrified really- that we would have little more to offer our friends than moral support. But, because of the amazing contributions of money and resources from our community and beyond in support of our sister city, we have been able to have a substantial impact here. I am humbled by the trust you have put in us to do the right thing with these resources and want to share some examples of what we have been able to do so far.
We are providing oxygen, and critical medicines and supplies to the Justinian Hospital, and other clinical centers. We have made the radiology service functional 24-hours a day, and it has taken hundreds of x-rays in the past weeks. We are supplying fuel for hospital generators. We have supported food and water distribution by a trusted partner in areas of Port-au-Prince that were not being reached by large international organizations. We are providing support in a make-shift triage and primary care clinic for refugees. We purchased blood donation bags for the Cap-Haitian Red Cross when they ran out, and purchased proper refrigeration for blood storage at the hospital, making blood available faster for incoming wounded.
Hospital patient fees now provide the hospital's only revenue now that there is no financial support from Port-au-Prince. But fees are very low and many are waived because the patients are too poor to pay, so we have set up a temporary fund to pay for earthquake victims seeking care in the public system, so that they receive needed care while not further stressing an already burdened system.
One of the most important roles we play is one of coordination. Because we have been operating in Cap for many years we are proud to say that we are a trusted local partner. We are invited to UN briefings, and the hospital director has asked us to coordinate all foreign volunteers at the hospital. We coordinate the urgent in-kind donations made by large international organizations, including Hope International and Direct Relief International. We have established a system to purchase urgent medicines and supplies from the Dominican Republic and have them quickly transported. One of our Haitian staff has been deployed to work in Port-au-Prince with Direct Relief to help establish their supply distribution center. In addition to coordinating this emergency aid, we are developing a medium- to long-term supply chain for the hospital and for community health needs (such as TB medications) with partner organizations. As the acute phase ends, there will be long-term earthquake-related healthcare burdens for all of Haiti, making our primary mission of capacity building all the more critical. Konbit Sante volunteers and staff are well-positioned to provide assistance as Haitians work to meet their own needs as much as possible.
Clearly, there is so much work to do, and we are just a small part of what is needed. There will be more stories to tell in the weeks and months ahead - stories about the challenges we haven't even anticipated- stories of hope and recovery that will have been, in part, made possible by the kindness of this community. Konbit Sante will continue providing updates and sharing our volunteers' experiences in Haiti through our website (www.healthyhaiti.org), email news, and Facebook, and we invite you to follow our journey.
Nathan Nickerson, RN, DrPH, is executive director of Konbit Sante Cap-Haitien Health Partnership.
