Konbit Sante Ships 24th Container from Maine to Haiti

Konbit Sante shipped its 24th 40’ container of equipment and supplies from Maine on September 7, bound for Cap-Haitien, Haiti, after a year of sourcing, inventorying, and allocating supplies based on partner health facilities’ requests.

In addition to indispensable basic hospital supplies such as syringes and bandages, there are endoscopes, a colposcope, lab refrigerators, EKG machines, and a CR machine – a piece of computer radiography equipment that will allow our partner, Hôpital de la Convention Baptiste d’Haiti (HCBH), to digitalize x-rays.

Volunteers (left to right) Eric Plorde, Nate Nickerson, and Hugh Tozer move exam tables into the container.

Frequently-requested items such as office furniture (desks, chairs, tables, file cabinets), playground equipment for disabled children at HCBH, and soccer equipment for youth health programming rounded out the container’s contents which are valued at more than $100K.

Contents will be delivered to partner health facilities Justinien University Hospital, Hôpital de Fort Saint Michel (FSM), Hôpital de la Convention Baptiste d’Haiti (HCBH), Unite de Lutte pour la Sante (ULS), Serving Sante Health Center, and New Hope Hospital.

Volunteers Dave LaQuerre, Nan Nickerson, Eric Plorde, Hugh Tozer, and Erik Jenson organize materials inside the container.

A special thank you to Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln, Maine, for donating important medical supplies and nearly all of the medical equipment.  Also, thanks to J.B. Brown & Sons for donated warehouse space, an essential part of the “konbit” that allows this container shipping process to happen.

And immense thanks to volunteers Dave LaQuerre, Dick Lemieux, Nan Nickerson, Nate Nickerson, and Konbit Sante staff member Marcella Felde, who collectively spent hundreds of hours sorting, packaging, cataloging, and picking up large items.

On loading day, Dave LaQuerre, Eric Plorde, Hugh Tozer, Erik Jenson, Nan Nickerson, Nate Nickerson, and Marcella Felde loaded the container. The container doors were closed and sealed shortly after noon on September 5.

The container arrived in Cap-Haitien on September 26 and is now in the port waiting to clear customs.

Job well done: Volunteers Hugh Tozer, Dave LaQuerre, and Eric Plorde.