‘These are the very times that we need to step up’

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Haiti. If you are following events in Haiti, you know that the country has been going through very difficult times with widespread political instability, insecurity, and shortages of food, power, and fuel, all of which are taking its greatest toll on those who struggle the most in even the best of times. However, even in the midst of that, there are people here making good things happen with your help.

This month marks 18 years since Konbit Sante first committed to collaborate with and accompany our colleagues in Northern Haiti in their efforts to provide quality health care to their communities. We have been through other very difficult situations since then and know from experience that these are the very times that we need to step up, because it’s when our partnership and friendship are most needed. So, while schools and health facilities are closed or closing all over the country, we are committed to do what we can to help all of our partners stay open so that they may provide care to those who need it. To date, I can report that they all have continued to provide services throughout this difficult time.

Two weeks ago, we were able to free up a container full of medical supplies and equipment that we sent from Maine and get the contents distributed to our partner facilities. Last week, the head nurse at the Haitian Baptist Convention Hospital (HCBH) told me that the oxygen concentrators that HCBH received have literally saved young lives. Because there has been much less public power available, and some lives—particularly newborn lives—depend on electrically powered equipment, we are now working with Justinien University Hospital to procure diesel fuel for generators to run critical medical equipment. I just met with the director of ULS, the health center we recently constructed, to strategize about how to keep the clinic supplied with medicine. The community health workers whom we support at Fort St. Michel Health Center (FMS) have been working and serving their communities every day, even though they work in a particularly troubled area.

We don’t know where all of this is going, but we do know that it is the time to support those who are working every day for a better future. My heartfelt thanks to all of you who are part of this Konbit across the water and who make that possible.

Please help us meet this urgent need by donating today.

P.S.: For those of you who have never donated to Konbit Sante, or even if you didn’t donate last year, this is the time to have your support matched! Generous donors have agreed to match the gift of new or returning donors this fall, so anything that you feel moved to contribute will be DOUBLED!

Sincerely,

Nate Nickerson
Executive Director
Konbit Sante Cap-Haitien Health Partnership