We love our donors, and it’s important to us that we take the time to recognize them and all the ways in which they’ve helped children in Haiti via their support of International Child Care.

To commemorate International Nurses Day, the ICC USA and GCH Education Committee reflected on the impact of the GCH nurses.

Few people today have ever seen a child with tetanus, diphtheria, or measles, thanks to the miracle of vaccines. Immunizations prevent 2-3 million deaths every year from these diseases and many others. Vaccines have eradicated smallpox and have almost eradicated polio, a major killer worldwide during the 20th century. Yet according to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 20 million children in the world today are not getting the vaccines they need.

Tuberculosis (TB), a disease which most commonly affects the lungs, is one of the deadliest in the world, killing around 1.5 million people a year and infecting 1 out of 4 individuals globally. Although the incidence of TB has decreased over the past 40 years, Haiti continues to have the highest rate of TB cases in the western hemisphere.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), is a common eye condition that leads to vision loss in adults age 50 and up. AMD by itself does not lead to complete blindness. However, the loss of central vision, which causes blurred vision, can interfere with simple everyday activities like driving, reading, writing, or fixing things around the house.

ICC board member, Jeannine Hatt, shared one of her most memorable moments from her trips to Haiti to visit Grace Children’s Hospital. Read Jeannine’s story below.

What a year 2020 has been! As we all look forward to the holiday season, International Child Care is hard at work to provide much needed health care services to children and families in Haiti.

Since the beginning of the year, we have all watched our entire world upended by the impact of COVID-19. The United States has certainly been severely impacted, but fortunately reusable masks are now readily available online and in-store at an affordable price point along with other vital PPE. However in developing countries like Haiti, that is not the case. There, all PPE including masks are in woefully short supply.

For Grace Children’s Hospital (GCH), where many patients arrive with respiratory illnesses, keeping a basic medication like oxygen in ready supply can be difficult because of the cost and limited supply.

Grace Children’s Hospital has been at the forefront of efforts to help improve infant mortality in Haiti, which included launching a lifesaving training initiative for midwives in 2010 called, “Helping Babies Breathe.”

Throughout Haiti, GCH is universally renowned for the management of pulmonary diseases and tuberculosis. It is reasonable to assume that patients with cough, fever and breathing distress will turn to the hospital for help during this crisis, said GCH Medical Director Derius Rony, MD, OBGYN, MGSS.

Thank you for your faithful support of Grace Children’s Hospital. The situation in Haiti continues to be dire with food and fuel shortages. Last month, the USA Board of Grace Children’s Hospital sent an emergency infusion of $15,000 to provide food for the patients and staff of GCH, however donations are needed for continued support.

No stranger to disasters, the resiliency of the Haitian people is truly inspiring. Yet again they are facing a huge challenge to their very survival. Having weathered so many natural disasters over the last decades, Haiti now faces an unprecedented economic inflation crisis which is impacting all citizens as the cost of basic items such as food and fuel spiral out of control.

In March, approximately 115 women safely gathered in the meeting facility at Grace Children’s Hospital to recognize International Women’s Day 2019. The event included a cultural program as well as a training session, “Violence based on gender and the importance of women in the community.”

As we enter Spring, the Race for Grace cycling team again begins its training for the Hotter’N Hell 100 in Wichita Falls, TX, an endurance fundraising event that the team will participate in to raise money for Grace Children’s Hospital in Haiti.

Advent is here and with Christmas just around the corner, this is a spiritual time of gratitude, generosity and love.

As pastor of First United Methodist Church in McKinney, Texas, I know how quickly the holidays can fill our calendars and our thoughts. That is why I am asking you now to please plan a special gift to Grace Children’s Hospital this blessed season.

Sally Lefevre, a 32-year-old Haitian factory worker and mother, sought care at Grace Children’s Hospital (GCH) in Haiti as a last resort after enduring unexplained back pain for several years. Suffering progressive weakness in her legs, she needed a walker just to get around. Despite seeking care at another hospital and even resorting to alternative treatments by a witch doctor, her condition only continued to worsen.

A leading public health expert, Dr. Josette Bijou has spent 50+ years selflessly serving the people of Haiti. Internationally recognized for her work in the public health sector, she has been a driving force behind significant strides to improve the health and quality of life in this fragile but resilient country.

Polene and her children, ages 10 and 5, live in a tent community in Port-au-Prince. Meant for temporary housing after the catastrophic earthquake of 2010, tent cities are still common throughout the city. Polene’s family and neighbors live in harsh conditions without clean water or toilets, and the scrap metal structures are what they call home.

A thirty-minute drive from the nearest city, across a rough terrain, and through a river (four times), lies the rural and isolated community of Jolitrou. Before International Child Care, locals had to walk 4 hours each way to the nearest hospital and once there, many times were told to come back another day or denied health care completely. Once ICC partnered with the community to create a clinic, the infant mortality rate dropped significantly and many lives were saved.