A young girl waits at Jolitrou clinic for her consultation.
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.
“Words can’t explain all the positive changes ICC has brought,” said Edrice, president of the Jolitrou Health Committee there. “ICC even changed the behavior of people to learn to trust the clinic instead of witchcraft or natural remedies.”
However, the future of Jolitrou is extremely uncertain, as all its funding has been depleted—and your help is greatly needed. This resilient community continues to do what they can without financial resources, but their potential is diminishing. Viergena, a health agent that has been working for the community for 23 years, even now while she is no longer paid, shares her concerns:
“We aren’t able to go out into the community and do vaccinations anymore or educate about diseases and healthy precautions. If we don’t bring back some of these services soon, the community will start to backslide.”
A team from Westwood United Methodist Church donated for a new roof, nurse, and motorcycle for the clinic
Yet, hope is starting to stir within the isolated community of Jolitrou once again.
When three members of Westwood United Methodist Church heard of this great need, they along with five others from Ohio and Michigan raised funds to start building the clinic back up. In August 2016, they decided to not take their planned mission trip and instead donate all the costs they had raised to give to Jolitrou. Now thanks to their support, the clinic:
- Built a new, stable roof to provide a safe environment for the patients
- Hired a paid nurse for the clinic who is there three days a week
- Repaired and paid for fuel for the motorcycle that serves as an ambulance
In March 2017, two members of this team, Pastor Lee Strawhun and Lloyd Pemberton, were able to visit with the community and see the changes first-hand. “The devotion of the staff and health committee was amazing and very heartwarming,” said Lee.
The workers are dedicated to their community, but their resources are still very limited. Yet, their goals are not impossible. To fully staff the clinic five days a week and provide the tools and medicines to operate the clinic takes only around $23,000 a year.
“There is no help from Haiti’s Ministry of Health,” said Dr. Laudie, ICC Regional Coordinator. “If ICC doesn’t help, no one will.”
Adopt a Project: Jolitrou
The community of Jolitrou needs your help! The budget for a year to keep the clinic open and fully-staffed is roughly $23,000. If a church, or group of churches is able to “adopt” this project together, we can provide hope for this resilient community that so desperately needs it. Please consider today how you can be a part of their healthy future.
Contact iccusa@internationalchildcare.org or call us at 1-800-722-4453 to discuss possibilities or make a contribution.