HAITI. The word immediately conjures up negative images: dysfunction, chaos, brutal violence, grinding poverty, systemic corruption, and perhaps most problematic, Hopelessness. We have witnessed desperate need and how at various times the world has promised and even sent money to assist and the money seemingly having no effect in improving the situation. We ask [...]
In the lush tropical valley of the Grande Rivière du Nord, in northern Haiti sits a small green tin-roofed building housing a medical clinic in the village of Gambade. From Gambade, the next hospital is ten kilometres of rough and rutted road across a river that is impassible when flooded. For the average resident [...]
“Are you going to leave us after you finish building the clinic? Are you with us for the long run?” A village elder asked one of our team members at the early stages of our involvement in the community of Gambade. They had heard about NGOs that establish projects and programs then abandon them [...]
When I reflect on our mission trip to Gambade along the Grand Riviere du Nord near Cap Haitien, my thoughts return to the delivery room at the local public hospital …the metal chair with stirrups was not unlike others, but the ripped and dirty foam covering the chair is an unforgettable image.