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As the medical team departs this morning.

We at Sionfonds in Haiti and the US and I know every Haitian person whose lives you touched would like to thank you  for your generous hearts and caring spirits that brought you here to change the lives of thousands of people.

Bon Voyage

Doctors Greg Shay and Dirk Smith and interpreters Kervins and Demitri seeing patients

April First and  Second in Chardonier

It is takes two hours to get to Chardonier from Les Cayes not one. It is a beautiful ride along the southern coast of Haiti. The villages have a sweet old world look to them little houses on narrow streets. Some have churches near the town square with steeples, all set on Caribbean beaches. The dirty garbage and rubble filed streets of Port au Prince are a memory here. Being farther away from those street means being farther away from paying jobs and access to the big markets of Port au Prince–we see a lot more malnutrition here than closer to the cities.

We arrived to about a about 200 or so people in the street all pushing to get in side the yard of the building where the clinic was held and another 100 already inside. This being the first day we had all our bags, we had a chance to see all of what we had and organize our medications and supplies. The day went very well. Our 4 visiting and 5 Haitian docs did approximately 180 consultations. Our dentist saw about 47 people most having more than a couple teeth pulled. Dr Matt worked well past dark to finish everyone he had promised to see.

Karen, our social worker turned “Dental Hygiene Queen” worked with Junior Mardy, an old pro at this work, to apply sealants and fluoride treatments to 75 students at a near by school.

Pharmacia Blair Hankin, Nicole Spooner, Athena Henri and Sue Johnston

Everyone worked hard from the time we arrived until the sun went down. Then our host  a family here in Chardonier generously shared their home on the beach with us. We had a lovely meal of goat, rice, green beans, beets and mac and cheese. Most of us elected to sleep under the stars on the roof of a church next door to the house. When we arrived the church was singing full force, which continued on until after most of us were ready to go to bed. Serena, who speaks kreyol, went next door to listen in. The woman speaking to the congregation was saying “Thank you Jesus, for protecting our mothers, for protecting our fathers and our children.  We should be thankful because so many people do not have what we have.”  She wondered just who those people might be but marveled at how even the poorest people find something to be grateful for. Amen

The second day of clinic, getting through the crush of people trying to get in outside  the clinic gate made us feel like rock stars. And made us know again how desperately people need health care in this region.

The day went well.  We started about 9 am and the docs finished about 4 because we ran out of medications. We saw a total of 542 people.  Super Dentist Matt Valentine continue on until after dark seeing 82 people and pulling 282 teeth. Wow.

We served over 1000 people in two days.

We had another delicious meal cooked for us by Sionfonds staff ( there are about 45 of us all together, cooks, security, Haitian doctors nurses and interpreters), then set off for Le Cayes for the night.

We are back in Port au Prince now. We have a fresh supply of medications and are heading up to Kenscoff  this morning for a clinic at our school there.

The Dental Clinic at Cavaillon

This Medical trip consists of 3 doctors from the SF bay area, a PA from Canada, a dentist  and dental assistant from St George Utah, 3 nurses from Canada and SF, 2 interpretters form the UK and SF bay area, a socail worker from Sf Bay area, and two children 11 and 15. We have Haitian team members doctors, nurses, interpreters numbering 28.

About half the team have been on multiple trips with Sionfonds medical expeditions and most of the Haitian staff have been on all of them so I believe we are as fine tuned a Mobile Clinic Machine as we can be . Meaning; we prepare, we collect things, we arrive and then we roll with what ever comes our way. I do not know how we attract such outstanding agreeable,  easygoing, Magivering people, to these trips but they make our medical trips fun and effective to our ultimate goals of helping Haitians in remote areas where there is no other medical or dental care available and maintaining the health of the children at our schools.

This trip is no exception, on arrival despite 13 of our bags – the ones with most our meds – not arriving with us, we  hit the road for La Cayes. Thursday we held clinic at our school in Cavaillon. We had a lot to accomplish at Cavaillon; the medical clinic, seeing all the 250 children for assessments and community members in need of medical attention, this trip we have ‘ only’ one dentists who checked the sealants on every child, and then pulled approx. 140 teeth out of 80 mouths, we had a team applying sealants to children who were knew to the school or who need re-application. In addition to clinc, Sionfonds  students were weighed and measured for assesment purposes for a grant we are applying for. Sponsored students wrote letters to their sponsors , had their photos taken. It was a busy chaotic and enjoyable day.

In addition it was exciting for me to be in Cavaillon, and look at the site of the school that we are going to build this year. Sionfonds receieved a grant to replace the current school which is a pole and tarp structure.

Today we head farther out the southern leg of Haiti to Chardonier a spectacularly beautiful little village on the sea shore.

We will be out there until Sunday sleeping under the stars ( and our mosquito netting ) listening to the Caribbean sea by night and working our selves to exhaastion everyday! What could be better??

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Twice a year, Sionfonds takes a team of medical volunteers to Haiti to work with Haitian staff and volunteers. The medical trips are a critical part of our efforts to support school children, their families and the surrounding communities. Our first priority on these trips is to provide care in the four communities where we have schools: Cavaillon, Laveneau, Masson, and Kenscoff. These schools are in remote areas where medical care is difficult to obtain. On the positive side, we are going to areas where our services are much needed and few other agencies go. The down side is it can take some time to get there!  Reaching the school in Masson requires an hour hike up a mountain, but all our past volunteers say it is the best part of the trip.

One of the most rewarding experiences for many volunteers is the chance to work closely with our Haitian staff and students. Sionfonds employs program coordinators, drivers, cooks and assistants. We also have medical and nursing students who come to gain experience and learn from our volunteer medical providers. During the course of the week, we spend a great deal of time traveling, working and eating together which provides a great opportunity to share stories, perspectives and have fun. While our primary purpose is to provide medical care, if the opportunity arises, we will make a stop at the beach to picnic or swim.

Our clinics are “mobile” clinics which means we hold them in schools, churches or other locations that are not designed to be a medical facility. There is always a high demand for our services resulting in large crowds. This requires a great deal of on-the-spot organization. Traffic and road conditions in Haiti are unpredictable, so we need people who are flexible, team players.

What does the medical trip involve?

When you join Sionfonds medical team, all of your transportation, lodging, and meals (see below for more details on food) will be provided. All volunteers will meet in the morning in the Miami airport to be on the same flight into Haiti where we are met by Sionfonds Haitian staff. Our exact itinerary varies, but usually we drive for three hours or so to our first site. On each of the following days, you can expect to spend approximately 6 hours holding clinic and a few hours driving to or from one location to another. We generally do not hold clinic on Sunday and spend that day resting and traveling. There is not a great deal of free time or any time devoted to “sight seeing,” but usually by the time we leave Haiti, our volunteers have seen more of the country than most foreigners ever see.

What will we eat?

Sionfonds will arrange for breakfast and dinner throughout the trip.  Haitian food is similar to other Caribbean cuisine and sometimes mildly spicy but generally enjoyable for most Americans. We will be eating in hotels and restaurants as well as having food prepared by Sionfonds Haitian staff. We always have plenty of bottled water on hand. Generally we eat breakfast at our lodging and dinner back at our hotel or in a restaurant. During the day when we are holding clinics, we provide a simple lunch of peanut butter sandwiches and ask that volunteers bring their own bars, nuts etc. to have on hand for snacks.

How is the trip funded?

Because Sionfonds is a small and all volunteer organization, we rely on our volunteers to be an integral part of making each trip happen. When you are accepted for a medical trip, you will be responsible for your airfare to and from Haiti as well as raising $1,500 to cover the cost of medication, school supplies, Haitian staff salaries and food and lodging for the group. Sionfonds will set up an account for you on Network for Good that you can use to raise funds and track your donations (like people do for walk-a-thons or marathons). We will also assist you with sample emails and fundraiser ideas.

Some people like to raise funds to cover these costs; others prefer to simply make a donation themselves.  Either way, you can be confident that all of these funds will go directly to schools and medical programs in Haiti.

Is it safe to go to Haiti?

During the past 20 years, Haiti has experienced a great deal of social and political upheaval. There have been periods of violence and unrest followed by relative calm. Foreigners are rarely targeted but some incidents have occurred over the years. When our medical team is in Haiti, it is Sionfonds top priority to ensure the safety of the team. For this reason, we always travel as a group and do not allow volunteers to go out on their own. We pay close attention to the advice of our Haitian staff and avoid any areas they feel are less safe. It is essential that all volunteers follow Sionfonds security rules, even if they seem unnecessary.

What about illness?

We are careful about the food we eat and always have lots of hand sanitizer available. We drink only bottled water which is readily available in Haiti. We advise all volunteers to take malaria medication and obtain all immunizations recommended by the CDC for Haiti.  The most common health problems volunteers encounter is travelers’ diarrhea that is easily treated with Cipro or anti-diarrheals.

Be sure and check out our medical trip page on this website for  more information and plenty of photos from past trips.