Help Support Mamas and Babies in Haiti

A group of midwives and a doctor from Utah are making a trip to Haiti to help set up a birth center.  They'll be taking supplies and helping to set up a birth center in an old building that's being renovated.  The conditions there are very bad for women having babies.  Without adequate support and care, many mothers and babies are dying.  You can learn more at MamaBabyHaiti.org about this non-profit effort.

You can help their efforts by donating to the cause.  Donations can be money, supplies, or even sky miles. See what you have at your house that could be use in Haiti.  Cotton balls, gauze pads, medical tape, anything you think of as you look over the list below of problems, that you think might help.

If you are in Utah you can support the effort by attending a pancake breakfast on Saturday, September 25th at:

The back of the birth center and its beautiful
ocean view.

Feels Like Home Birth Suites
90 East 200 South
Pleasant Grove, UT 84062.

Price for the breakfast is $5 per person or $20 per family, and all proceeds will go to the Mama Baby Haiti effort.  Donations may be mailed to the same address.

The group needs as much as they can get in money and supplies by Oct 20th, but they are planning on shipping supplies even after the group leaves.


These are the raw notes taken from talking to 8 village leaders, about 75,000 people represented.  Arry, the group's driver/translator, will fill in the blanks with contact info for the people contacted.  This can help give you an idea of the conditions and needs that exist.  I've also included some photos of the conditions, the beautiful landscape, and of a building that's being renovated for use as a birth center.

Pastor Etienne plaine du Nord

The birth center currently being renovated for the group
to set up and hopefully fill with supplies.

pop10k (closest to birth center, SW)
diseases: DM, Fever/infections, Vision issues, HIV, Malaria, Typhoid, Dengue
Some tuberculosis
Most births at home
Very willing to collaborate with us
Closest hospital 45 min away, births in car on way to hospital
2 doctors, 2 clinics $15 consultation.  Most cannot afford.
Not enough food
Not enough water, no clean water
Vaccines kids up to 9, not all have them
Have some traditional healers
Docs only for people with money, would not be mad if we gave free care

Saccanville
5k (think this is actually Cercaville, W of birth center)
Julesaint Abel
Need medicines, food, clean water
diseases: Malnutrition, fever, malaria, htn, dm, childhood diarrhea
Die from htn/dm, high fever, can't afford meds
TB uncommon, HIV unknown
Not vaccinated. Don't use pesticides
Midwife births at home, hospital far away. Small babies
Have healers, no doctors or clinics

Such a beautiful land!

Wants to know how many we could see each time, guards to establish order, make queue for pts

Camp Louise
>10k, W and N of birth center
Pastor David
Offered use of church & school
No clinics or docs
Similar illnesses, especially lack of access to c-sections and very far from hospital/doctors
40-50 orphans from PAP need food, clothes, books, medicine, pharmacy
(can use school)
Close to ocean

balan 
pop 20k, closer to morne rouge

Living conditions.

Contact pastor gaston, very excited
Same illnesses
No doctor
25% of children get secondary school, most primary school
Contact will advertise

fort bourgeois
pop 4500 (mountains NW of Cap Haitien)
Patrick Joseph (not pastor)
Malaria, fever, typhoid, infxn, filiariasis, ha, htn, dm, diarrhea,
bad water (not enough, have to fight for the pump)

Haitian women.

Occasional vaccinations
Eat 1x/day
Can use school or church for clinic
No doctors
Contact will advertise
Need restrooms/sanitation

Cormier
(on water NW of Cap Haitien, same road as Ft. Bourgeois)
Contact Gary
Htn, dm, reflux
Children sick - fever, diarrhea, worms
1 pump for water, carry by bucket
No doctor, difficult to get to Cap Haitien
Need meds for community to use
Have place we can use for clinic

Milot
2-3k (near La Citadelle)
Pastor at-Amour duchange
Htn, dm, eyes, arthritis, scabies, fever, headache, diarrhea, typhoid, malaria
Need clean water and food. Water in buckets. Sanitation/bathrooms needed
No vaccinations
Women don't go to hospital for birth, many babies die
Have hospital but ppl can't afford. Only doctors in the area are in hospital
Can have clinic in church. In past had too many people at one-time clinics, chaotic

Gran prix
20-25k (NE of Milot, on Highway 3)
TB, fever, reflux, HTN, DM
No doctors. Babies vaccinated x3mos
No water or treatment, need a well.  Carry buckets of water from pump.
Births at milot if money, or midwife

Click here for a full photo slideshow including these pictures and many more from Haiti