Shoes for Sassier
Once again this year, we are collecting gently-used shoes, sandals, sports shoes, etc. for the people of St Jean Baptiste Parish in Sassier, Haiti. In Sassier, many of their parishioners walk up and down the mountains with no shoes or ones that are badly worn. Children come to school barefoot and many people walk more than 2 hours to the nearest market in nothing more than flip-flops, if they have shoes at all.
The nurses in the parish’s medical clinic frequently treat infected foot wounds. All kinds of shoes are welcomed, except winter boots–it doesn’t get cold or snow in Sassier. Please drop off your shoes in the SHOES for SASSIER containers in the Gathering Space at Sacred Heart Parish Church or in the Sacred Heart School lobby from February 25 to April 1.
Read MoreLive in Haiti – Medical Mission
A team of medical professionals from Holland Hospital in Holland, Michigan is on the ground this week in Sassier, providing primary medical care in both Sassier and Voldrogue (about 45 minutes from Sassier). Please view our pictures below, and learn more about this mission by clicking here.
Several of the Holland Hospital Team have been to Sassier twice in the past two years. The teams are likely to treat more than 1,500 patients during the medical clinics. Each of the Team members pays all their own expenses and most make a contribution to the cost of medicine or other expenses. Without these incredibly generous folks, the medical care situation in Sassier would be dire. We are most grateful to them for their generous spirit and their willingness to share themselves and their skills with our sisters and brothers in Sassier.
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- Our Pharmacy team of Roger and Michelle consult about the right medicines for a patient.
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- Michelle makes sure a patient understands the proper doses of her medication, with assistance from translator Nono.
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- Dr. Antoine interviews a patient before the examination.
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- Two month old with mother waiting to see the doctor.
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- This woman came to the clinic in pretty bad condition.
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- Brother and sister waiting patiently with their Mom at the Sassier clinic.
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- Nurse Lisa takes great care of one of our many little patients.
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- Nurse Jan with her new favorite baby!
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- Nurse Ann Page interviewing an older woman about her illness.
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- Dr Tong visits with one of the students from St Jean Baptiste School who has a skin infection.
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- Dr Mike Page at his pediatric consultation room under the trees.
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- One of our translators, Gabrielle, an aspiring nurse.
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- Nurse Practitioner Dan listening carefully to a woman patient.
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- Nurse Pierre-Louis cares for a man’s wounded hand.
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- Students waiting to be checked out at the clinic’s last day.
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- This boy is suffering from typhoid fever; receiving antibiotics intravenously.
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- Our Pharmacy Team. A+
Medical Team to Visit Sassier in January
A team of medical professionals from Holland Hospital in Holland, Michigan will visit Sassier from January 14 to 20 to provide primary medical care in both Sassier and Voldrogue (about 45 minutes from Sassier). Most Sassier area residents rarely have access to a doctor, since the closest ones are in the provincial capital of Jeremie, about 2 hours walk away. Medicines that we have easily available are expensive and hard to obtain. Little medical problems such as lacerations and sore throats can be deadly.
Several of the Holland Hospital Team have been to Sassier twice in the past two years. The teams are likely to treat more than 1,500 patients during the medical clinics. Each of the Team members pays all their own expenses and most make a contribution to the cost of medicine or other expenses. Without these incredibly generous folks, the medical care situation in Sassier would be dire. We are most grateful to them for their generous spirit and their willingness to share themselves and their skills with our sisters and brothers in Sassier.
Watch for pictures and updates on our website, Facebook and Twitter while the Team is in Sassier from January 14 to 20!
The cost of medicines, logistics, translators and other necessities for this medical trip will be about $10,000. If you can help us with these costs, please click on the Donate Now button and indicate that your donation is for the January medical clinic. Thank you very much for your generosity.
Read MoreMedical Mission to Haiti January 2011
Coming to an area where almost no primary health care is available, the medical team will treat nearly 1000 patients during the clinic. Malaria, typhoid fever, chronic hypertension, diabetes and vitamin deficiencies are among the commmon ailments treated. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the medical team has a well stocked pharmacy to provide medicine and vitamins to their patients. Despite the significant number of patients, the medical team members are dedicated to giving personal attention to each patient. The team includes 2 Haitian doctors and 4 Haitian nurses, who work collaboratively with the American team of 2 doctors, 1 nurse practictioner, 1 pharmacist and 4 registered nurses.
Read MoreHaiti: A Doctor’s View
Dr. Clint Griffin, M.D., Holland Hospital Emergency Room
This is my first trip to Haiti and I didn’t really know what to expect. My partner at work at Holland Hospital, Michael Page, had been to Haiti several times and was very familiar with the setting and the country because of his previous trips. Michael had filled me in as to what to expect, but I didn’t really know what it was like here in Haiti, that is, not until I got here.
We are in Sassier, Haiti, and it is beautiful here. The surrounding area that we flew into in Port au Prince is much more desolate as they have logged most of the hillsides and mountains in the area. So, I didn’t know what to expect when I got here to Sassier. I also didn’t know how well things would go as far as landing in Haiti. But I was met just clearing customs by Gerry Keenan who is hosting us here (Partners with Sassier). Gerry is a very outgoing and organized, and everything went very smoothly because of Gerry’s efforts.
The flight from Port au Prince to Jeremie was seamless and the transition went very well. I got to see Junior, a Haitian who I had met in the US because he had been to Michigan several times. We had attended church with him and the Page family and he was a comforting and familiar face when I landed in Port au Prince. The more I met our Haitian partners here, the more I realized what a truly genuine and authentically kind and generous people they are. That makes giving to the Haitian people the easiest thing you could ever imagine. Donating our time and our talents here has been a true pleasure.
Read MoreHealth Care
Haiti ranks near the bottom of almost every measure of healthcare. One of seven children die before their 5th birthday, maternal mortality rates are 10 time higher than in the US, and average life expectancy is less than 55 years (compared to nearly 80 years for many European countries). Many rural Haitian have no regular access to even primary health care. Health conditions that are easily treated in the US result in death in Haiti. The primary killers of young children are bacterial pneumonia or diarrhea, both easily treatable with antibiotics that are cheap and widely available in many countries, but not in Haiti. In Haiti, even minor maladies can be deadly.
Zanmi Sasye has been working with the Sassier community to promote improved health care, nutrition, and sanitation in the region. Our efforts include:
- funding the complete operations of two medical clinics in the Sassier area; each clinic is staffed by a nurse and a pharmacist assistant;
- construction of a new clinic building in the village of Voldrogue, completed in 2006, which serves several thousand people in that part of the Sassier area;
- organizing, financing and managing periodic visits by teams of American and Haitian doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and pharmacists to provide expanded primary care to Sassier area residents;
- provision of hot lunches to more than 800 school children each school day; and
- promotion of vaccination campaigns in collaboration with the Haitian government.
Two of Zanmi Sasye’s directors, Dr Jean Alexandre and Dr Eve Marie Alexandre, along with our Medical Director, Dr Eddy Leveque, have developed a preliminary plan for expanding the availability of primary healthcare in the Sassier area. The plan includes the construction and operation of a larger clinic in Sassier, regional clinic, staffed by a full-time physician, and visited regularly by pediatricians, ophthalmologists, dentists, and other specialists.
Moving forward, we plan to expand our collaboration with a volunteer group of medical professionals from Western Michigan who have chosen to focus their Haiti efforts in Sassier. These medical professionals, many affiliated with Holland Hospital, plan to conduct several week-long medical clinics in Sassier and Voldrogue in 2011. In addition, we will work with the local community to implement new efforts to prevent and eradicate disease through improved public health, sanitation, and nutrition measures, with special focus on clean water, improved sanitation, malaria prevention, and health education. In particular, we intend to focus our health education efforts on the students in our school, since they will have significant influence on their families’ daily activities.
Read MoreSpecial Assignment Sassier Haiti
Videographer Ofer Cohen on Special Assignment with reporter Marlie Hall following a medical mission from Maryland to Sassier, in remote area in south – western Haiti.
Read MoreDispensary
The 10-room Clinic Ste-Anne in nearby Voldrogue was completed in September 2005. A dispensary in Sassier has operated since March 2006. Both facilities are staffed year-round by Haitian nurses and assistants.
Read MoreAnnual Clinics
ZANMI SASYE—PARTNERS WITH SASSIER and the local Komite Sante (health committee) have conducted a two-week clinic each March since 2005. An additional week was added in October 2007. Doctors and nurses from Port-au-Prince, Cap Haïtien, New York, Chicago, Maryland, Miami, and other locations have treated 1,500 to 2,000 patients each year. Vaccination against childhood diseases is available to all, and the incidence of malnutrition, vitamin deficiency, and related problems is abating. Parasitic infections, skin and gastrointestinal ailments, and cardiovascular disease are common and widespread.
Read MoreNext Steps
- expand and strengthen the dispensary and clinic programs
- make new efforts to prevent and eradicate disease through improved public health, sanitation, and nutrition measures, with special focus on clean water and malaria prevention, and education
- work with other groups to create a regional clinic, staffed by a full-time physician, and visited regularly by pediatricians, ophthalmologists, dentists, and other specialists.
