ESPRI D`ESPERANS - Functional Literacy Ministry of Haiti

Clinic and Mission News of the Functional Literacy Ministry of Haiti
ESPRI D’ESPERANS/Spirit of Hope
Spring 2011
Volunteers offer crucial services to Haiti’s people
I join you in the gusto of a joyful welcome
of the arrival of spring and days of bright sunshine ahead.
In January, twenty-four of us escaped the
cold to find sunshine during FLM-Haiti’s annual January mission, traveling as volunteers
to contribute vital human services to our communities in Haiti’s highlands.
Our visit was an opportunity to use one basket to hold two singing birds -- Haiti’s warm
winter sunshine and the rewarding labors of
our mission of health and education.
In working with so many highly gifted doctors, nurses, teachers, ministers, and artists, I
witnessed how our presence sustains hope in
the lives of Haitian families who face many reasons to be hopeless.
Our team was both blessed and inspired in
being so wholeheartedly focused on touching
the lives of the people who came to our clinics and classes. Our medical team, led by four
doctors, two 3rd-year medical students from
the University of Pittsburgh, and 5 nurses,
devoted its work to patients at our clinic in
Thomassin and, after a memorable climb to
reach it, a community site in Kenscoff.
The team’s arrival lifted the spirits of people
who live every day with rubble from the devastation still present everywhere. Our gifted
teachers spent their days bringing light and reassurance to children still haunted by the violence of the January 2010 earthquake.
Our volunteers spoke to 260 women about
health issues and clean water. In these courses,
they equipped each attendee with a low-cost
yet highly effective water filtration kit to prevent water-borne diseases, such as cholera.
The filters were built from Smiley Buckets donated by Eat’n Park.
Our climb to Kenscoff offered one of the
most impressive vistas in our trek. “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who
bring good news, who proclaim peace, who
bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation….”
(Isaiah 52: 7). Our team surely did its part to
fulfill the words of the prophet as we ascended
the rocky path uphill to a small church perched
above the valley. In this high place, we ministered to the sick and needy for a full day.
In the challenges facing our communities
in Haiti, I saw the great need for FLM-Haiti to
move forward with high expectation and great
hope. Our rebuilding projects make progress
with every day’s steady work.
Building Goodness Foundation is working
with great fervor to complete reconstruction
of Boutiliers Church, which was tragically destroyed last year. We look forward to building
50 houses for earthquake victims. Construction also advances toward completion of the
new Thomassin Volunteer Residence.
Groundbreaking for Excelsior Technical
School fasts approaches in July. Then building
starts in September, a bright symbol of hope
for the communities where we work. Please
if you are able, help us to close a gap of about
$50,000 needed to obtain a complete match of
funds from a challenge grant of $265,000 for
ETI from Bamaworks of the Dave Matthews
Band.
Climbing to Kenscoff with gifts of hope
FLM-Haiti’s 28 years of work in Haiti have
bestowed many blessings. We embrace the
spirit of Albert Schweitzer’s compelling joy in
his desire to serve the world’s most needy. As
he put it, “the only people who will be really
happy are those who have sought and found
how to serve.” Our volunteer teams always feel
blessed to be able to bless others with services
that bring them hope.
Let me again take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt gratitude for your unwavering support of those struggling with suffering
and sorrow in Haiti. Your labor in the Lord
reaches the people of Haiti every day through
the works of FLM-Haiti.
Excelsior/Ever Upward,
Marian Allen
As a FLM-Haiti volunteer, I fulfilled a personal dream of human service
Earlier this year, I fulfilled a personal dream and travelled to Haiti as
a medical volunteer for FLM-Haiti’s
January mission trip. Over a long
time for many reasons, I wanted
to work in Haiti. I wanted to learn
more about the world and myself. I
also wanted to help people in Haiti
if only in some small way.
I chose to volunteer with FLMHaiti because I could work in a clinic and offer primary care to patients.
I am a family-practice nurse. FLMHaiti’s approach offered me a good
fit for my skills.
Every first-time visitor to Haiti
faces some unknowns, and I was no
exception. On arriving, I knew no
other team members. I was unsure
where we would travel in Haiti. I
could only guess what my accommodations would be.
I quickly learned. I could not have
Marian Allen offers her skills in family medicine to a Haitian student.
imagined working with such won- sive planning assured our mission
derful team members. Our housing was extraordinarily well run from
proved to be very comfortable and start to finish.
conducive to camaraderie. Exten- Leon Pamphile’s leadership sets the
tone for a remarkable experience. He
FLM-Haiti services multiply one-hundred fold is as large as his laughter and inspired
us from sunrise to sunset.
I worked at College Mixte Devaise
January 2011 Mission Program
Participants
Pamphile while giving fluoride treatments and teaching students about
Patients seen at clinic550
cholera prevention. The children
Children given physical exams300
were receptive, respectful, and beauAttendees at women’s health class & water filter distribution
260
tiful. They charmed and delighted us.
High school students receiving sex education 60
My experience was all I hoped it
Elementary students attending Bible story and music classes
250
would be and so much more. As a
Students attending cholera prevention program 250
nurse, I’ve watched many people jugBoutiliers residents attending earthquake safety workshop 200
gle suffering and hope. On that comChildren receiving dental fluoridation
600
mon ground of humanity, I believe
_____________
each of us can demonstrate compas Total
2,470
sion.
How much do 24 FLM-Haiti volunteers like Marian Allen accomI experienced this humanity in the
plish during a week in Thomassin, Boutiliers, Kenscoff, and Laboule,
face of every person I cared for in
Haiti? Quite a lot as the chart overhead describes.
Haiti. I received such abundant gratiAs a team of 24 volunteers delivering medical service and education
tude in return. So much has been
in health issues and disease prevention, our January 2011 team offered destroyed there and people have very
assistance with the traumas of impoverishment to more than 2,470
little. It is also a place to care for one’s
people. Given that impact, it’s fair to say that each volunteer’s work
fellow human beings. In these ways
multiplied itself 100-fold.
my trip to Haiti forever changed me.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Page 2
Espri D’Esperans/Spirit of Hope
Help Dave Matthews Band to help Haiti
With Building Goodness Foundation, FLM-Haiti
plans to break ground in July and start building Excelsior Technical Institute in September. The school will
train young Haitians to rebuild their country. Construction will cost about $1-million over this year and
next. It will expand our ministry to educate young Haitians and our commitment to earthquake recovery.
We are very close to reaching this year’s goal of
$530,000, fund-raising we share with BGF. We have
funds designated for a sustainable earthquake response
from donors reaching out through FLM-Haiti after last
year’s disaster. We have received one very significant
gift from an individual.
Most exciting, all commitments before the end of
May 2011 will be matched through a challenge grant
from Dave Matthews Band’s Bamaworks Fund committing up to $265,000 to the project.
To take full advantage of the Dave Matthews’
Eager workers on the team that wants to rebuild Haiti
Bamaworks match, we need an additional $50,000.
The next few weeks truly count. If you can, please help
us to close the gap by May 25.
Donate through Paypal at flmhaiti.org or FLM-Haiti, 1064
Premier Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15201. All finances audited
by Maher Duessel, independent accountants.
Praying for the complete recovery of Lady Haiti
A volunteer for our January 2011
mission, Maggie Hill first discovered
the joys of Haiti in her friendship
with Leon Pamphile at Pittsburgh
Theological Seminary in 1971.
They both shared a mutual passion for the works of God, and, in
conversations with her fellow seminarian, Hill began to discover her
kinship with the people of Haiti.
That closeness has grown ever
since through Maggie’s study of Haiti and outreach as a volunteer with
selfless devotion to our work in the
Caribbean’s poorest nation.
After mission trips started in
2000, Maggie became one of the
most familiar faces among volunteers who create our twice-a-year
medical missions. She discovered
the joy in offering her unique gifts
to support children yearning to
learn and lead healthy lives.
Maggie Hill ranks high among
Haiti’s friends, and, in Thomassin,
Laboule, Boutiliers, and Kenscoff,
she is a well-know emissary, pursuing her own vital ministry of love for
people living in profound impoverEspri D’Esperans/Spirit of Hope
health with a prognosis of complete
recovery. Her struggle required all
her energy, the miracles of medical
care, and the fervent prayers of her
congregation, friends, and FLMHaiti family.
Maggie founded Boston’s chapter of FLM-Haiti, where she has focused tireless energy. As one whose
spirit opened large, Maggie has devoted herself to a life of prayer.
As a friend of FLM-Haiti, she has
been a tireless worker finding help
Lady Haiti Hill with Emmanuel, her
for her brothers and sisters in HaiHaitian interpreter
ti. Her ministry guides her to help
ishment. Many times over, Maggie those who enjoy the least portion of
has earned the nickname she most humanity’s wealth. She has brought
loves -- “Lady Haiti.”
others from Boston to Haiti, includSo, it alarmed her many friends to ing Mother Mildred Taylor.
learn that, after returning from HaiFLM-Haiti pays a well-deserved
ti in January to her home in Boston, tribute to our sister and friend,
Maggie was struck by a debilitating Lady Haiti. Maggie is very thankattack of meningitis. Fortunately, ful to be alive. Yet she always has
her will power, determination, and been. In her, we have unshakable
strong heart are vanquishing the hope. We express our thankfulmenace. With many others, we ness for her many gifts and want
share our gratitude and delight that her to know that everything will be
Maggie has steadily regained her alright.
Page 3
Unaccompanied by parents, Rosenorlie, a 13-year-old girl, walked several miles with her one-year-old sister
Christine to reach the clinic at 7 am.
Patiently they waited for several hours
without complaint. An infection was
destroying her beautiful younger sister’s face.
Through an interpreter, Dr. Bill
Markle, a physician in UPMC’s Lattermen Family Health Center, asked
Rosenorlie many detailed questions
about her young sister’s infection.
She responded to every question
with good information. With the clinic’s new lab and pharmacy, Dr. Markle
was able to prescribe an antibiotic to
cure her young sister’s infection in a
matter of months.
Each volunteer mission is vital to
Haiti’s kids. To restock the clinic pharmacy, our team had hand-carried the
medicine her sister needed from Pittsburgh. In Rosenorlie’s face, you can
see the deep responsibility she must
feel for her younger sister every day.
The soulful responsibility of a 13-year-old sister
This school has three rooms and very leaky roof
This leaky, unstable building (photo,
right) is the only school in a town we
visited. A cement half-wall and plastic
tarp divide its space into three classrooms. Light spots dancing across the
floor and walls highlight the holes in
the roof. In rainy season, education
can be a punishing pursuit. Year-round
the school has no electricity, running
water, or AC. The only amenity is a
cement outhouse with 2 holes and no
place to wash hands. But the children
are anxious to learn.
One year after the earthquake
30,000 people are still in this displacement camp (there are many more
camps like this one but not as big).
Imagine living here? You would cook
outside, have no water or plumbing
to manage fluids, no electricity or
AC, and little privacy. As the government shuts camps, camp residents now wonder where do they go?
Please pray for the people of Haiti as
they face such an unknown future.
Year-long residents in the town of nowhere-to-go
Connect with FLM-Haiti at its
new website flmhaiti.org and
at FLM-Haiti on Facebook.
Page 4
Espri D’Esperans/Spirit of Hope
260 women attended daily clinics
on hygiene, nutrition, sexuality, selfexamination, and other health issues.
Each day they arrived as early as 6 am
for a two-hour course at 1 pm. Each
also received a water-filter used with
buckets donated by Eat’n Park Hospitality Group (photo, right). With
proper care, a simple bucket-filter
removes 99.9% of bacteria and offers
clean drinking water for 40 years. It
saves lives in a country where there
is high risk of cholera. And, as news
of the clinic spread, we taught many
more women than registered for the
clinic, requiring us to scramble to
find more buckets from a local supplier.
On the last day, it was heartbreaking not to have enough buckets for
the last 10 women who hadn’t reserved a spot in the crowded class.
Each waited 5 hours in hot sun. Each
was very disappointed. Three found
buckets elsewhere and returned later
for training. One young mother was
ready to cry and waited 2 hours more
because she couldn’t find a water-filter bucket to protect her family!
Midday Wednesday on a dirt road
in the countryside, I heard intense
and enthusiastic speaking in Creole.
Around a bend in the road, I saw an
isolated tin shack (photo, right) overflowing with people.
The humble structure turned out to
be a church filled with Christians singing, reading scriptures, chanting and
praying. Even though I couldn't understand a word I knew the Holy Spirit
was present and extremely active.
As his friend looks on, this child faces a dilemma--lolipop or toothbrush?
Espri D’Esperans/Spirit of Hope
Health is a family trust for mothers attending clinic
Medical Team Volunteers Sue Robinson, rear, 2nd from left, Dr. Louise Colvin,
rear, 4th from left, and Ltanya Jacobs, rear, 6th from left, offered health education for women and water filter kits during January mission.
The Spirit in this tin church bursts the seams
Volunteer Howard Rich provided all the images
in this issue, offering an intimate glimpse of the
human landscape where FLM-Haiti volunteers
pursued January’s mission of human service.
Here (photo, right) he offers a water-filter kit
to a Haitian woman. Howard is also a very active
member of Churches in Action (CIA), which has
provided support to FLM-Haiti for many years.
Working as a medical team member, Howard captured some 800 images during the mission. This
issue presents only a small fraction of them. On
these two pages, Howard describes what he saw.
Page 5
Upcoming 2011 events
FLM-Haiti Directors
Leon Pamphile, Executive Director
Russell Bynum, President
Carolyn Russ, Secretary
James Strang, Treasurer
Rose Carla Aubourg
Elizabeth Bennett
Rev. James Edward Brown
Verna Crichlow
Esther Destin
Yven Destin
Edmund Fleming
Mary Gregg
Joan Johnson
Rozelle Pamphile
Smana Pamphile-Clerfé
Nicki Jo Perfetti
Joseph Plummer
Diane Powell
Susan Robinson
Gemma Stemley
Christine Tapu
Carol Williams
Participate in the work of FLM-Haiti
Excelsior Technical Institute/Bamaworks Matching-Grant Events
Absolutely Fabulous Music -- A FLM-Haiti Soiree
Saturday, May 7, 6 pm
Home of Carolyn and Jim Russ, 5841 Ferree St.,Pittsburgh
details at (412) 421-7630
Sounds & Flavors of Haiti
Sunday, May 15 at 7pm
Home of Marian and Tom Allen, 335 S. Linden Ave., Pittsburgh
details at (412) 363-0470
Suggested contribution: $50/person as appropriate to one’s means
Vision Clinic, College Mixte Devaise Pamphile, Thomassin
Week of June 3, Mission Vision of Pittsburgh travels to Thomassin to examine the eyes of 600 students
Summer Medical & Educational Mission to Haiti
June 25-July 2, volunteer now for the experience of a lifetime
“A Gift of Hope” from the hills of Pittsburgh to the mountains of Haiti
Saturday, August 27, 11:30 am
Music & lunch overlooking Pittsburgh
Terrace of Kortlandt-Singer residence, Grandview Avenue
for details, Bynums Marketing & Communications at 412-471-4332
25th Annual FLM-Haiti Banquet & Art Sale
Saturday, October 22, 6 pm, Holiday Inn, Oakland
Functional Literacy Ministry of Haiti is a
charitable organization under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained
from the PA Dept. of State by calling toll free within
Pennsylvania 1-800-732-0900. Registration does
not imply endorsement Literacy Ministry of Haiti
is a charitable organization under 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code. A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained
from the PA Dept. of State by calling toll free within
Pennsylvania 1-800-732-0900. Registration does
not imply endorsement.
-----------------------------------------------------Phone: (412) 784-0342
Email: info@flmhaiti.org
Web: www.flmhaiti.org
Contact Us
Functional Literacy Ministry of Haiti
1064 Premier Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
-----------------------------------Functional Literacy Ministry of Haiti
empowers Haitians through Christ
with education, health care, and hope.
28 years of aid to Haiti’s people
PERMIT NO. 315
PITTSBURGH, PA
US POSTAGE PAID
NONPROFIT ORG