Direct Relief is happy to welcome its newest international partner, ServeHaiti. ServeHaiti is a group of medical and other professionals who volunteer and support the Clinique St. Vincent de Paul in Grand Bois, Haiti, a community of 65,000 residents located a few miles from the Dominican Republic border.
Clinique St. Vincent de Paul is the only place to get medical attention in the 200-square-mile area of Grand-Bois, so their services are much-needed for the local and surrounding community to be able to access health care.
The organization began working in Grand Bois in 2001. Since that time, projects have included building a medical clinic, improving the schools, and working toward clean water for every home in the community.
In addition to the volunteers who support the organization’s work, ServeHaiti employs a local staff of 15, consisting of doctors, nurses, a pharmacist, five community health care workers and five other agents who oversee a potable water program. Each month the clinic receives about 1,000 patients who arrive by foot, donkey, handcart, motorbike, and truck.
The clinic offers acute care services for illnesses such as pneumonia, heart failure, diarrheal-related diseases and injuries as well as primary care services for patients with chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, and malnutrition. They also have a nutrition program, a mother-baby project and a cholera treatment center. With the help of qualified volunteers, they are occasionally able to offer dental care.
Besides supporting the clinic, ServeHaiti focuses on community education as well, hosting a community radio station that broadcasts educational programs five days a week, mostly at night. They also support sponsorship programs allowing children in the area to attend school.
According to ServeHaiti staff, a significant portion of their budget is spent on medications for their on-site pharmacy. With Direct Relief’s support, ServeHaiti said they can now allocate these funds to other much-needed programs such as building houses for some of the villagers whose homes were destroyed by the last storm.
Direct Relief is delighted to begin working with ServeHaiti to help improve the health and lives of those living in the area.