Stories From The Field
Yvelore Pluviose
Yvon,
a banana, corn and bean farmer, walked for two hours to bring his
fifteen-month-old son, Yvelore, to International Child Care's mobile
clinic in the northern village of Joli Trou, Haiti. Yvelore had
been suffering from a persistent fever for over two months, so when
his father heard that ICC's mobile clinic "gives good services,"
he decided to bring his son for a much-needed exam.
Mobile clinics, held in rural, under serviced, remote areas in
Northern Haiti, are just one focus of ICC's Integrated Community
Health Program. The goal of these clinics is to provide children
and their families access to essential primary health care services.
The Integrated Community Health Program integrates basic curative
care with illness prevention, health promotion and community development.
In the center of Joli Trou, an isolated village of about 3,000
people, sits a banana leaf pavilion. This pavilion, built by volunteers
in the community, serves as a vaccination post and mobile clinic,
and is also available for Health Committee meetings and literacy
classes. When Yvon arrived at the mobile clinic with Yvelore, he
took a seat on one of the low, wooden benches under the banana leaf
shade to wait their turn to see the doctor. Although it was still
very early in the morning, there were already ten other patients
waiting as the ICC Health Committee finished setting up the makeshift
clinic.
In Joli Trou there is an ICC sponsored mobile clinic held every
second and fourth Tuesday of the month. The mobile clinic provides
consultations, conducted in a rough exam room created by sectioning
off one end of the open pavilion with a large tarp, and on-the-spot
lab analysis. The medical staff, including a Doctor, Nurse, Lab
Technician and Community Health Worker from the hospital in Grand
Rivière du Nord, bring an exam table, coolers of medication, lab
equipment, syringes and existing medical records to the mobile clinic
site.
After patiently waiting their turn, Yvon was able to consult with
the nurse regarding Yvelore's persistent fever. Since it was Yvelore's
first visit to an ICC mobile clinic, Yvon was required to pay three
gourdes (approximately $.06 US) to have a medical file created for
his son. Once Yvelore's medical file was started, Yvon was directed
to take Yvelore behind the tarp, into the makeshift exam room, to
meet with the doctor.
After examing Yvelore, the doctor ordered blood to be drawn for
further testing. Yvon then took his son to another corner of the
small pavilion where the Lab Technician was waiting at a little
wooden table with syringes, test tubes and slides. After the blood
sample was drawn from Yvelore, Yvon was told that the sample would
be taken back to the lab at the Grand Riviere Hospital to be tested.
Yvon now has the option of traveling on to the hospital in Grand
Rivière, several miles west of Joli Trou, for the results or to
wait and come back when the next mobile clinic is held in two weeks.
Chances are that Yvelore is suffering from Typhoid or Malaria, both
common illnesses in Haiti.
Mobile clinics are a fundamental part of International Child Care's
Integrated Community Health Program. The distance between remote
villages in Northern Haiti and health care is often the distance
between life and death. Thanks to ICC's mobile clinics, the health
of children, like Yvelore, is greatly improved.
PARTNERS ICC's caring and dedicated staff never halt in their efforts
to bring vital help to sick and hurting children. As a concerned
partner, you can be sure that in spite of news of increasing economic
turmoil in Haiti, ICC's staff will continue to bring health and
hope, which your support helps provide, to children, families and
entire communities.
Prayer Needs:
- Please remember the nurses and doctors at Grace Children's Hospital.
In order to conserve precious resources, the hospital has been
shutting off the generator at night and working by the light of
oil lamps and candles.
- Pray for the ICC/Haiti field staff as they persevere in very
hard living conditions caused by the high cost of living and political
tensions.
- Families, served by ICC, face an elemental struggle to survive
each day as food prices continue to climb and jobs are nowhere
to be found. Pray that ICC's ministry will bring encouragement
and hope amidst daily struggles. Thank you for your partnership!
