HAITI
Violence in Haiti is on the brink of destroying a new generation of children. The children face displacement, forced gang recruitment, kidnapping, sexual violence, trauma, and malnutrition. Yet, despite these overwhelming circumstances, the Haiti Orphanage Medical Support Project (HOMS) reaches out to help them live. The staff strive to bring hope, health, education, nutrition, and medicine to each child in five orphanages in the remote Belladere area, near the Dominican Republic border.
Francia, the nurse, visits the orphanages to provide deworming medication, vitamins, and medications, and provides education on clean water and hygiene. In instances of acute medical need, she connects the children with local medical clinics.
However, even when travel is safe, very few medical facilities are available, and medicine, oxygen, electricity, and trained personnel are scarce.
Faith and hope in this situation are important. The effects of trauma, violence, and gang attacks have created fear, oppression, and hopelessness in the children and community. On a few occasions, Francia has held a semi-mobile clinic in a church, with a local doctor and a volunteer physiotherapist. This has helped to provide care for children, staff members, and congregants. Along with medical care, Francia and the team have led the group in worship and prayer. This helps the staff, children, and medical team to refocus on God, His hope, and faithfulness.
“Our ‘cup of water’ [given in Jesus’ name] happens to be a pill that removes worms and allows their bodies to be nourished by whatever food they can source, or a vitamin that strengthens them when the available food doesn’t contain enough of those nutrients. It might be a treatment for scabies or a skin infection that might otherwise turn into a serious, maybe even life-threatening, infection.”
- HOMS Director, Debi Lammert, MSN, FNP, RN
This service is done even at risk of her own life, but God’s grace and protection continue to protect her and the children. This summer, agang attacked Francia’s area, forcing her to flee her home. After much prayer on her behalf, Debi Lammert, the director of HOMS, was able to reach Francia and ask if she was okay. Her response was, “I don’t know ifI am okay, but I am still alive.”
Please keep sowing seeds of prayer and financial help into Haiti.