Haitian Ministry Update - St. Mary's Haiti Team Visits the Canteen & Dispensary

Fr. Serge introduced us to the project manager who asked if any of us were “technicians.” We shook our heads “no” in unison and quickly volunteered as manual laborers. We grabbed shovels and wheelbarrows and began removing rocks and concrete rubble from the canteen site. Almost immediately, people from town drifted over to lend a hand and before long, the project became a total community effort. The site was cleared and the stage was set for framing the walls and roof supports.When we left town three days later, the canteen was almost completed. By now they have likely begun serving one hot meal a day, Monday through Friday.
 

In the afternoon, we visited the dispensary and delivered six suitcases of over-the-counter medications, thanks to donations from St. Mary’s parishioners. The dispensary nurse, Sister Marjorie, began working with St. Mary’s parishioner and pharmacist, Sheila Seed, to sort through and categorize the medications

The Roche-a-bateau dispensary has the feel of a community center. Locals gather there to receive medical care for themselves and their children, sometimes after walking for hours.While we were there, a mother arrived carrying her sick infant and hoping the dispensary could help. In October, she had lost two of her other children to hurricane Matthew.

In the back of the dispensary Sister Marjorie was teaching a nutrition class attended by mothers and their young children.Malnutrition is a significant problem in Roche-a-Bateau. At the dispensary, families are invited to receive basic nutritional information and are sent home with a small supply of healthy foods.

Later in the week we were invited back to the dispensary and introduced to a visiting doctor from Port-au-Prince. We soon found ourselves in the center of a semi-official ceremony where we were thanked for the medications provided by St.Mary’s parishioners and were presented with local crafts.