WINTER 2012 NEWSLETTER

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A LEAP INTO THE FUTURE

By Gregory Leger, Program Manager-Haiti

Before joining the team of Global Health Action (GHA), I worked for eight and a half years with a large NGO that had carved a place for itself in Haiti in the fields of preventive health and rural development. Everything seemed to be going very well; I was moving up the ranks and was much appreciated. But no one there ever thought I would leave, and start a new adventure, a leap into the future.

Since July, 2011, I have been part of the team at Global Health Action in Haiti as Program Manager. A new position, new approaches, different partnerships, and a new work experience are laid out before me. GHA works in the field of community development, a field for which I have much passion and around which my entire professional life has revolved.

I have now joined a new team - small, cozy and collegial, and I bring to it my skills and experience. Looking back at my last position, I think of how concerned I was about taking daring initiatives and suggesting radical changes. I was afraid that I would be chastised for suggesting bold moves. But at GHA, I am in an environment where I can initiate and carry forth new ideas and projects. I know now that experience is indispensable for self-confidence.

I am glad that I made the move to GHA. This move stems from a reflection of my goals and career aspirations, a desire to challenge myself and take on new challenges. I am very happy to be in the company of people who believe in a better tomorrow, care about the effectiveness of the work we do and, last but not least, value the contribution of each member of the team.

GHA hired Gregory Leger as our new field-based Program Manager, starting July 1, 2011. Gregory supervises GHA’s field-based community health and development programs in Haiti. He comes to GHA with over eight years of experience in community health and rural development work with a large organization in Haiti. Since joining the GHA team, Gregory has already proven an invaluable asset, working with the entire staff to enrich our field programs and improve the way GHA works. Welcome, Gregory!

Gregory, during at meeting at Darbonne in July

Darbonne

by Tonja Khabir

In August of 2011, I travelled to Darbonne, Haiti to interview some beneficiaries of GHA’s Goat Program. I interviewed six Goat Program participants to understand the usefulness of the program. Walking through the streets of Darbonne, it was not long before I discovered the necessity of the Goat Program. Access to basic services such as schools and hospitals came at a price. Many beneficiaries noted that despite the relative proximity of such services, affording them was often a challenge. In many cases, having the goat provided by GHA helped to alleviate this burden. In addition, damage from the 2010 earthquake still impacted the beneficiaries a year and a half after the quake. Many homes still lay in ruins throughout the town.

In spite of the visible signs of earthquake devastation, the community thrived. In many ways Darbonne moved to its own rhythm and melody. Next to pockets of rubble stood lotto shops painted in vibrant colors. Motorcycle taxis darted in and out of the unpaved streets. Breadfruit and plantain stalks seemed to significantly outnumber the people and the market flooded with buyers and sellers trading goods of every kind from fruit to charcoal. On Sunday, the local Episcopal Church was filled with finely dressed people of all ages. I enjoyed the sight of children playing at the water pump and reveled in the frequent sound of Creole chatter that surrounded me. I grew fond of the cordial moments where I was mistaken for a native Haitian. The town was friendly, lively, and above all, resilient.

During my time in Darbonne, I came to understand the sense of empowerment that the Goat Program instilled in the community. Though many beneficiaries struggled to meet their needs, having a goat offered more than just a leg to stand on. As one beneficiary put it, “Cabit la bum espwa” or, “the goat gives me hope.” For me, this expression captures the impact of what a single goat can do for a family. That statement seemed so full of hope that I wondered what thousands of goats have meant for the entire community. In listening to the stories of the beneficiaries, I came to discover that the greatest benefit of the Program was not the goat itself, but the sense of empowerment that the goat and the training provided to the communities.

I am grateful to GHA for providing me the opportunity to witness up close their work in Haiti.

Tonja Khabir is a native of Macon, Georgia and 2011 MPH graduate of Morehouse School of Medicine. Thank you Tonja, for all your work in Haiti!

Tonja and Goat Program Senior Coordinator Franck Toussant outside the GHA office in Darbonne.

COMMUNITY ANIMAL HEALTH WORKER TRAINING

GHA has supported more than 4200 rural families in the Leogane commune through its Goat Program. The program trains an average of 20 community members in goat care and husbandry and provides them with a pregnant doe. Each participant also receives a year’s worth of free extension services for veterinary care. The goats are often referred to as mobile banks by participants as they command a high price in the market. Families use proceeds from the sale of goats for household and capital expenditures.

In September 2011, GHA identified and trained 21 community leaders with the eventual goal of establishing a network of community-based and volunteer Animal Health Workers. The goal of this initiative is to provide rural families easy access within their communities to veterinary care and support. The leaders, once trained, also received a veterinary kit stocked with basic supplies. The 21 leaders will continue to be supported by GHA with access to supplies and technical expertise. GHA plans to expand this network of animal health workers in the coming months and years.

Animal Health Workers receive their certificates and supply kits in an October 2011 ceremony at Darbonne.

Your gift of $25 can support one farmer as he or she completes the animal health training program in Darbonne.

GHA Conducts Community-Based Needs Assessment

Leogane & Petit-Goâve, Haiti

This summer, GHA began work on a Community-Based Needs Assessment Project in the Leogane district. The project, which is being carried out by a team led by Dr. Rickerdy Frederic, is a critical step in rebuilding GHA’s long-term community health and development programs in Haiti, especially in the Leogane district which bore the brunt of the earthquake of January 2010.

Work on the assessment began in mid-July. Since then, the team has carried out all of the data collection needed to complete the assessment, including a literature review, a household survey, focus groups, and interviews with representatives of 22 key social service agencies and organizations that work in Leogane and Petit-Goâve.

GHA will use the final report from Dr. Frederic’s team to design a more comprehensive community-based health program for the Leogane district.

Profile of Ms. Gina Vil

Profile taken from Tonja Khabir’s report to GHA

On a normal day, Gina Vil works as a vegetable vendor in the market in Darbonne. Before the 2010 earthquake, Gina owned a sewing machine, which enabled her to do business as a seamstress. Since Gina has taken up business as a vegetable vendor and sells beans, peanuts, and plantains as the season allows. She works to provide for her family and is proud of her business because so many people have none of their own.

Gina lives with her partner, Daniel Veniser. who works as a landscaper in Darbonne. Together they have four daughters. The oldest daughter, Josna, is 13 years old and in the 6th grade. Her sisters Sophie and Sophia are twins in the 3rd grade. They are 9 years old. Keshlyn is the youngest. She is 2 ½ years old. Having goats from Global Health Action’s (GHA) Goat Program has helped Gina to provide education for her children. Even though she participated in the Goat Program training a few years back, she continues to receive veterinary and other services from GHA’s Goat Program staff in Darbonne. The pregnant goat she received from GHA produced three kids. She returned the first of the kids to GHA to help continue the beneficiary process. The goats were sold to provide school fees for her children and for hospital fees for one of the children who had become ill. Gina credits the GHA’s training program with teaching her valuable skills in caring for the goat. She explains that feeding the goat is very important, “...the goat’s meal of grass must be tied up in the tree so that he doesn’t walk or urinate all over it. This would make him not want to eat the grass”. In addition, she notes that the goat must be vaccinated every month, and the hooves of the goat must be trimmed regularly, and that the goat cannot get too much sun. She ties the goat far into the woods.

Gina believes that having the goat from GHA has done a lot for her. At first she was unable to send her children to school. After the sale of the goat, she was not only able to provide school fees for her children but much needed hospital care when they fell sick.

Your gift of $60 can provide families like Gina’s a goat through GHA’s Goat Program.

Community Health News

GHA conducted a 5-day refresher training for 25 Community Health Workers currently attached to the St. Croix Hospital in Leogane, Haiti. The training covered topics including maternal and child health, and cholera prevention. We partnered with Save the Children and with St. Croix to offer this training.

GHA also conducted a two-day training workshop for 97 members of the local health committees in Petit-Goâve on cholera prevention education. We partnered with Clean Water Environmental to distribute SAFI, an algaecide and bactericide that treats potable water. The product was distributed to a total of 114 persons, including the workshop participants, and partner staff. This training was offered in partnership with the Unite Communale de Santé of Petit-Goâve commune.

Be sure to read our next newsletter for updates on refresher trainings for Community Health Workers and Traditional Birth Attendants in Petit-Goâve scheduled for December 2011!

Miss Mirelaine Joannis, lead nurse at the Olivier Health Center, leads a session at the cholera prevention and education workshop.

The Staff of Global Health Action in Haiti

(in alphabetical order)

Myrlourdes Charles: Accountant/Administrative Assistant.
With GHA since July 2010.

Rachelle Etienne: Administrative Coordinator. With GHA
since February 2009.

Christian Jules: Assistant Herdsman. With GHA since
July 2011.

Gregory Leger: Program Manager. With GHA since July
2011

Carmelo Massey: Goat Program Assistant. With GHA
since September 2007.

Arnault Paraison: Herdsman. With GHA since September
2010.

Joseph Souffrant: Goat Program Assistant. With GHA
since 1997.

Franck Toussaint: Senior Goat Program Coordinator.
With GHA since 1985.

Above: Administrative Staff Myrlourdes Charles (L) and Rachelle Etienne (R)

Below: Goat Program Staff (L to R) Carmelo Massey, Joseph Souffrant, Arnault Paraison, and Franck Toussaint