Hello from Haiti!

This will be brief because my keyboard is really finicky, but wanted to say that i have a ton of really great  news related to the health project for Pestel!

 

The week went superbly (I'm writing this from Jeremie, Haiti).  My time with Steve was a God-send, and I cannot wait to see (And show) his photos.  I know he got tons of moving, beautiful shots.  More on this later!

 

Anderson and Nelson were with me almost the whole time, and I stayed at Nakesha's house on the way down (and will be going there tonight). 

 

My presentation of the project went very well--and there is a lot of enthusiasm. We have a superb project manager!!!  I cannot wait to tell you about her!  Her name is Madame Jacques and she is an amazing gift from God.  Not kidding. 

 

We went to several places I'd never been too, including the island which is very poor indeed.  We did a spot check of nutrition in one village and found about 25% malnutrition.  Horrible.  On top of that, about 20% HIV rate.   An awful combination.  More on this later.

Thanks for your prayers--for safety, for a week full of blessings upon blessings.  I was quite aware during the week that God was answering prayers in Pestel, which I think is a really encouraging thought.  Steve mentioned at one point that I have been given favor in Pestel which provides me with opportunity to talk to key leaders.  The favor is not of my own doing.  It is God's doing.  It is Him working out His will.

 

And holy moly!   What a good good Will!!!   What a most magnificent plan!  

 

I am really encouraged and excited.  I thought (Quite seriously) that the tidal wave of God's Goodness for Pestel was overwhelming, but now I recognize that it is only but building up.

 

Ben

 

 

 

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My Blog
http://haitimedical.blogspot.com/

Packing update

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that we've had a tremendous response to the request for test strips. Individuals have donated money, we're getting free supplies both through contacts at Dartmouth College of Medicine and Penn State College of Medicine, and still looking into possible donations from the manufacturer itself!! Simply awesome!

We're packing--which is a lot of fun. I know I know. That doesn't seem to make much sense, but when you have so many school donations to select from, and you can imagine the kids' faces when they get them...it's just pure joy!

I'm attaching a couple of photos of the boxes of school supplies that came in from a bunch of different places. This was taken last night...so it doesn't include the 50 pounds of supplies that we already packed up for Steve Miller (who is going down tomorrow with me).

Moment of confession (i.e. lessons learned): back in mid-to-late August, after sending out a couple of request for school supplies, and having received none at that point...I asked Jen to go out and buy some. I didn't want to miss the 'great opportunity' of the school sales, you see. It was not an act of faith.

Within a week we started receiving donations, including about 150 pounds of supplies from a VBS in Montana! We've gotten lots of crayons, pencils, rulers, eraser, chalk, board eraser, solar calculators, glue, scissors, pens, paper, zippered pouches to hold the supplies...

Really fun! And we received financial donations--so we're going to go out and purchase some bigger pencil sharpeners (for each school--so 6 total), levels and measuring tapes for the Trade School (masonry).

We received so many wonderful things that the supplies we purchased for Pestel will not make it down this trip.

Lesson learned?

Hopefully.

:)

Ben

Last minute request

Does anyone have any test strips for diabetes that they'd like to donate?  These would be "Accucheck compatible"?

I'll plan to bring them down to Haiti this Friday.  Apparently there is a young girl who has diabetes (insulin-requiring, I would guess, but I'll know more) and they need the test strips to check her sugar levels.  

They ain't cheap  (about $.50 per strip, I think).

If anyone is interested in donating money to purchase them, we can pick them up at a nearby store.

Ben

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My Blog
http://haitimedical.blogspot.com/

Pretty great

Given the amount of work that will need to be done in 2010 in order to accomplish the many tasks before me, and at the insistence of my one of my medical student advisees, I posted a list of smaller tasks for interested medical students to sign up for.  Some of these tasks are bite-sized tasks, some are bigger time commitments.

A single email went out to the first and second year students. 

Overnight, 36 medical students signed up!   

There were only 22 tasks.  So I'll need to come up with some more tasks.....not a problem.

Astounding!

Ben
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My Blog
http://haitimedical.blogspot.com/

Proposal accepted!

I JUST got an email that the $30,000 proposal I submitted on behalf of Pestel has been accepted!!  This is wonderful news and quite a cause for celebration.

Beyond the money, however, this is just an amazing opportunity to share about how God has made this happen, and how He is 'bank-rolling' all of this.  

The group is called Variety International.  They are looking to fund beyond this year, recognizing that this will be a multi-year project.  And it is possible (?likely?) that the level of funding will increase annually once we are shown to be faithful with their gift.

Thanks to so many of you for your ongoing words of encouragement.  Special thanks to my uncle, Jim Bishop, who helped me with the text for the promotional materials I sent to the organization.  

Deeply grateful and yet again, humbled...

Ben

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My Blog
http://haitimedical.blogspot.com/

Prayer request

In former emails I mentioned that an organization approached me about potentially helping with funding health programs in Pestel.  The board of directors for that organization will be meeting next weekend to consider the proposal that I've put together for them, along with many other proposals.  

My proposal includes a 5 year plan to cover all pre-school and school aged kids with deworming medicines (anti-parasite campaign), vitamin A and iodine.  We talking in the neighborhood of about 20,000-25,000 kids.  That's pretty awesome.  Beyond that, the plan calls for development of school and preschool nutrition programs, mobilization and training of new health workers, widespread surveys (for data collection) and monitoring to ensure that the health interventions are having their desired effects.

There are so many things to pray for.  

1.  the board meeting this next weekend

2.  my interactions with folks in Pestel in November.  Truly, for my faithfulness in trusting in God's provision.  He has always provided abundantly (more than I can ask or imagine).

3.  my interactions at the medical center.  The medical students are expressing interest in helping out, and that increases my joy even more!  Pray that my witness to God's leading, goodness and compassion would be evident and faithful to these future physicians.

4.  Pray that when people hear the 'wow!' stories there would be opportunity to share about God who delights in giving and showing Himself as the giver of these good things.

As always, thanks for reading and praying

Ben 

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My Blog
http://haitimedical.blogspot.com/

News items related to Haiti

This, all just from today's news:

1.

This week, right on the heels of Clinton's visit, comes news that "the Haiti-based conglomerate WIN Group and the Soros Economic Development Fund today announced plans to develop a $45 million industrial park to jumpstart industry," according to an October 6 article in Business Wire.

The industrial park, which will be called the "West Indies Free Zone," will "include more than 1.2 million square feet of turn-key rentable space. It will target local and international manufacturers as well as warehousing businesses and offer tax, customs and processing advantages to tenants."

The 300,000 residents of the Haitian city of Cité Soleil, which is close to the park, will likely see as many as 25,000 jobs created for the community.

2.

Ex-President Carter seeks to eliminate malaria in Hispaniola, its last Caribbean outpost

Former President Jimmy Carter is visiting Haiti and the Dominican Republic to urge their leaders to forge a pact to rid the island of Hispaniola of malaria.

An estimated 30,000 Haitians and several thousand people across the border in the Dominican Republic are infected each year with the mosquito-borne illness. Hispaniola is malaria's last Caribbean outpost.

Santo Domingo. – Former United States president Jimmy Carter on Thursday launched a joint Dominican Republic-Haiti program to eradicate malaria and phylariasis on Hispaniola Island within 10 years.

The US$19.9 million program will be used on house to house search for cases, free treatment and mosquito control, repellents for mosquito nets and walls in high risk areas, as well as providing information and social mobilization on the entire island.

3.

Former President Bill Clinton, on behalf of the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI), has just signed an agreement with Haitian President Rene Preval to expand access to HIV/AIDS care and treatment services to the residents of Haiti.

4.

Haiti to boost tourism.

The [Haitian] Government hopes to lure in four million visitors a year, putting Haiti on a par with the Dominican Republic, which attracted 4.2 million last year.

"In 2011 we will be able to say that Haiti is back on the world tourism map," Mr Delatour said.

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My Blog
http://haitimedical.blogspot.com/