Provide Physical Therapy to Port-de-Paix, Haiti

     Thank you for your continued support of our rehabilitation clinic in Port de Paix, Haiti! As you may have heard, Haiti is currently in a fragile state. Years of economic hardship and poverty, combined with a mistrust in the government and the recent gas crisis, have created a situation that Haiti is having difficulty overcoming. Protests and road blocks have led to businesses and schools closing and have left millions out of work and with limited access to food and clean drinking water. Gas is about $30 US per gallon, making transportation of people and supplies difficult. In addition to all of this, hospitals are running out of supplies and are having to turn away patients. 

     Unfortunately, STAND had to make the tough decision to cancel our fall volunteer trip. The severe shortage of gas meant that busses were not running from Port au Prince to Port de Paix, leaving us with no way to get to our clinic. Lack of gasoline also leads to food and clean drinking water shortages. We felt that bringing extra people to an area already starved for supplies would only deplete the supplies further and create increased scarcity for those in Port de Paix. We remain in constant contact with our interpreters, friends and logistics coordinators on the ground in Haiti. Despite the current environment, the STAND pediatric clinic is still up and running and sees patients on a daily basis. Our nurses still make home visits, children are treated by our rehab team, and the nutrition clinic is running full speed ahead. 

     Now, more than ever, it is important that STAND remains a strong presence in the Port de Paix community. We are committed to opening the adult portion of the STAND clinic in early 2020 and have already hired 1 full-time physical therapist and 1 full-time occupational therapist to begin to meet the needs of the community. Both will be recent graduates of the first class from the new Haitian PT and OT school. We are very excited to have them join our team and look forward to a bright future!

     Meet Ramona. Ramona is an OT who will be graduating in a few weeks in the first class of Haitian OTs! She is very excited to be working at the STAND clinic. 

     Meet Nicholson. Nicholson is a PT who will be graduating in a few weeks from the first class of Haitian PTs. He is very excited to be working in the STAND clinic.