Six in mission programs have died; Mission working to prevent infections, cautions that not all illness is cholera

Friday, November 19, 2010 — The entire Northwest Haiti Christian Mission community mourns the loss of six people who have died in its programs in recent days. Five members of NWHCM’s gran moun program have died of cholera-like symptoms since the disease was first reported in the Northwest Department last week: Seno Semelise, Kubonn Jacques-Cius, Anaise Louis, Cledanord Petit-Frere, and Madam Monfort Mesidor.

Seno Semelise

Kubonn Jacques-Cius

A sixth person, Isaiah Joseph, 2, died in NWHCM’s baby orphanage. None of the deaths have been confirmed as cholera, though the disease is suspected.

Every person in one of NWHCM’s residential care programs is a valuable and beloved member of the mission community, and their loss is felt deeply by everyone.

Anaise Louis

Cledanord Petit-Frere

All sponsors of the deceased have been personally notified.

Two other children in NWHCM’s baby orphanage are sick and under quarantine, though medical staff have not confirmed these specific cases as cholera and are suggesting the symptoms could be indicative of a non-cholera illness.

Madam Monfort Mesidor

Isaiah Joseph

Staff have not reported any additional illnesses in the gran moun program, a residential home for seniors in Saint-Louis du Nord.

Because Haiti has one of the highest rates of death from preventable illness in the Western Hemisphere, it is important to note that while any preventable death is tragic, NWHCM is exercising caution before attributing it to cholera.

Staff are continuing to investigate the causes of infection in its programs, though NWHCM has ruled out the possibility that cholera has entered the water supply at its main campus in Saint-Louis du Nord. The campus draws its drinking water from a deep well contained within the compound.

Program staff are using water filtration systems and continuing to boil all drinking water as a precaution, as they have been since NWHCM first opened its cholera treatment centers. NWHCM is also continuing mission-wide cholera prevention education and hand-washing campaigns that have been underway since before cholera was detected in the Northwest Department.

NWHCM will continue to post updates as they become available. This has been an emotional and difficult time for NWHCM staff both in Haiti and the United States. Please continue to pray for them and for the people of Haiti as they battle this ongoing epidemic. – Andy Olsen, NWHCM media director

Thursday, September 9, 2010 — Fans of Northwest Haiti Christian Mission and its missionaries can now stay up to date on the latest news from Executive Director Janeil Owen by following him on Twitter. Owen will be tweeting regularly about whatever is on his mind at @JaneilOwen.

To learn more about Twitter, please visit twitter.com.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010 — Potential travelers interested in participating in the 2011 New Year’s short-term trip should submit applications as soon as possible to avoid last-minute price increases. The trip, from January 1 to January 10 of 2011, falls during the peak travel season, and demand for seats on flights to Haiti has grown immensely since the earthquake earlier this year. That demand is resulting in higher prices for airfare and limited seat availability.

Northwest Haiti Christian Mission does all that it can to keep the cost of short-term trips to Haiti reasonable. For more information or to inquire about the New Year’s trip, please contact NWHCM Stateside Travel Liaison Barb Enata at barb.enata@nwhcm.org.

To submit an application for a NWHCM short-term trip, please click here.

In 2010, Northwest Haiti Christian Mission has added various new personnel in the areas of travel, administration, development, and child nutrition.

New U.S. Office Staff

Brent Bramer – Brent joins NWHCM as Director of Next Generation Mobilization. A former youth minister, Brent is spearheading NWHCM’s efforts to connect youth and college-age groups to ministry in Haiti. Brent also directs Help Heal Haiti, a ministry of NWHCM that aims to raise awareness of ministry in Haiti. He earned a BA in Biblical Studies from Cincinnati Christian University. He lives in Louisville with his wife, Jenna, and their two children.

Barb Enata – Barb joins NWHCM as Stateside Travel Liaison. As part of NWHCM’s travel coordination team, she works with short-term travelers to prepare them for trips and set them up for an effective ministry experience in Haiti. Before joining NWHCM, Barb served as a student minister and youth mission-trip coordinator at Northside Christian Church in the greater Louisville area. She earned a BA in ministry from Lincoln Christian University and lives in New Albany, Indiana.

Paul Del Valley – Paul is joining NWHCM as Business Manager and Operations Assistant. He will oversee bookkeeping and will assist with managing NWHCM’s primary U.S. warehouse. For the summer of 2010, Paul and his wife, Kayla, are living in Indiana and serving as NWHCM representatives at Hanging Rock Christian Assembly, a Christian youth camp. Paul studied business administration and Bible at Lincoln Christian University.

Tracey Vaughan (Part-Time) – Tracey assists our office staff by answering phones, coordinating mailings, and helping to manage gift entry and online donor accounts. She has served for years as a missionary in Africa and is a valuable addition to NWHCM’s administrative staff. She and her husband live in Lexington, Kentucky,

New Affiliate Missionaries – Haiti

Brandon and Jessica Stone – Originally from Southern California, the Stones are serving as NWHCM affiliate missionaries with Outside the Bowl, a Christian relief organization devoted to providing food for children in impoverished countries. Living at NWHCM’s Port-de-Paix campus, the Stones are overseeing the development of a food distribution center there. They are working to identify and assess potential partner organizations that are interested in using food prepared at the center to augment their own ministries.