Cases appear to be slowing down in Northwest Department, for the moment

A patient recovers at NWHCM's cholera center while medial staff clean the floors - a constant need because cholera is spread through human waste.
Hannah Brewer / NWHCM staff

By Andy Olsen, NWHCM Media Director

Monday, November 29, 2010 — More than 1,600 people have died of cholera in Haiti since the disease first appeared in the central part of the country in October, with numerous cases and deaths in the Northwest Department. NWHCM staff and partner organizations continue working tirelessly to stem the epidemic, though the number of cases appears to be slowing for the moment in the Northwest.

Nearly 50,000 cholera cases have been reported across the nation, according to the World Health Organization. Health officials estimate as many as 270,000 people in Haiti may be sickened by the disease in coming years.

To date, more than 40 patients have died of cholera in NWHCM’s treatment center in Saint-Louis du Nord. As of last week, NWHCM staff were treating between 30 and 70 patients a day from towns around the region, though the number of patients has slowed somewhat.

NWHCM staff have reported that six people in mission programs have died, most from cholera-like symptoms. Please click here for the latest updates on the program-related impacts of cholera.

Treating Cholera :: Photos

NWHCM’s medical staff is receiving material and personnel support from the United Nations and the Haitian Ministry of Health, as well as NGOs such as Grass Roots United, MMRC Global, Open Hand, Mission Teams International.

Cholera causes acute diarrhea that rapidly dehydrates its victims and depletes them of electrolytes, eventually leading to heart failure. It is spread by ingesting fecal bacteria from contaminated water sources. It is treated orally by rehydrating victims with water containing salts and sugars and, in severe cases, by administering intravenous fluids and antibiotics.

NWHCM is not currently requesting American medical support teams, nor is it canceling any currently scheduled short-term mission trips at this time. Please stay tuned for further updates.

How To Help

NWHCM continues mobilizing medicine and supplies to support the cholera treatment efforts.

We are still seeking financial donations and supplies to treat patients, in particular: Tetracycline, doxycycline, oral rehydration salts, IV start kits and IV tubing. For more information, please contact Cameron Mayhill at cameron.mayhill@nwhcm.org.

Click here to make a donation to help NWHCM purchase medical supplies to treat cholera patients.

Please pray for the safety of our Haitian brothers and sisters, and for NWHCM’s staff during this difficult time.

NWN MAGAZINE PREVIEW: One missionary’s life-changing encounters in Port-au-Prince.

Read more in the fall issue of Northwest Notes, a regular magazine of Northwest Haiti Christian Mission that arrived in mailboxes in early December. Click here to download a PDF version of the entire issue.

By Jody Castillo, NWHCM missionary in Mole Saint-Nicholas

March 13th, 2010 (from my personal journal):

I’d been praying every day for God to give me His eyes. Today, He did. It began in the eyes of a little boy in a red shirt. His smile was so bright as he stood outside his new tarp home. Before he locked eyes with me, I watched him flying his little kite made of plastic strings. Unaware of what was around him or perhaps in spite of it, his laughter filled my heart where sorrow had started to set up camp.

The little boy led to two other cute kids and then to the leader of their small tent zone. He explained that they have no food and they have no water. They live right across from the palace. “Everyone comes to take pictures of the palace – they stand right outside our tarp-homes – but no one sees us though we are in plain sight.”

We prayed with the leader and explained that we don’t have a lot, but we would see what we could do to help their zone. The 50 families in that Port-au-Prince tent city include over 250 children. We don’t have enough to feed them every day but we will do what we can – knowing God will provide as He always does. Why? Because God gave me His eyes and whispered to focus on what is right in front of me – and in that moment – it was a little boy in a bright red shirt.

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For the Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!” — Revelation 19:6-7

Since that day in March we’ve seen God do immeasurable things! We blogged about this tent city and immediately we got responses. We were able to feed these families every 10 days through donations from individuals and churches.

It wasn’t always easy. You can’t just go downtown to have a Bible Study with them and think it’s going to magically come together. You can’t just pass out peanut butter without a mob trying to attack you. What sounds so easy – “helping people” – is one of the hardest things to do here.

After some rough first attempts, we decided the best way to distribute food was to bring the people to us instead of taking the food downtown. We moved our meeting locations every week and gave them transportation money each time. It was frustrating at times, but we wanted to be a source of encouragement – to be His hands, feet, and face. We prayed with them. We cried with them. We laughed with them.

South Lansing Christian Church, in Lansing, Michigan, contacted us in March and asked how they could help. We sent them the names and ages of all 50 families. By May, the church had collected and shipped supplies for each family.

They gave charcoal stoves, pots, oil, rice, beans, toys, towels, sheets, food, charcoal and dishes. They even gave tents matched specifically to each family’s size.

September 2, the day we distributed everything, was a wonderful day! We drove the families to a small hotel outside of Port-au-Prince, where we took our time and gave away the supplies in an organized matter. The families thanked us over and over again. There was a sense of pride as each one got their tailored special gifts. On this day, the roar of the Lord was mighty within me. My heart almost burst open!

They had no idea what a joy it was for us, and I wanted to thank them just for letting us be a part of their lives. Our little boy in the red shirt – Juvensky – changed my life and opened my eyes to a whole new way to love people.

NWHCM’s first high school opens doors for those who lost everything

Cody Smith, a short-term missionary from Lexington, Kentucky, taught English at George Washington High School in October.
Andy Olsen / NWHCM staff

By Andy Olsen, NWHCM Media Director

Thursday, November 11, 2011

Port-de-Paix, Haiti — When 24-year-old Kedna Saintil lost her father in the January 12 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, she went north to Port-de-Paix to live with her aunt. Before she had even arrived, her aunt was busy making preparations for Saintil’s future — like enrolling her in Northwest Haiti Christian Mission’s new high school.

The school, College Georges Washington (or “George Washington High School” in English), opened in October with roughly 500 students enrolled. Though it also offers kindergarden classes, the primary focus is on providing a quality education to older students like Saintil, many of whom came to Port-de-Paix after the earthquake toppled their homes and families.

“I like it here,” Saintil said. “There is more discipline and it’s less chaotic than my school in Port-au-Prince. That’s a good thing.”

The school is NWHCM’s first venture into secondary school, the rough Haitian equivalent of American high school. It offers students a Christian education and free school uniforms at a modest tuition. And in a nation where class sizes can swell above 100, the school has pledged to limit classes to 50 or fewer students.

“We want to give a good education,” said Pastor Valbrun Derival, the school’s director. “When you have the word of God and a good education, you can change the country.”

Derival estimates that as many as 50 percent of the students are from Port-au-Prince. He said that even though some sectors of Haiti’s economy came to a halt after the quake, it is essential to Haiti’s future that youth are able to continue their educations. “If someone doesn’t have a good education, they can’t participate well in society,” he said.

Educating displaced youth from Port-au-Prince has its challenges. For one, many still suffer trauma from their experiences there, and that can make a teacher’s job difficult. But Derival urges his staff to have compassion on those students and be patient with them as their wounds heal.

“Some of them will put their heads down on their desks and don’t always do well,” Derival said. “They have sad stories that make you want to cry. I ask the teachers to have wisdom with them, to understand their situations.”

Click here to learn more about NWHCM’s education ministries.

Click here to make a gift to NWHCM’s education fund.