Midwives for Haiti Earthquake Response: Stories from Southern Haiti - Midwives For Haiti
Stories from Southern Haiti

Midwives for Haiti Earthquake Response: Stories from Southern Haiti

Dear Ones,

It has been over a week since the earthquake, and we have completed our preliminary assessments. Midwives for Haiti is not a relief group. We don’t have massive stockpiles of tents, or tarps, or freeze dried food. But what we do have is people, people with a skillset, mindset, and heartset to help. Beautiful, dedicated birth attendants, fantastic partners, and you, our MFH family.

Team Maison de Naissance
Our team with their colleagues at Maison de Naissance

Thanks to support from Bon Secours/Mercy Health, our first team of six seasoned MFH midwives and supplies have travelled to Maison de Naissance, an important birth center located in Torbeck, outside of Les Cayes. Many of the staff members have lost their homes, including Imene Rigueur, one of our graduates from Class 8. Here she describes her experience during the earthquake:

“I have worked at the birth center in Torbeck for 4 years. During the earthquake, I was on the patio of my house; my baby, my husband and my sister were inside. (When the quake began) I went inside to get my child. The ground was shaking, and I fell with the baby. I thought they were dead but I got up holding my baby and I continued to run. When the earthquake stopped ,I thought the baby was injured in the head but he was injured in one foot; I am injured in my arm, my feet and my waist. My house was destroyed but no one died in my family. All the glory is to God.”

Our rotating teams of midwives will remain as long as is necessary to ensure that the families in Torbeck can receive compassionate care during this time of such turbulence, while the staff midwives from Maison de Naissance can concentrate their recovery efforts.

Our team of midwives in Torbeck
Our team of midwives in Torbeck

The word “Midwifery” itself means with women. We are honored to stand in the gap and be with the women and families of Maison de Naissance and Torbeck. If you would like to help support our recovery efforts, please go to www.midwivesforhaiti.org/donate, or our Facebook page, Midwives for Haiti | Facebook.

Checks can be sent to:
Midwives for Haiti
7130 Glen Forest Dr.,
Suite 101Richmond, VA 23226

Unloading supplies
Unloading supplies

There are no words for the trauma that the people in southern Haiti have experienced. These events change us, they strip our souls down to the very essence of humanity, showing us all the ways we can grow together. Class 11 graduates on Sunday. I could not be more proud of the role models they have in our response team. Midwives supporting midwives, women supporting women. Thank you for being with women, and with Midwives for Haiti.

Love always,

Jane Drichta
Jane Drichta
Executive Director
Midwives for Haiti