Dear Ones,
Thank you so much for the support over the last two weeks. We appreciate each and every one of you! So far we are running a bit behind in reaching our $50,000 goal, with a grand total of $19,335. Every little bit helps, so please send in your donation today to keep our amazing programs going. Your dollars save lives!
This week I’d like to share with you one of our most pressing needs. It’s not romantic or idyllic, but rather firmly rooted in practicality, and I would bet it is one you have all dealt with in your own lives. One of our two cars needs some major repairs. Almost $4000 in repairs, to be exact.
Cars are just exceedingly difficult in Haiti. The roads are awful, rocky, pot-hole ridden and steep. They often must forge multiple rivers per trip, which can be treacherous during the rainy season. Repairs are expensive, parts are exorbitant, and often must be ordered or brought in from the US, adding even more expense. We often spend over $200 per month just maintaining a car, and this doesn’t include any major repairs.
And of course, our cars save lives. Transportation is a major barrier to care, and one of the main reasons mothers often delay seeking treatment. I can’t tell you how many calls we get in the middle of the night, perhaps from one of our local matwons, perhaps from a patient, requesting urgent help in transporting a woman to the hospital.
If we cannot come, they will attempt to walk, sometimes miles. The family will put the woman on a makeshift stretcher, usually a door, usually at night, often in the pouring rain, and attempt to get this mother to Ste Therese. They will try and cross rivers, and brave bandits on the road at night. Can you imagine being that mother in labor, contracting every three minutes, frightened beyond belief?
Without a reliable working vehicle, these women may very well die, all for want of conveyance. Like so many other things, what we take for granted in a well-resourced country is a matter of life and death in Haiti.
Our car functions as an ambulance, as a mini-bus, and as a taxi. It gets our midwives where they need to go, out to community clinics as far away as the Dominican Republic border. It brings our volunteers from the airport. Something as simple as running into town to pick up printer ink is impossible without a working vehicle. Our cars are our community’s lifeline.
Won’t you help us with this very specific need? You will enable us to continue transporting our patients and our staff, as they go about their critical mission. Thank you so much!
Love always,
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| Jane Drichta Executive Director Midwives for Haiti |