News Archive from 2008

LEOGANE SATELLITE CLINIC UPDATE (30 Dec 2008)
Not only is the satellite clinic (above) in Leogane nearing completion but the second floor is also making progress. A pathology lab that serves FHM's cervical cancer prevention program will occupy the new space.

The satellite clinic is Family Health Ministries' new base of operations in Leogane as we build the Leogane Family Health and Research Center. Learn more about the budget and timeline for the planned facility.

DUKE UNIVERSITY KREYOL COURSE (23 December 2008)
Duke University will teach a course in Haitian Kreyol for the first time Spring Semester 2008.

Co-taught by a native speaker of Haitian Kreyòl and a specialist in Haitian literature and history, this course will provide students with introductory foundations of spoken and written Kreyòl, contextualized within a survey of Haitian culture. Contact Deborah Jenson at Duke for more information.

DUKE CHAPEL GIVES THE GIFT OF HEALTH TO BLANCHARD (15 Dec 2008)
The congregation at Duke Chapel at Duke University in Durham, NC, will give their Christmas Eve offering to Family Health Ministries to support the operation of the Blanchard Family Clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Those who are in Durham during the holidays can see the Chapel's special photography exhibit on the Blanchard Clinic through December 31st. The featured photos were taken by Pastor McKennon Shea who traveled to Haiti in October 2008 with Family Health Ministries.

The Blanchard Clinic recently celebrated its two year anniversary. Eleven Haitian healthcare professionals provide service for area residents who pay a small fee for their care. Duke Chapel's annual offering provides for salaries and medicines, most of which are not covered by the patient fees.

DIGNITY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL OF US (10 December 2008)
This is the vision for the 60th anniversary celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Human Rights Day is marked each year on December 10th. FHM's vision, to create a better tomorrow by building healthy families and healthy communities, resonates with this dream.

Read more about the UN's efforts to secure human rights for all on the UN's webpage.

LEOGANE CLINIC TO OPEN IN JANUARY (2 December 2008)
FHM is very pleased to announce that our new clinic serving women and chilrden in Leogane, Haiti, can now open in January 2009. Thanks to many donations, and in particular, the recent generous gift from Westminister Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, NC, the clinic will be completed in the next month.

The new facility will serve as the center for FHM's heathcare services in Leogane until the Family Health & Research Center opens in late 2010. In the future, the clinic will operate as an FHM satellite facility, handling after hours health needs and emergencies for local families.


Under the direction of Dr. Delson Merisier, OB/GYN, (above in clinic under construction) the Leogane clinic will provide much needed prenatal care and baby deliveries. The clinic will also house FHM's cervical cancer prevention program.

THANKFUL FOR FOOD RELIEF IN BLANCHARD (25 November 2008)
Thanks to generous donations from Duke University Chapel in Durham, NC, and Apex United Methodist Church in Apex, NC, FHM has established a new Food Relief program at the Blanchard Clinic. Under the direction of Pastor Leon Dorleans of the Christian Community Church in Port-au-Prince, a newly stocked food cupboard will be available for families in dire need.

FHM's public health workers in Blanchard as well as the Blanchard medical staff will be able allievate the serious malnutrition that has become so rampant since the four hurricanes devastated Haiti in Autumn 2008. At particular risk are young children, whose good health is so essential for the long-term health that FHM seeks to create in its partner communities.

To be a part this holiday season in FHM's response to the growing food crisis in Haiti, make a donation online or call 919-382-5500 with your credit card information. Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving.

2009 MISSION TEAM DATES NOW ONLINE (19 November 2008)
Plan ahead for a 2009 mission trip to Haiti with Family Health Ministries. Read about all the trips and make your plans now. First Quarter trips are already full. The June and October medical trips typically fill months ahead. We can also arrange a special trip for your group - contact us at 919-382-5500.

NURSING SCHOLARSHIP STUDENT BEGINS CLASSES (7 November 2008)
Hard work is paying off for Daphnee Miraville who grew up in Fondwa’s Fatima Orphanage. In spring 2008, she finished at the top of her class at the St. Antoine School. That earned her the first Family Health Ministry nursing scholarship at Leogane’s new baccalaureate nursing school – Faculte des Sciences Infirmieres de Leogane. Dahnee, 22, started her studies there in early October.

Daphnee chose nursing because “I would like to help my people have good health.” Fondwa remains close to her heart and she hopes to help out at the clinic there during school breaks.

FHM hopes to sponsor two nursing students annually. Thanks to donor generosity, we have raised enough money for Daphnee. We invite your participation in the second scholarship - a way to make a difference for a young person and for the community as a whole.

THINKING OF A MISSION TRIP IN 2009? (6 November 2008)
It's time now to make plans for a trip to Haiti with Family Health Ministries in 2009. The January and March trips are full, and we're taking reservations for the June medical mission. Read about past traveler's experiences, including Meredith Barkley's recent posting of his experiences in Fondwa.

SISTERS VISIT MIDWEST (28 October 2008)
Sister Simone and Sister Carmelle of Fondwa, on a visit to the United States recently, tried their hands at driving a supersized combine in Indiana while visiting former FHM missionaries Jamalyn and Dave Williamson.

The sisters also visited North Carolina, attending an FHM board meeting and a dinner party in their honor with those who had traveled to Fondwa on past FHM mission trips.

"HAITI'S WOES AND YOU" (22 October 2008)
In a recent CNN commentary, actress and UNICEF ambassador Mia Farrow commented on the situation in Haiti since the hurricanes.

While the tsunami prompted a generous and immediate response from the international community, the situation in Haiti has largely gone unnoticed. Haiti and its people urgently need our help - especially the most vulnerable, the children.

The enormity of this catastrophe has overwhelmed the impoverished Haitian government and the UN agencies that are struggling to sustain human life there.

International and local aid workers on the ground have made a remarkable commitment to provide humanitarian assistance. But they cannot do it alone. I realize these are not easy times for Americans. But a small donation goes a very long way. For many of these families, who are, after all, our neighbors, it will mean the difference between life and death.

Read the entire article on CNN. See the next news brief for suggestions on how to respond.

MISSION TEAMS RETURN (20 October 2008)
FHM's back-to-back mission teams to Fondwa (medical) and Blanchard (construction) have both returned safely. In Fondwa, healthcare workers referred many children to the malnutrition program run by FHM. Since the hurricanes, more children than ever are suffering from lack of food.

If you feel moved to help, you can send a donation or bring peanut butter or baby formula (for babies no longer breast feeding) to FHM's offices in Durham, NC.

JACMEL RECOVERING WELL FROM HURRICANES (Fondwa, Haiti, 17 October 2008)
FHM's current mission team in Haiti toured Jacmel today, making the traditional team trip to the beach for a grilled fish dinner. The town of Jacmel has cleaned up well from the recent hurricanes and is once again producing paper mache masks for the upcoming Carnival season.

BLANCHARD CONSTRUCTION TEAM FINISHES (Fondwa, Haiti, 16 October 2008)
Haiti. FHM's construction team left Port-au-Prince today to travel to the mountain community of Fondwa. They visited children in the orphanage and reveled in the scenery. On Friday they will travel to the beach town of Jacmel, returning to the capital and the US over the weekend.

MORE PROGRESS MADE ON BLANCHARD CLINIC (Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 15 October 2008)
Bob Lempp from Apex United Methodist Church in Apex, NC, paints the ceiling of the front lobby of the Blanchard Clinic. Team members from the construction mission team now in Blanchard have enjoyed lovely warm weather. Wednesday's progress included painting all the walls a bright yellow.

BLANCHARD CLINIC IS PAINTED (Port-au-Prince, Haiti, 14 October 2008)
FHM's construction mission team in the Blanchard community has made great progress this week painting the clinic's new second floor. The base coat is done and the final coat for the walls and metal work will be completed on Wednesday and Thursday morning. Then the team will travel to Leogane and Fondwa to visit FHM's partners in those communities.

LEOGANE MAYOR MEETS WITH FHM (10 October 2008)
FHM Board Chair David Walmer and staff member Jackie Ndirangu (above left) recently met with Leogane Mayor Alexis Stone (above right). He listed four key community needs: a paved market area, increased support for Leogane's two public schools, consistent electricity, and central park refurbishment.

MANY PATIENTS, LIMITED SPACE (6 October 2008)
FHM's medical mission team in Fondwa this week is swamped with patients in a very small clinic space. Please pray for our patients and for patience for our healthcare providers. They send greetings to their families and friends - all team members are well and in great spirits.

FIRST HAITIAN IRB MEETING COMPLETED (6 October 2008)
FHM's board chairman David Walmer and Research Coordinator Jackie Ndirangu enjoyed the first meeting last week in Leogane with the five Haitian members of FHM's new Haiti IRB.

"WEB OF TARHEEL FRIENDS" FEATURED AGAIN IN N&0 (29 Sept 2008)
The Raleigh News & Observer reporter's latest story on Haiti made the front page on Sunday, September 28th, raising interest in the tarheel state in the web of NGOs supporting the economically impoverished in Haiti.

FHM is described by Jay Price as "perhaps the most ambitious of the Triangle-based Haiti groups" Price also quoted FHM's chairman, David Walmer, extensively, including his comments on the experiences of people who go to Haiti with FHM:

"Americans go there and see themselves in a way they haven't," Walmer said. "They get a deathbed experience when they're still young enough to do something about it."

(See the 2009 dates if you wish to join us in Haiti next year.)

RALEIGH N&O REPORTER IN GONAIVES (24 Sept 2008)
North Carolina's Triangle area has received considerably more Haiti coverage recently. The storms and the Triangle area's active volunteers apparently inspired the Raleigh News & Observer to send reporter Jay Price to Haiti. His pictures and latest story made the newspaper's front page on Wednesday, September 24th. The "how you can help section" mentioned FHM.

LEON DORLEANS FEATURED IN RALEIGH SUNDAY PAPER (22 Sept 2008)
Another story about Haiti and FHM's role there was featured in the Sunday News & Observer in Raleigh, NC. Read about three Triangle visitors who coincidently were in Blanchard while the reporter was interviewing Pastor Leon Dorleans.

SAD REPORT FROM FATHER JOSEPH IN FONDWA (16 September 2008)
Although most of the US coverage of hurricanes in Haiti has focused on the northern section of the country, the destruction registered after the passage of Hanna and Ike in the southern mountains is considerable. 

Father Joseph reports that in the Fondwa community, the majority of subsistence gardens were damaged by the heavy winds, water, and mudslides and that there was a heavy loss of animals either to death or disappearance.  Their current count shows the loss of 105 goats, 18 pigs, 29 cows, 3 donkeys and 7 horses. 

Many trees were uprooted (like palm and coconut as well as other fruit and hardwood trees).  Branches broken by the heavy winds caused additional destruction. 

There are houses that are destroyed and others damaged with either wind carrying away the roof or another part suffering wind damage.  Many roads are blocked and will require a tractor with shovel and a large truck to remove the mud presently blocking them, including access in and out of Fondwa.

Emergency support is important right now, and FHM can make sure your donation gets to the right place. If you'd like to help, send your check or call us with your credit card number, designating "food program" or "general emergency assistance" and we will make sure your funds get to our partners in Haiti. You can also use PayPal and make a donation on-line.

We believe it's also important to think about longer-term needs, like improved clinics and on-going education that we hope eventually will pull Haitians out of the extreme poverty exacerbated by the recent storms.

INCREASED INTEREST FROM PRESS IN HAITI (16 September 2008)
Four hurricanes in four weeks have brought both increased press interest and celebrities passing out emergency supplies in Haiti.

FHM Executive Director Kathy Walmer has been interviewed for news stories twice in the past few days, and has been featured in the Raleigh News & Observer and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Daily Tar Heel.

HOW TO HELP IN HAITI AFTER 4 HURRICANES (12 September 2008)
Many of you have asked how to help in light of the disastrous flooding and serious crop losses. We know that in two of our communities Blanchard (see update below) and Leogane, there was severe flooding. And, in the mountain community of Fondwa, there was significant crop loss. Fortunately, everyone is safe. The challenge as we know is coping with the aftermath.

If you'd like to help, send your check or call us with your credit card number, designating "food program" or "general emergency assistance" and we will make sure your funds get to our partners in Haiti. You can also use PayPal and make a donation on-line.

This may be an opportunity for you to get involved in our school sponsorship program which is not "disaster relief" but helps over time. Sponsor donations not only provide salaries for teachers and money for books, but also daily meals, anti-parasitic medicine, and annual nutritional assessments for our students. We likely will need to provide more aid to more students than ever before given the escalating costs of food and other services.

We can't prevent natural disasters, but we can provide hope. Thank your for your prayers and support.

POST-HURRICANE REPORT FROM BLANCHARD (10 September 2008)
Here is what we've heard from a phone call with Pastor Leon about the Blanchard community in Port-au-Prince:

Conditions were such that people were unable to get out in Blanchard, with only about 100 making it to church.  Cite Soleil fared better, in that about 750 came there. 

But, the rains have washed some houses away, soaked everything that other families had, and harshly impacted the food supplies of everyone. 

The leaders of the churches are looking at their neighborhoods to assess needs, and expect to provide emergency food rations this week.  That effort actually started this weekend, with more food being provided to the C/S community.  We are always grateful to StopHunger for providing us ongoing supplies of rice rations that allow us the flexibility of meeting such needs.

"I SAVED A LIFE WITH NOTHING AT CARDINAL LEGER" (8 September 2008)
Read the story of how Dr. Delson Merisier worked in difficult conditions to save a life in Leogane. This and other stories appear in the September issue of the Family Health Ministries Newsletter.

If you'd like to receive future newsletters by email, send us a note with "send newsletter by email" in the subject line.

MORE HURRICANE-RELATED NEWS (5 September 2008)
We have had several emails and phone calls with friends and colleagues in Haiti. The picture above is Jacmel, but of course northern Haiti was hit even harder by the lingering Hanna. Livestock have been drowned. Roads are covered with mud. There is much concern about food supplies. The good news we hear is that people are working together to clear the streets of debris.

In Blanchard and Fondwa, they are hoping to open schools on Monday, Sept 8th (see article below). Pastor Leon reports that the churches are not flooded. At Hospice St. Joseph, Missy writes that they are dry and are not going to need to trim their trees out front that some people complain block the view of Port-au-Prince and the bay.

They are asking for prayers, for continued strength and faith, and after enduring F, G, and H, to be spared from I, J, and perhaps K, L, & M...

ANOTHER HURRICANE UPDATE (2 September 2008)
Haiti is getting a lot more rain from Tropical Storm Hanna, the third "event" in so many weeks. Missy Owen reports that she is fine, and that she has spoken to Pastor Leon and the Sisters in Fondwa. All are okay. Delson believes Hopital Ste. Croix is flooding, and that more flooding in Leogane is imminent. Prayers are needed particularly for those in northern Haiti who are very hard hit with heavy rains.

NEW PRIME MINISTER INSTALLED (2 September 2008)
After a delay caused by Hurricane Gustav, Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis has been officially installed as Prime Minister. Haiti has been without a government since April 12.

In a recent speech to the lower Chamber of Deputies, Pierre-Louis hit on Haiti's endless stream of challenges -- insecurity, corruption, poverty, illiteracy, hopelessness. She also pushed one central theme: unity, according to the Miami Herald.

A member of Haiti's privileged class who has become one of its most respected grass-roots activists, Pierre-Louis tugged at the conscience of lawmakers, speaking about the absence of government in the lives of most Haitians.

''We should not accept that 52 percent of the Haitian people continue to live with less than ($1) a day,'' she said. ``This requires a collective effort of both the state and government as that of its partners and society in general.''

SCHOOL'S STARTING (2 September 2008)
Over 550 children will attend Fondwa's Sainte Antoine School this fall. Like children everywhere, they will need school supplies. Like children living in poor, rural areas, they do not have access to everything they need.

I
If you'd like to help, review the list below, and send supplies to FHM at 2344 Operations Drive, Suite 201, Durham, NC 27705. We will take them to Fondwa when we travel to Haiti in late September/early October.

You may also want to get involved in our sponsorship program, contributing $25/month not only for a child's education, but also to improve their health so they are better able to succeed in school.

For Secondary including 6th grade students:
calculator
small English/French dictionary
notebooks (for several subjects)
pens/pencils
compass
gum eraser
small backpack (The best kind are the small bags with two sets of strings called "sack packs," available at Dick's Sporting Goods, for example.)

For Primary students:
pencils
gum erasers
crayons (16 pack)
notebooks
ruler
small packpack (The best kind are the small bags with two sets of strings called "sack packs," available at Dick's Sporting Goods, for example.)

HURRICANE GUSTAV UPDATE (28 August 2008)
Jackie talked to Dr. Delson Merisier in Leogane on Wednesday morning. He said they were fine and getting LOTS of rain. They expect some flooding.

Kathy talked to Se Karmel on Wednesday afternoon to check on Fondwa and learned that the road between Leogane and Jacmel is in poor shape. Se Karmel's family in Jacmel lost their roof and are now displaced.

Pastor Leon in Port-au-Prince reports continued rain on Wednesday afternoon. They are still unable to check on the clinic, church and school in Blanchard because of flooding.

HURRICAN GUSTAV MAKES LANDFALL IN HAITI (26 August 2008)
According to AP reports, Hurricane Gustav has made landfall on Haiti's southwest peninsula, home to FHM's Fondwa and Leogane communities.

The Category 1 hurricane roared over Haiti at about 1 p.m. EDT Tuesday with top sustained winds of near 90 mph.

Family Health Ministries will make updates as we hear from our partners in Haiti. Please keep them in prayer.

CERVISCOPE NOW SHIPPING (25 August 2008)

FHM's portable cerviscope is now shipping to low-resource settings. Two have been sponsored and placed, one in Ethiopia and the other in Guatemala. Read more about the cerviscope project or purchase a cerviscope on-line from FHM.

The portable colposcope is part of FHM's cervical cancer prevention program. FHM hopes that its research in Haiti will continue to produce results that can be used on other low-resource countries around the world.

HPV-TESTING UPDATE (25 August 2008)

FHM continues to collaborate with the Qiagen Corporation to test its new fast HPV test. Jackie Ndirangu, FHM's research coordinator, recently returned from Leogane where 188 more women were tested in a 3-day period. Jackie worked with Dr. Delson Mersier, FHM's OB/GYN, 2 nurses and FHM's clinical trial administrator to collect specimens. The human papilloma virus or HPV is known to be a cause of cervical cancer.

In the last year, FHM has screened 1411 Haitian women. The 18% who were HPV-positive return to Hopital Cardinal Leger for follow up ThinPrep® tests. About 70% of these women have already returned for this next step in cervical cancer prevention. Next steps in the treatment process include biopsy, cryo-treatment and/or surgery. Consult the News Archive for more updates.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WILLIAMSON FAMILY! (19 August 2008)

Announcing the newest arrival to the FHM family - Nathan Read Williamson, born August 5, at 8:39am. He weighed 8lbs and 10oz and is 20 inches long.

Nathan is the second child born to Dave and Jamalyn Williamson who spent two years as Family Health Ministries’ missionaries in Fondwa, Haiti. Jamalyn is now on staff at FHM as the Fondwa project manager. One of her roles is to coordinate FHM's sponsorship program.

TROPICAL STORM FAY NEWS (18 August 2008)
Many of you are wondering about the effects of the tropical storm that passed over the southern arm of Haiti over the weekend. Dr. Delson Merisier reported this morning (Monday) that things were normal in Leogane in spite of the rain. Sister Karmel in Fondwa told FHM that a number of banana trees were lost in the mountain valley, but that the people and the rest of the crops are safe.

IT'S ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS (18 August 2008)


Above - PIP Board at Work

Family Health Ministries executive director Kathy Walmer traveled to Pittsburgh recently to attend the board meeting of FHM's Fondwa collaborator, Partners in Progress (PIP). Representatives of FHM's other major partner in Fondwa, the Association of Peasants of Fondwa, were also present. Topics included the 2009 budgets for the Fondwa school and orphanage.

Family Health Ministries believes in relationships. Sessions like the PIP board meeting when FHM can spend time together with its community partners to talk about needs, priorities, and vision for the future are extremely valuable. Through collaboration, FHM gains the insight and energy to continue to make positive change in the health and stability of Haitian families.

KEMI OGUNDIPE RETURNS FROM FONDWA (12 August 2008)
Third-year Duke Medical School student Kemi Ogundipe returned recently from 10 weeks in Fondwa, where she worked on an FHM nutrition research project, visiting over 140 homes in the Fondwa valley. Kemi made contact with the families of each child through grade 3 at the Sainte Antoine school. Read more about Kemi's summer research project.

2009 MISSION TRIPS SCHEDULE POSTED (5 August 2008)
Planning ahead for 2009? Include a mission trip to Haiti with Family Health Ministries.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Oct 11-19 in Port-au-Prince
(5 August 2008)
Duke Chapel and Family Health Ministries invite volunteers to join the October mission trip to paint the new second floor of the Blanchard Community Clinic.

Progress is underway to finish the inside walls - as the photo of the local workman stuccoing indicates.

The trip will also include time in Fondwa, a rural mountain community where FHM supports a school, an orphanage and a clinic, as well as a day trip to the art and beach town of Jacmel. The cost is airfare plus $800 to cover in-country housing, food, and transportation.

Sign up for the trip via the website, or call the FHM office at 919-382-550.

HILTON "Chip" Chesson Joins FHM Board (4 August 2008)
Chip Chesson of Durham, NC, has joined the Family Health Ministries Board of Directors. Chip brings a wealth of business and building experience to FHM, with over 4000 single family homes, 3 shopping centers and 2 office parks in his resume.

Chip has already been active advising FHM on the planned Leogane Family Health and Research Center. The center will help FHM treat women with cervical cancer in Haiti, and provide a better location for FHM to do research that will help women around the world fight this debilitating disease. Click here for details on the new facility.

VBS TEAM RETURNS FROM HAITI (29 July 2008)
A multicultural, multi-church, multi-country staff led Vacation Bible School for 160 kids in the Blanchard community of Port-au-Prince during the 3rd week of July. The visiting team from the US also conducted a 3-hour VBS session for 45 children in Fondwa, the mountain community several hours from Port-au-Prince where FHM maintains a partnership.

US team members were from White Rock Baptist Church in Durham, NC, including FHM board member, the Reverend Jean-Luc Charles, and Apex United Methodist Church in Apex, NC. Team leaders Nancy Holton (FHM board member) and Jesse Holton (FHM staff) were joined by Haiti residents Missy Owen, FHM's former missionary in Fondwa, and Junior Bataille. Another board member, Susan Stag, spent many hours with the US contingent before the trip, providing Kreyol language lessons to help the team communicate with the children.

The VBS team also did some visiting while in Haiti, connecting with Jean-Luc's aunt and uncle at their new church;with Pastor Leon Dorleans and his wife Jacky, FHM's partners in Blanchard; and with FHM's partner in Leogane, Dr. Delson Merisier. In Leogane they toured new clinic that is nearing completion.  (Click here to read about the temporary clinic.) In Fondwa, the group was able to spend time with FHM partners Se Carmelle and Se Simone. The sisters have a new addition to the orphanage; they are caring for a beautiful, healthy, week-old baby whose mother died in childbirth. 

Blanchard CLINIC Fundraising report (28 July 2008)
Thanks to recent responses from 61 individuals and 5 foundations, FHM has raised another $51,000 of the needed $78,880 for the completion of the second floor of the Blanchard Clinic.

This money, added to the funds raised at An Evening of Art for Haiti in April 2008, will allow FHM to focus on locating the remainding $10,000 to finish the construction. Approximately another $5000 is also needed to equip the clinic with tables, chairs, and other supplies. Click here to help FHM finish this important project to improve family health in Port-au-Prince.

COLPOSCOPE RECOVERED (28 July 2008)
FHMis pleased to announce the return of its colposcope from Hopital Ste. Croix. Retrieving the equipment from the now closed hospital allows FHM staff to follow up on the 234 women who have been identified as HPV positive since FHM's screen began in Fall 2007. The conventional colposcope has been installed at Hopital Cardinal Leger, and Jackie Ndirangu, FHM's research coordinator, will travel to Leogane for the next two weeks to assist in treating the affected woman.

Conventional colposcopes such as the one FHM will now use at Cardinal Leger are expensive, dependent on electricity and difficult to transport because of their size and weight.  In 1997, Family Health Ministries began developing an inexpensive, battery-powered, portable colposcope. Learn more about this innovative program that will help women around the world and how to participate by clicking here.

VBS TeaM Enjoying Blanchard (22 July 2008)
FHM’s Vacation Bible School Team arrived in Port-au-Prince safely on Saturday and attended worship at the Christian Community Church in Cite Soleil on Sunday. Team leaders Nancy and Jesse Holton played flute and clarinet, respectively, during the service.

In their first day of Bible School in the Blanchard community on Monday, the team of 9, including Missy Owen, FHM's former missionary in Fondwa, and Kemi Ogundipe, FHM's summer 2008 research intern, served over 175 students in a wonderful first day of fun and learning.

FHM runs a public health clinic in the Blanchard community with 11 Haitian employees, supplementing the work of the locals with regular mission teams from the US, including medical, VBS, and construction teams. Read more about FHM's mission trips by clicking here.

first cerviscope SPONSORSHIP (21 July 2008)
FHM’s first portable colposcope sponsorship, with the generous donation of a family from Rochester, NY, will go to Langano, Ethiopia, in early September. FHM hopes to place at least 5 more Cerviscopes by the end of 2008. Read more about the need and FHM's solution for diagnosing cervical cancer in low-resource countries by clicking here.

Jamalyn Williamson Joins staff (14 July 2008)
FHM’s long-time sponsorship coordinator, Jamalyn Peigh Williamson, moved from volunteer to FHM staff member this month.   Jamalyn is a perfect fit for her new role as Fondwa Project Manager as she and her husband Dave lived for 2 years in Fondwa after they both graduated from Duke Divinity School.  There in collaboration with the Sisters, they worked with the children at the local school and got to know their families, and also spent lots of time with the youngsters at the orphanage.

A key part of FHM’s strategic plan in the Fondwa community is to have sponsors for all 550 children at the school.  The current FHM sponsorship program supports 230 children.

A monthly gift of $25 provides a child with five meals a week during the school year, a contribution to teacher salaries, regular anti-parasite medicine, daily vitamins and an annual medical exam.  Sponsors receive pictures of their child and regular updates on their progress.  To contact Jamalyn and sign up to be a sponsor, email her at JP.Williamson@familyhm.org OR click here.

SATELLITE CLINIC MAKING GOOD PROGRESS (7 July 2008)

Kathy Walmer, FHM's executive director, tours the satellite Leogane clinic currently under construction.  Begun in March in response to the closing of Hopital Sainte Croix,  the new facility will house FHM's cervical cancer prevention program now run from Hopital Cardinal Leger, a private facility which has graciously rented space to FHM for the interim.  Click here to read about FHM's longer-term plans for the Leogane Family Health and Research Center.

Kathy and her family recently spent 10 days vacationing in Haiti and enhancing on-going relationships with FHM's partners at the Blanchard Clinic and in Fondwa as well as in Leogane.  Their trip included a visit to the northern beaches and the Citadel, below.  The Citadel was built by Henri Christophe, a key leader during the Haitian slave rebellion, after Haiti gained independence from France at the beginning of the 19th century.