Shifting Focus to Grand Sud

In response to the 2021 earthquake, HAM began providing needed surgical care in the southern peninsula of Haiti (known as the Grand Sud). Initially, we thought our time in the Grand Sud would be limited, but due to the closure of the clinic in Dumay and the ongoing gap in healthcare services around Miragoâne, we have decided to stay and partner with the community to help meet their healthcare needs.   

From January 1 to
September 30, 2022,
these services WEre PROVIDED in the Grand Sud:  

Orthopedic consultations:  754 

Orthopedic surgeries: 50 

Surgical consultations: 377 

General surgeries: 250 

Wound care: 119 

Building a Clinic in the Grand Sud 

For the first time in its history, HAM owns land in Haiti! In October, we purchased a plot of land just outside of Miragoâne with the goal of building a healthcare clinic in the coming year. Presently, HAM is providing surgical and safe birthing services at the local hospital, Ste. Therese de Miragoâne, but there is an urgent need for a separate primary care clinic and ambulatory surgery center in the region. In 2023, we will explore the feasibility of building such a facility on this plot of land.  

Small, Nimble and Adapting

So many organizations are pulling out of Haiti now because of the instability, but there is no one to fill the gap. The government will not do it. The international aid community is scrambling, but many of these organizations are big bureaucratic machines and their aid will take time. This is where groups like Healing Art Missions come in. We are small and nimble enough to adapt programming to help a targeted community. So, we are adapting!

Charles Solomon School

Although the start of the school year in Haiti has been delayed due to the nationwide lockdown and safety concerns, the Charles Solomon Primary School is ready for the school year. This past summer, there was some damage to the foundation of the pre-K building due to a heavy storm, which will need to be addressed in the coming year. We have received a generous donation from the South Sacramento Rotary Club so we can begin these repairs. .

Demier Clean Water and Health Program

This program continues to provide clean water to hundreds of people in the rural mountainous community of Demier. The program also continues to provide basic first aid and public health. This year, HAM invested in a new horse to help transport supplies to the community.

Dumay Clinic, by the numbers

Services provided October 1, 2021 - July 31, 2022

How HAM is Still Helping

Dr. Jacques continues to lead healthcare teams in Haiti under the name Healing Art Missions. He shared that even though there is a generalized mistrust of NGOs in Haiti due to corruption and misappropriation of funds, Healing Art Missions remains above the fray. HAM is trusted and respected by government officials, healthcare professionals, and the communities where we work.

Dr. Jacques has been focusing his work in the Nippes region at the Hôpital Ste. Thérèse de Miragoâne. Currently, 100% of orthopedic care in the entire Nippes region is being provided by Healing Art Missions and the vast majority of surgical care as well. Dr. Jacques has been performing many surgeries including complex procedures such as a tenorrhaphy, plastic surgery for a damaged ear, and the first laparotomy for peritonitis done in the region in five years.

Dr. Jacques, and his team of medical care professionals, continue to find ways to work around the nationwide lockdowns, travel restrictions, and difficulties accessing fuel and supplies.

When he is not performing surgery in Nippes, Dr. Jacques works with medical partners in Port Salut to provide telemedicine using WhatsApp video conferencing.

Additionally, he is working directly with the administration of the Hôpital Ste. Thérèse to establish a plan to address the lack of anesthesia and anesthesiologists in the Nippes region. Currently, there is not an anesthesiologist who lives in Nippes and the hospital relies on anesthesiologists from other regions to travel in when they are available. Dr. Jacques is working on a plan that would enable 24/7 coverage by anesthesiology, which would address this dire need. Additionally, he is identifying resources to ensure the proper anesthesia is available at the hospital, which is not currently the case.

In addition to Dr. Jacques’ services, HAM’s midwife Joël Saint-Cyr has been providing safe birthing services to the women of Nippes as well. During the lockdowns in Haiti, he has been the only midwife in the hospital and has been supervising the nursing team. In August, he delivered 18 babies—10 girls and 8 boys!

Healing Art Missions is able to continue providing healthcare to the people of Haiti thanks to our generous supporters. Thank you for making this work possible!

A Humanitarian Crisis is Unfolding in Haiti

Friends, it has been a difficult month in Haiti. As I write this, Haiti is in the midst of a nationwide strike and protest to demand a reduction in fuel prices and that acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry step down.

Gas prices in Haiti have soared in recent months as the government announced it will no longer heavily subsidize the cost of fuel. In response, the Haitian G9 gang took control of Haiti’s main fuel terminal, Terminal Varreaux, and have created a barricade. For most Haitians, gas has only been available on the black market and, at times, has cost upwards of $40 a gallon.

Accordingly, people cannot afford to buy gas to travel to work and organizations in Haiti, including healthcare providers, have had to close because they cannot find gas to run generators.

Gas is scarce, food is scarce, the threat of gang violence looms, and the government is unresponsive. This is the current reality for Haiti right now.

Haitian demonstrators are expressing their frustration with their circumstances and with what they perceive to be a broken humanitarian aid system in Haiti by ransacking, looting, and burning NGO facilities around the country. They are currently sparing healthcare providers, but NGOs that provide food and other services have been forced to abandon their operations ahead of angry mobs desperate for food or supplies.

Healthcare providers are also struggling. Since electricity is currently unreliable, many of them have to rely on generators to maintain operations. Without access to fuel, they are struggling to keep vaccines and medications refrigerated and to have the resources needed to keep the lights on during surgical procedures. Oxygen and other necessary medical supplies are also hard to come by.

Under these circumstances, many services have ceased and access to healthcare and social services is difficult.

Although this news seems dire, I want to emphasize that these demonstrations are a natural consequence of the circumstances impacting everyday Haitians. The Haitian government is without a parliament, without elected officials, and without judicial leadership. The people are suffering and they have taken to the streets to demand food, economic security, physical safety, and elected representation. They have been demonstrating for weeks, but circumstances have not changed, so the situation is escalating.

Healing Art Missions has always stood in solidarity with Haitians who wants to improve their lives and, although we do not condone violence or criminal activity, we stand with our Haitian friends again today and hope that their nationwide activism helps bring about the changes needed for their personal safety and well-being.

As this situation unfolds, we also are continuing to provide healthcare services in Haiti. Our work has not ceased. Please continue to read on to learn more about how Dr. Jacques is providing needed care in spite of the turmoil all around him.

The End of an Era

Friends, we are writing to you today with a heavy heart as we have sad news to share—we have made the difficult decision to close the clinic in Dumay, Haiti indefinitely. As you can imagine, this is not a decision we came to lightly. It has broken our hearts to even have to write these words. Yet, however challenging this may be, we are certain that this is the right decision for Healing Art Missions at this moment in time.

As you know, the violent gang activity in the areas surrounding Port-au-Prince has been increasing recently. Nearly all businesses in Croix-des-Bouquets and Dumay have been closed for many months due to the risk of kidnapping or extortion by gang members.

For a time, the clinic was the exception and our amazing Haitian staff were able to provide healthcare services to the community. We were hopeful that we would be able to continue to operate and ride out this difficult moment in Haiti’s history, but that is not to be.

The situation in Dumay has become too dangerous for our staff and patients to travel safely to and from the clinic as the area around the clinic has become a haven for gang activity. We cannot, in good conscience, risk the wellbeing of our staff by maintaining services and, thus, have ceased operations.

We do not anticipate reopening the clinic or that HAM will have continued operations in Dumay in the foreseeable future.

The situation around Dumay is so volatile that, in recent months, the number of patients we were treating decreased by 20-50% in any given month as people moved out of the area and into other regions of Haiti that are not controlled by the gangs, such as the South, North, and Central Plateau.

As for clinic staff, we are currently working directly with each of them to ensure they receive a generous severance package and assistance as they explore options for continued employment and safe living situations for themselves and their families.

Although it is difficult for us to imagine not operating in Dumay, we feel that we have no choice but to move our operations to a safer location. Accordingly, Healing Art Missions will now be focusing its efforts on building a new program in the Nippes region of Haiti. So, though we collectively grieve the loss of our beloved clinic, please stay with us to see what we can accomplish together in this new endeavor. It is the end of an era, yes, but also a time of new possibility.

A New Beginning

Healing Art Missions has been operating a surgical program in the Department of Nippes for nearly a year. As you may recall, this program started out as a short-term emergency relief program in response to the August 2021 earthquake, but then evolved into a long-term commitment once we realized there was an ongoing need for surgical and safe birthing care.

After spending time at the hospital where HAM is providing services, Hôpital Sainte Thérèse de Miragoâne, Dr. Jacques recognized that there were neither resident surgeons, nor anesthesiologists on staff and that HAM was the only organization providing surgical services in the Nippes region.

For this reason, Dr. Jacques has focused on building relationships with medical providers in the Department of Nippes and HAM is well-positioned to pivot our programming there. From this point forward, Dr. Jacques will continue to build the surgical program at Hôpital Sainte Thérèse, while also exploring additional medical partners and ways we can serve the community.

Dr. Jacques has identified a great need for specialty medical services in the Nippes region and feels that there is an opportunity for HAM to fill important gaps in care coverage for the vulnerable people who live there.

In spite of our recent setback in Dumay, HAM remains focused on finding a way to help the people of Haiti. These are difficult times for Haitians, and we remain committed to not looking away as they as they suffer, grieve loss, and live in fear. We are not giving up hope for Haiti’s future and we will continue to try to make a difference however and wherever we can.

We are grateful that you, our friends and supporters, have been on this journey with us thus far, and we ask you to stay with us as we find new ways to work with Haitian communities and people. We truly appreciate your support and patience as we navigate this time of transition and look forward to sharing more about our work in Nippes as the program develops.

The Cycle Continues

It is that time of year again! The start of the Haitian school year is Monday, October 3, 2022. We are preparing to welcome over 350 students back to school at the Charles Solomon School in Port-de-Paix.

Jean Herard Charles, the school’s founder, has shared that the community is eager for the year to start. Port-de-Paix is currently safe from gang activity and, although the start of the school year has been pushed back by a month, they are anticipating an uninterrupted school year.

We are grateful that the teachers, children, and families will have a safe, supportive place to learn and grow. Unfortunately, for children living around Port-au-Prince, this is not the case as, according to government figures, more than 1,700 schools have closed, and half a million children have lost access to education due to gang violence. These children are then being recruited by gang members as soldiers or spies. It is unconscionable.

Fortunately, this is not impacting the community around Charles Solomon School, and the kids can learn and play in peace.

HAM has been supporting the Charles Solomon School for 12 years and is so grateful to be able to provide a safe space for kids to be kids. Thank you for your continued support of this important school in the community of Port-des-Paix—we couldn’t do it without you!

A ‘Shield of Safety’ in one of Haiti’s Red Zones

Those of us here in the U.S. have been watching the news from Haiti with a mix of horror and disbelief. It’s hard to believe that the situation in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas could have deteriorated so much and so quickly. Yet, with the recent news that more than 417 people were killed in the span of 10 days due to gang violence—many who had no ties to gangs at all—it’s clear that the area surrounding Port-au-Prince is not safe and its people are struggling.

Not far away, in the various districts of Croix-des-Bouquets, including Dumay where the HAM health clinic is located, the situation is similar. For more than two years, the region has been controlled by armed gangs and is now a red zone. For those who have been to Haiti and know and love these communities, it is a bitter pill to swallow.

Recently, Dr. Jacques wrote to us to describe what it is like on the ground in Dumay for the clinic staff and community members. He shared that most businesses in the area have had to close down, and senior executives have had to flee the country due to the risk of kidnapping, or after actually having been kidnapped. Everyday people are simply trapped in their homes and neighborhoods, too fearful to venture out.

Due to these factors, the clinic has had to adapt. Dr. Jacques has:

Set up emergency services focused on victims of gun violence: In the last two months alone, the clinic has seen more than 20 gunshot wound patients. This number is huge for such a small, rural community. The new process helps Dr. Jacques and his team receive, stabilize, and manage these cases in a more systematic way.

Adding radiology services: The clinic is now offering x-ray services one day per week for clinic patients and as needed for emergencies. This service is offered in partnership with St. Luc Hospital.

24-hour coverage: The clinic staff has adapted to be available 24-hours for the increasing number of emergency cases. The staff midwives are now also helping with emergency services because fewer people are coming to the clinic for childbirth due to the instability in the region. Dr. Jacques is also available any time day or night, even when he is on vacation, to help the clinic staff arrange for specialty surgical and post-op care teams as needed.  

Expanding the network of specialists: Dr. Jacques is creating a network of consultant specialists in orthopedics, surgery, and anesthesiology who are available to consult or to participate in difficult cases received at the clinic.

Dr. Jacques shared that the clinic staff are committed to providing high-level medical services to the community although they are all living under a cloud of fear due to the presence of gangsters. Clinic staff and other medical professionals are a primary target of kidnapping in Haiti, but Dr. Jacques has been able to negotiate safety for HAM staff and partners.

The significance of this cannot be overstated—in other communities near Croix-des-Bouquet, clinics have to pay off gangs to provide safety for their staff and patients, but currently HAM’s clinic in Dumay does not have to pay any “gangster tax” and its staff is not a target for the gangs.

Additionally, the partnerships Dr. Jacques has set up with other medical professionals are truly extraordinary. For example, an OB/GYN partner he has recruited typically works at a larger public hospital in Croix-des-Bouquets, but he shared that he has not been able to provide services at that hospital since April because it is not safe for him to travel there. All the essential functions at that hospital—surgery, labs, x-rays, pediatric care, OB/GYN services—are at a standstill because it is not possible for the staff to travel to and from the hospital without the threat of kidnapping or violence. However, this doctor can safely travel to the HAM clinic in Dumay and he has been providing weekly care including hysterectomies and C-sections when needed.

This is just one example of how HAM’s respected reputation and Dr. Jacques’ expertise and trustworthiness continue to benefit the Dumay area, despite significant challenges.

Dr. Jacques wrote:

It is a moral duty to continue to provide equitable care for everyone regardless of their origin, or the sectors to which they belong, even if we are worried about our safety. We continue to establish HAM’s clinic as a crucial and indispensable need for ALL members of the community. The more this is understood, the more HAM’s reputation can serve as a shield of safety for our staff, our patients, and the greater population.

We will continue to keep you updated as the situation in Haiti unfolds. In the meantime, if you’d like to make a donation in support of Dr. Jacques’ work at the clinic, you can do so here.  And, if you’d like to send any words of encouragement to the HAM clinic staff, you can email those to connie@healingartmissions.org and all comments will be compiled and shared with the clinic team so they know their work is recognized, appreciated, and supported by those of us who cannot be there to work alongside them in person.

Thank you for your continued support of HAM’s efforts and for helping us navigate this challenging new reality.

Additionally, if you’d like to learn more about the impact of gangs in Haiti, we recommend the following article:

InSight Crime: G9 vs. GPEP – The Two Gang Alliances Tearing Haiti Apart

Dr. Tracee's Reflections at Mid Year 2022

On the final day of my first trip to Haiti, I faced a long line of mothers with thin babies, hoping that the group of visiting American doctors and nurses could provide care to save their children. As the time to leave approached, I walked down that line, identifying the sickest children for treatment, placating other mothers with worm medicine and small bags of vitamins. Those remaining mothers were devastated; they fell to the ground wailing. The scene was intolerable and I knew it had to change! I am proud to say that in the intervening twenty-three years, our mission in Haiti has grown exponentially, and we have just appointed our very first U.S. Executive Director to coordinate it.

Photography by Jessica Phelps

Since that day, Healing Art Missions (HAM) has developed into a robust community health program partnering with the people of Dumay to provide primary care, vaccine clinics, a safe birthing center, eye care, surgical care, lab, pharmacy, and clean water programs. Most importantly, HAM’s Dumay Clinic, like all our programs in Haiti, is entirely led, managed and operated by Haitians! In fact, neither I nor any of our U.S. based HAM team have visited Haiti for 29 months due to the pandemic and the socio-political violence. But HAM’s services and facilities have not faltered. Indeed, not only have operations continued, they have expanded to meet the increased needs of the Haitian people.

Our Successes Under Stressful Conditions

Over the past year, the civil turmoil in Haiti has become so extreme that various gangs control most of Port-au-Prince and the Dumay/ Croix-des-Bouquets zone, with no clear end in sight. Nonetheless, Dr. Jacques, HAM’s Medical Director and CEO of Haitian operations, has been able to negotiate safe passage for our staff and patients, allowing the Dumay Clinic to remain open and operating. Even gang leaders recognize the importance of health care in the communities they control. The Dumay clinic now regularly treats victims of gun violence.

Beyond Dumay, the HAM initiative begun in response to last year’s earthquake in south-west Haiti has become an ongoing surgical care program for the Nippes region. While working with partner hospitals in the cities of Les Cayes and Miragoane, Dr. Jacques identified a greater systemic medical challenge in the region. Its hospitals had no resident surgeons nor anesthetists on staff, forcing Nippes patients to travel to Port-au-Prince for surgery, a journey made perilous by poor, gang-controlled roads. Last year, after an ambulance transporting earthquake victims to Port-au Prince was hijacked, it became clear that it would be safer and more efficient to transport medical teams and supplies to Nippes via small plane than to transport surgical patients to the capitol. This inspired HAM’s latest project-- the Nippes Surgical Program, which flies Port-au-Prince-based specialist teams twice monthly to the region to offer critical surgical care.