Project Haiti

March 2010 Trip

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From March 13-20, nine students and five physicians are partnering with International Medical Alliance of Tennessee (http://www.imaonline.org/) to work on the border of Haiti to help provide medical care through mobile health clinics. These efforts will be focused in and around the town of Jimaní, which serves as one of the two main thoroughfares between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Akamil Nutrition Center

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The mission of the Akamil Nutrition Center is to manufacture a nutritious substance (Akamil) - made from locally grown cereals and vegetables - as a primary food source during the critical time of weaning. According to Dr. Abrams of Baylor College of Medicine, the ages of 6 months to 2 years are the most precarious years during a human being's development. During this transition from breast milk to solid food, millions of children worldwide succumb to starvation or an illness secondary to malnutrition. Additionally, the children ages 0-5 in the Central Plateau region of Haiti suffer from the highest rates of chronic malnutrition of any Haitian children. These truths, coupled with the staggering statistic that over 80% of Haitians suffer from some degree of malnutrition, assert the potential life-saving benefits of the Akamil this nutrition center hopes to produce.

Moreover, besides providing annual nutrition for over 200,000 people, the Akamil Nutrition Center will provide 175 short-term construction jobs and 29 permanent jobs for the local community. It will also serve as an epicenter for community nutrition education and having lodging for staff, visitors, and health care providers wishing to work or volunteer near Thomonde. It will include a treatment center for severe malnutrition. Additionally, the organic farm land on the center's property will serve as a testing ground to assess both feasibility for local production and plant growth in the absence of toxic pesticides. Finally, it will provide enterprise for women from neighboring villages by allowing them to purchase Akamil and re-sell the porridge in their own villages.

The goal of Project Haiti is to raise $50,000 of the $100,000 cost of completing the Akamil Nutrition Center. We feel that a split investment in the center will show our dedication to the project, while allowing for community buy-in to the effort ("sweat equity" as my Entrepreneurship professor at Northwestern would say). Would you please consider partnering with UTHSCSA-Haiti, Project Medishare, and myself in bringing this necessary service to rural Haitians? I know all too well the bloated pain of a growling belly that aches for food and wrestles you awake as you try to sleep at night. Only my "starvation" was temporary and self-induced as I lost 100 pounds before my senior year of high school. Our fellow man, these Haitian children, are in a much different predicament: they have no choice. Eating is not an option. I urge you to please consider donating according to your ability.

Please visit the following links as they pertain to what you wish to do:
- For donation to the Akamil Nutrition Center:https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=81613&lis=1&kntae81613=6353891EC8DB4EFEBC5ECBCBFF96A345&supId=238477862
or by visiting: http://www.projectmedishare.kintera.org/faf/search/searchParticipants.asp?ievent=81613&lis=1&kntae81613=6353891EC8DB4EFEBC5ECBCBFF96A345
- To learn more about Project Medishare: http://www.projectmedishare.kintera.org
- To learn more about UTHSCSA-Haiti: http://www.texashumanities.org/project_medishare.cfm

-Dan Clark
UTHSCSA Haiti
MD/MPH Class of 2012

Agents de Sante

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Similar to the "Promotoras" health educator idea prevalent along the Texas-Mexico border, Agents de Sante are trusted health allies attuned to the community and individual needs of Haitians in Project Medishare's service area. Agents de Sante provide hands-on health promotion and health care delivery, including: daily visits for Directly Observed Therapy (DOT), medication re-supply, advertising upcoming mobile clinics from Project Medishare's affiliated medical schools, and referring serious health conditions to larger health centers.