FHI Haiti: 2013 In Summary

FHI Haiti Mission Team 2013- Club Indigo, Haiti

Back in the U.S. once again after my second medical mission in Haiti. Its wild that days ago I was waking up to roosters calling, children singing in Creole, underneath a mosquito net, in an unfinished hospital. This year's trip was just as eye opening, if not more so than last years. I'm again conflicted in my perspective, and am coming to terms with the drastic differences in lifestyle, and outrageous inequalities in the world. With some thought and reflection I hope to come to some sound conclusions and feelings. All things considered, it is an incredible honor and privilege to serve in Haiti alongside the Haitian medical professionals and translators.

FHI Dental Team 2013

Our dental team this year consisted of 9 people, which was an upgrade from the dental firestorm of myself and Ryan last year. The team included Christine, James and Sarah from NYU Dental, Katy, Amrita and myself from Buffalo Dental, dental oncologist Dr. Ryan Lee, Pediatric Dentist Dr. Esther Yang, and General Practitioner Dr. Shin Kim.  We worked wonderfully together as a team, and as usual, we had our most efficient day on our final day of clinic. Having a larger team allowed me time to experience more of Haitian culture, speak with the local people at our clinic sites, and gain a deeper appreciation for Haitian culture.

Dental Triage, Arcachon 32 Clinic

I spent New Year's Eve with Jean Filostin, the director of Institute of Grace in Merger, Dylan, a friend of mine from Buffalo, and Remy, a psychologist from the US who started an orphanage in Haiti after the earthquake. That night Remy and Jean shared with us things about Haiti and their lives that I couldn't have imagined. Jean's big project is Hopital Miracia, which is the hospital portion of Institute of Grace. Jean also runs a school nearby and cares for a number of orphaned children in the village. There are many children always running around the outside of the Hospital. I had always thought they went home to their parents at night. The truth was that most of these children's parents had died from infections, HIV, or other conditions that are endemic in Haiti. Jean takes these children in because these children also attend a school he also is involved with. Others who take in these children may literally enslave these children, and have them work in the house instead of attending school. Many of these children also have medical conditions that they cannot afford to treat, and may not receive any care if it were not for the NGOs involved in Haiti. I was floored that these things were happening, because most people I came into contact with are so welcoming and the children all seemed so happy to me. 

Remy's story was another inspiration in itself. Remy was born and raised in Haiti, and was one of many siblings. He was always involved in his church and missionaries had always been a part of his life. A missionary was actually the person who granted him the funds for his education. He stressed to us the importance of having a healthy relationship with money and never letting fear change you. His story and views on life are incredibly inspiring and is a testament to the things that can be achieved if one has a passion for helping others. His orphange is still growing and we are hoping to involve it as a site for future FHI outreaches. The children we saw in Haiti actually had relatively healthy dentitions. The amount of decay in adults however reflects a change in diet or behavior from childhood. 

1st Entrepreneurship Conference, Club Indigo, Haiti

Both Jean and Remy's stories about their ventures are the perfect segway into another experience that was particularly memorable: FHI's first Entrepreneurship Conference. FHI's vision is to see Haitian medical professionals reform their own health care system with their own ideas. Our approach involves educating the doctors, nurses and other members of the healthcare system to begin thinking of their problems as opportunities for growth and change. Over time, the hope is that ideas will arise, and a competition will be held where Haitians present their ideas. An international panel will judge the ideas and providing funding to the best business plan. The conference was held at Club Indigo, near Montroius, along the coast. The club was unlike any place I've ever seen in Haiti. Dr. Chen lead the conference, speaking about what entrepreneurship was, and how it could be used in Haiti to reform healthcare. Tim, a non-medical member of the FHI team presented a case study as an example of social entrepreneurship in India. The Avarind Eye Care System provides cataract surgeries to more patients in India than was ever thought possible. Through their system many of their patients receive free care.  Avarind's system is complex, but at it's core is the optimization of the cataract surgery process, minimizing cost without compromising care. Another case study was presented by Dr. Lee which focused on improving access to care in rural Africa utilizing a network of motorbikes. After the presentations we broke into groups and discussed different problems within Haiti's health care system. My group in particular kept returning to education as a core problem, ergo, a prime opportunity. Other issues such as transportation, access to materials, and access to doctors also came up. The interesting thing I found was that some of these problems, if not all are problems in the U.S. as well. I'm really excited to see where this leads in a few years.  

Fluoride & OHI - Fond Parisen, Haiti

Our visit to Fonds Parisen this year was focused more on Pediatric preventative dentistry, although we still did extractions. Dr. Lee's passion for public health and continually stressing "One child treated with fluoride is worth 10 extractions in my mind" definitely left an impression on me. In the US we sometimes take oral hygiene instructions for granted, but in places like Fond Parisen, these children have never, and would never have been shown how to properly care for their teeth, let alone by a pediatric dentist! The kids were excited and compliant in participating in our songs and games. We arranged a pediatric area where the kids sit on a few large branches and individually taught each child how to brush, provided fluoride treatment, and gave them toothbrushes and toothpaste. Dr. Yang was incredible to learn from and work with. Despite the language barrier, she engaged the children and I feel that our efforts will really make a difference. 

Fond Parisien, Haiti

Reflecting as a whole, I know that I surely took away more from my experience in Haiti than I could give. While our efforts to improve the health of these populations may or may not be appreciated, the magic of the experience is in the relationships fostered. My heart was touched by so many in the past week. The love shown to us by the Haitian people is overwhelming in the greatest sense of the word. 

Photos and journal entires to be posted in the coming days!
Happy New Year All! 

[Photo Credits: Kyungsik James Yang]