Our Wellness Program

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Project:

Wellness Program – Ongoing Funding Need

Overview:

We are hoping to help cut down on the dust and the mites that live within that dust with a concrete upgrade to our Boy Campus. This includes laying a driveway along with better walkways and benches for the children to play and congregate. It would NOT eliminate the soccer field or current basketball court, but rather enhance their locations and allow for alternate playing spaces when those areas are being used.

It would also enhance the garden area that is planted with banana trees, tomatoes, and eggplants each spring. In addition to a cleaner campus cutting down the dust will greatly reduce the exposure of our boys to scabies. These outbreaks are a direct cause of the dirt being our main playing medium. With the addition of concrete, we can also help better the health of our children and those that visit us from the day school.

The Need

The Wellness Program started at Maison Fortuné Orphanage in August 2008 with an on-site medical clinic.  Since that time there has been much progress with the development of relationships with the nearby Ste. Thérèse Hospital’s, Zanmi Lasante (Partners in Health) staff and facilities, and the local MidWives for Haiti volunteers and groups.

A clinic was established on the orphanage site complete with medical records on each of the children. Our common medical treatments include scabies, fungal infections, intermittent respiratory infection, acid reflux, and GI disorders.  In 2009, our local staff expanded to include a full-time nurse serving on-site at the clinic and a part-time Doctor who visits twice a week.

The funds contributed to our Wellness program help address the following needs:

• Cost of testing and hospital visits for special cases
• Staff salaries of the Clinic
• Purchase of supplies for the first-aid cabinet and routine medicines kept in stock.
• Provision of health education and related materials used on both campuses
• Nutritional education at MFO and special dietary requirements for the children who become sick
• Coverage of medical emergencies.