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Comments on Initial Meeting

• The meeting was not what I had anticipated it to be
• It appears that schools are the primary point of contact/interaction for the Catholic Church in Haiti, and the most effective means of medical assistance in the schools is in the role of educator – sanitation techniques, water treatment methods, disease prevention, etc
• Many of the meeting attendees are doctors, dentists, and nurse/practitioners.
• In my opinion, it would be a poor use to their talents to spend their volunteer time in such educational roles
• This is NOT to say that the educational based mission should not be considered, just that others should consider pursuing this particular mission
• One of the comments made towards the end of the meeting was “Go to Haiti with your education mission, come back, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your program, restructure and return. As you continue to visit you will begin to realize what the needs are and go from there”.
• Most hospitals, clinics, etc. are state run/supervised (is this true?) and any interaction with them would require working with the government – not the Catholic Church – unless . . .
• Are there any Catholic Hospitals in Haiti?

I have visited our parish in Haiti only once (thus far). In this rural parish (St. Elizabeth de Perodin), most of the basic medical needs of the people are served by a clinic which is run by the French-based InterAide. Primary care, preventive medicine, pre-and post-natal care for mothers, and health education services are available. Any major medical issues require the transport of patients down the mountain to more sophisticated medical treatment. Staff members also go out to more remote areas to extend these services. However, there are no dental services.

In our meetings with the Parish Council and discussions with the Pastor and some of his staff, it was made very clear that a dental mission was something that would be of great benefit to the people of the region. We also saw people with severe tooth aches, swollen jaws and in considerable pain.

It seems obvious to me that here is a recognized issue for which services have been requested and might be the object of at least one missionary project.