SWLT has purchased a small building in Despinasse that will be used for a clinic. This is our project for 2020. The people that live in this small village have no clean water. They drink, bath and do laundry all from the same spring. Haiti has the highest incidence of T.B. in the Americas. Gastrointestinal disorders, parasites, pneumonia, malnutrition and the high incidence of infections due to dirty living conditions make the need for a local clinic a necessity.
There is no health insurance in Haiti. If a person does not have money, they do not receive healthcare. There are hospitals; mainly in Port au Prince, but these hospitals are overwhelmed and will only accept cash-paying customers given there are no credit cards in Haiti. Most hospitals are full to capacity and it is not abnormal for a patient to travel to three or more hospitals before finding one that will accept them, often with grave outcomes.
The clinic will allow the people of Despinasse to be triaged by a nurse. This nurse will be able to take care of most issues along with childbirth. Only the worst cases will be sent on in search of a hospital.
SWLT will be raising funds in 2020 to update this two-room building with new cement floors, roof repairs, paint, a desk, cots, and clinic supplies. Nurses in Haiti average a monthly income of $300. The nurse we hire will be paid by donations SWLT receives.
SWLT will travel to Despinasse every six months bringing doctors and dentist that would like to donate their time along with supplies to replenish what has been used. We depend on donated supplies from various companies in the U.S.