JEREMIE, Haiti – The air was hot and sticky, and thick with the smell of sewage as we made our way to a school in the poorest part of the city of Jeremie.

Each child was wearing a green uniform with their name written on it so they would know which one is theirs when they get to school in the morning. Every day, the children arrive in rags and then change into their uniforms.

As we entered the crowded classroom, I watched as mangy dogs and puppies moved slowly between the children; despite the efforts to make improvements, the school still remains very dilapidated.

About 300 children attend this school, 40 of whom live on the school grounds at a small orphanage, while the rest live in the surrounding slums.

But poverty here is only half the battle for these children. The other is the fight against intestinal parasites. Every day, parasites rob these children of their health and prevent them from getting what little nutrition is available from the meager meals they eat.

Operation Blessing was there as part of a city-wide anti-parasite campaign in partnership with the Ministry of Health and local church, with teams and volunteers distributing pills to children in schools and orphanages across the city.

At the orphanage, a worker ground up pills and mixed them with water to treat a group of 4 malnourished infants—children abandoned and taken in by the orphanage.

After distributing pills to all the children we were introduced to two little girls who are students at the school—Natasha, 9, and Jocoline, 10.

They took us to see their homes and Natasha gripped my hand tightly as we navigated the narrow streets to the one-room shack where she and her family lived.

The mattress on their bed was made out of old clothes and rags tied together. Their only possessions were a small charcoal stove and a bed. There was not even a door to their mud hut, which was tiny and hot inside.

Jocoline’s house was not much better; she lived with her elderly grandmother and 3 brothers.

It’s hard to believe that such poverty exists so close to our own borders—but it’s here and it’s real.

As we walked back to the school I realized just how much these children need, but I also saw hope in their faces. By undertaking this kind of program to strengthen children’s health, we are ultimately laying the building blocks to transform Haiti.

Tags: Anti-Parasite, Caribbean, Haiti, Haiti Ministry of Health, Jeremie, Medical Aid, OBI, Operation Blessing, Orphan Care

This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 2:14 pm and is filed under Caribbean, Haiti, Medical relief. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.