What will we be doing?
- Arrive in Port-au-Prince on the mainland
- Travel to the island of La Gonave by ferry boat
- Run a 4-day clinic to service the community of Pointe-a-Raquettes
- You will be staying in a compound in Pointe-a-Raquettes…AND IT’S ON THE BEACH!
- Return to Porte-au-Prince for the last couple days
- Run a one-day mini clinic for the impoverished children of the slums in Port-au-Prince
- The kids will be invited to the hotel for the afternoon to have lunch, go swimming in the pool and spend time with you!
- Sightseeing trip up the mountains of Port au Prince to Fort Jacques- a historical landmark commemorating Haitian freedom over slavery
Where are we going to stay?
Port-au-Prince:
- During the first day in Port-au-Prince you will stay in a guest house set up like a hostel with dormitory style sleeping. There is electricity, but no air conditioning
- When you return to Porte-au-Prince you will stay at the Visa Lodge (www.visalodge.com) where you will enjoy modern western amenities such as air conditioning and satellite TV. Yay!
On La Gonave:
- You will be guests of the local Pastor/ Priest, Rev. LericheRoosevelt. His accommodations are more sparse than that of the guest house, but still comfortable. Each person will have a bed, mattress, or cot to sleep on with fresh linen and you will be able to shower
What are we going to eat??
- All meals will be provided for the team. In Port au Prince, the guest house has a staff that does the cooking and the cost of meals are included in the cost of the stay.
- On La Gonave, Rev. Roosevelt hires someone to prepare meals for the team. He is very specific withinstructions about food handling and food safety. Meals often include rice and beans, plantain, and maybe a goat or two. Being an island he does include seafood with some of the meals.
- At the Visa Lodge there is a restaurant on the grounds that you will be dining in.
Who will our Patients be?
La Gonave:
- The residents of La Gonave are desperately poor. Many families earn less than $10 per year burning trees to make charcoal which is sold on the mainland.
- The countryside is void of much topsoil so farmers yield very little in the way of sustainable farming.
- The island is about 26 miles around. There are about 180,000 living there.
Pointe-a-Raquettes:
- 4000 residents in the city center and another 15,000 within the outlying countryside.
- Rays of Hope has built a clinic at the location and pay for one Haitian nurse to oversee it
- Malnutrition and waterborne disease is very evident among the residents,especially the children.
the residents of Pointe a Raquettes and the surrounding community are some of the nicest and warmest people you will ever meet. They will welcome the team, knowing that your visit brings help, healing, and hope.
Port-au-Prince
- 50-60 children from the Rays of Hope CASEDHAI program.
- These children come from the slums of Cite Soliel in Port au Prince. Their situation is very difficult too and they rarely ever see doctors.
- Many of the children suffer from waterborne disease, malnutrition, and various skin disease and fungus.
