Success Stories

Julner Duval
When we first met Julner in 2000, he had only been able to attend school sporadically. He was 19 years old and had never been out of the back country. His father was dead, and his mother struggled to feed her 10 children. Now, six years later, Julner has made up for lost time. He is in his second year of dental school in Port-au-Prince. His grades are among the very best of all students ever enrolled at Nazon House. He has earned the position of House Monitor, overseeing the education of the younger students and the running of the household. When he finishes his education, Julner will return to work at our hospital dental clinic in Fond des Blancs and help his mother support his younger siblings.

Build-a-House Program
To date, 22 houses have been built for needy families in Fond des Blancs. In addition, funding has been secured for another five houses. With the help and generosity of our donors, we are making a world of difference to some of the poorest families in Fond des Blancs, one house at a time.

Sylvana and Family
In 2002 at age 6, Sylvana had surgery in the U.S. for a congenital heart defect. She is now a thriving 10 year-old in Haiti. Her mother had emergency surgery in Port-au-Prince for a life threatening condition and recovered. All of the family's seven children are now in school. They owe their dramatically improved family circumstances to the generosity of our donors.

Miliane Cleremont, M.D.
A former nurse at our hospital in Fond des Blancs, Miliane has completed seven years of medical school and returned to work at St. Boniface Hospital in Fond des Blancs. The staff and the community are delighted to have her back. Her talent and potential would never have been realized without the opportunity provided by the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation benefactors who sponsored her.

Chapels
Father Hercule, the only priest for St. Francis Xavier Parish in Fond des Blancs, is also responsible for 18 chapels in the 107 square-mile mountainous areas surrounding Fond des Blancs. The condition of many of these chapels is deplorable. In addition, they house chapel schools for the children who live too far away to attend the main parish school. Through the generosity of our donors, we have been able to build two beautiful and sturdy chapels to replace two of the worst structures in the outling areas. Located in Doriol and Savan Henri, the beautiful chapels are a joy and inspiration to the poor in those areas.

Women's Cooperative and Library
An offshoot of the hospital's presence in Fond des Blancs has been the creation of a Women's Cooperative which makes beautiful hand embroidered linens and nightgowns for sale in the US and Haiti. This is the personal effort of Sarah Hackett, a former public health nurse and the first administrator of our hospital in Haiti. In her vision of a better world for the poor of the area, she has formed a library where accomplished and newly literate readers can borrow books with a library card for 12 cents per year. She is currently raising money to build a bigger and better library for the people of Fond des Blancs. To the community in the back country, this is something both awesome and wonderful. Donations of books in French to expand the library offerings are welcome. You may contact Sarah at haitiprojects2@yahoo.com

Dental Clinic Volunteers
Dr. Wilner, the only full-time dentist in our wide area, has worked long and hard in virtual isolation for years. Five years ago,John Meade, a dentist from Winchester began visiting him in Fond des Blancs. He has brought equipment, supplies, and expertise to Dr. Wilner, but equally important has been his moral support. Kay Perkins, DMD, from Milton,MA has also been visiting and has launched a major Fluoride Program for local school children. Dr. Wilner has a new dental chair and drill and knows that there are dentists in the "great out there" who care and supports his efforts.

Jacksonville Update
Jack Logue, retired Executive Vice-President and Chief-Operating Officer of St. Vincent Medical Center, Jacksonville, Florida, is now Director of their Spirituality Center. He and his wife, Sandy, lead four Surgical Teams and 2-3 Work Retreat groups to our hospital in Haiti each year. Sandy has been coordinator of our Surgical Teams since completion of our Operating Room in 2000. They make a wonderful team and have done a great deal to advance our work among the poor of Haiti.

Elderly Project
Queen of Peace Elderly Housing Project is in full operation with 12 permanent residents and a caretaker onsite. Care includes weekly nursing visits and participation in our Nutrition Program to assure residents of an adequate diet. Many elderly live in settings that are beyond belief. This is a prototype in an effort to address this need.

Food for the Poor
St. Boniface Haiti Foundation is enjoying a new collaborative relationship with Food for the Poor. They have already provided office furniture and hospital beds and have committed to sending us a truckload of food, such as rice and beans, oncea month to help provide for the families in our feeding program. They have also sent staff out to evaluate the needs and plan future projects. Under consideration at this time are new housing projects, fishing boats and education for fishermen, and the creation of a fish farming project.

Goat Project
From humble beginnings, this project has been so successful that there are now goats all over Fond des Blancs. It began with a modest number of donated animals given to families with the understanding they were to give one of their goat's first offspring to a family which had not goats. The program grew and management was transferred to the local Peasant Cooperative. Currently, a family buys goats at a fair price paid for in small increments as their flocks grow, with no interest. The breeding and sale of goats has become so productive that 1000 goats a week are now sold at market. In Haiti, goats are used primarily as food and a source of income.