The Lamp’s clinic in the neighborhood of Bwa Nèf is open to all, but we are well aware that people in Cité Soleil are hesitant to enter a neighborhood other than their own. We are very happy to announce, then, a very successful collaboration with an agency called Sakala. Sakala runs a youth empowerment and community gardening program in a nearby area of Cité Soleil called Twa Bebe (Three Babies). (See the recent article on director Daniel Tillias on this site.) In collaboration with Sakala, and with the help of volunteer medical personnel, we held our first mobile clinic there on May 30. It was a terrific success. Two hundred and twenty six people were examined by our doctors, including 147 women, 79 men and 100 children. A great range of illnesses were diagnosed and treated, including 28 people with malaria, 59 with urinary infections, 80 with gastrointestinal diseases or parasites, 24 with scabies or ringworm, 15 with asthma, pneumonia or bronchitis, 39 with anemia. A large proportion of the free medication that was dispensed was provided by AmeriCares Haiti — a big thanks to them! The event included a very strong emphasis on health education and prevention, with both doctors and nurses providing slide shows and interactive sessions on many topics. In the photo above the poster focuses on typhoid. It reads: “What is this illness? (It’s an infection) How is it caused? What are its symptoms? Prevention.” In the other photo, Claude Thomas registers patients. The venue was very conducive to an effective clinic and Sakala staff were terrific at organizing the large number of patients. The success of the event has certainly not impeded our plans to hold regular mobile clinics here!
