Dear Friends –
I have been lucky enough to have met a local resident in Cité Soleil in the past few years with whom I have become friends. Alfred lives in the Bwa Nèf section, not far from the Lamp Health Center. A few years ago while living in another part of Haiti, his wife died. “Li te gen fyèv, le sa a mouri,” he recounted sadly to me one afternoon, describing the febrile illness that would take her. At the time she had no access to a doctor or medication.
Alfred is constantly smiling. He lives with this two children in a home constructed of wood cross beams, corrugated tin and rust on the outside, but love and patience and kindness on the inside.
Alfred earns a living by making wood burning stoves for cooking. He has a small workshop next to his home. If you visit, you know he’s there because you can hear the tink, tink, tink of his hammer and awl, pounding the sheets of metal from discarded barrels into rounded forms that will eventually form the finished product. I like to visit Alfred, to sit with him and chat about our families, and admire his craftsmanship. Despite his limited means, he continually and consistently shares what he has, dealing artfully with life’s challenges, and transforming others’ lives in the process.
And so it’s plain to see that sharing forms the cornerstone of this relationship, like sharing forms the cornerstone of any meaningful interaction. Sometimes sharing can be challenging to say the least. But consistent sharing, with vision and organization invariably leads to positive change. This notion is key to understanding why Lamp has been successful.
Lamp for Haiti is the result of a sharing vision in which you have decided to participate. I am guessing that your choice to continue on this journey has been edifying in ways you might not have initially expected. But because of your willful participation Alfred and thousands like him have a health center nearby where children living on the fringe of the economic fringe, are receiving quality health care.
Lamp has made great progress this past year because of an unwavering belief that when we pursue a noble goal — like providing quality healthcare for a community in dire need — and when we do so in an organized fashion with vision and commitment, positive change will invariably come. Maternal-child health, child nutrition, organized electronic records, ultrasound and x-ray. All these were thought impossible. A sharing spirit has made them a reality.
It’s good to have family with which to share at this time of year. Lamp’s efforts are reaching others effectively because of our commitment to this concept. We are helping to transform lives, and in so doing our own lives are changed too. Thanks again for being a part of this worthwhile project.
All the best to you and your own family this season and in the coming year,
James Morgan MD
Founder and Chair of the Board
jmorgan@lampforhaiti.org
We do need your continued commitment!
To make a year-end donation, click on the yellow Donate button
or send your check to Lamp for Haiti, P.O. Box 39703, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Thank You!
