School Registration Day at Second Mile Haiti

Hi Second Mile Haiti Family,

You know the back-to-school hustle that happens during the days right before returning to the classroom?

Gathering materials and supplies needed for learning, paying tuition (at least in Haiti), and, of course, finding or making new school uniforms that fit these ever-growing children.

👔👗

We are in the thick of all that right now with our malnutrition graduates who now benefit from the Second Mile Haiti school program.

The new school year is just around the corner, and the excitement is already building. Teachers are preparing their lessons, schools are gearing up for the first day, and families are filled with hope for their children’s future.

Yesterday, we hosted a back-to-school meeting for the malnutrition graduates who have already benefited from the school program in past years. One hundred and twenty families met yesterday at our education center and the team worked all day to get each student's information and collect the required documents to enroll them in classes and deliver their school books.

Our campuses are usually pretty lively, but this was next level!

Our dogs, who live on campus with us were not so impressed by the takeover of tiny humans. We, on the other hand, loved it.

There were many squeals of excitement from the school kids and probably some from the parents, too. 🎉

Because let’s face it, having everything you need to send your child Back-to-School is a really big deal.

In rural areas especially, access to education is limited, and the costs of school supplies, transportation, uniforms, and tuition can make schooling out of reach for many families.

Education is not just about learning math or science – it is about building confidence, cultivating strong communities, and breaking cycles of poverty.

One of those children gaining an education through our school sponsorship program is Ketnise, a happy-going eleven-year-old who spent time at a Second Mile Haiti malnutrition treatment center in 2014 with her dad, Kenor, when she was 18 months old.

Kenor has been the primary guardian of Ketnise since she was six months old, always by her side. Talk about a super-dad!

💥🦸🏿

Ketnise is entering the fourth grade now, where she will gain confidence, develop new skills, and build dreams for her future-- all thanks to your generosity towards our school sponsorship program.

Through education, kids like Ketnise, are accessing tools that let them dream big and think beyond the limitations of their current circumstances.

Thank you for helping us send Ketnise and her friends off to school with a strong start this year! 📚🎒

We love that this community believes in the power of education and wants to make a lasting impact in Haiti.

Together, we are making a difference, one student at a time.

Sending love from our buzzing campus home to yours. 🐝

Amy, Jenn and the Second Mile Team

❤️ 🇭🇹

Global 5k Reminder

Hi Second Mile Haiti Family,

The second annual In Her Shoes Global 5k is coming up in just 1️⃣7️⃣ days! Are you ready? We need your help to amplify the voices of women in Haiti that seek care at Second Mile Haiti during pregnancy and birth. Bring your friends, neighbors and pets and join us during the weekend of September 19th-22nd to create a movement for women in Haiti.

🚨 No need to be an athlete to participate! You choose the activity, the distance, and the place that is best for you. Our goal? To spread awareness of the obstacles that women in Haiti face accessing healthcare during their pregnancies.

When you register, you receive this year’s In Her Shoes Global 5K T-shirt and access to the podcast. The ultra-soft shirt is perfect for showing your support and starting conversations about your favorite non-profit all year long!

🎧 In the podcast episode for this year’s event, you will hear form Francesca—a mother who gave birth at our Cap-Haitien Maternity Center in May. We walk you through her experience from finding out she’s pregnant to arriving at our center and meeting her baby sooner than she expected.

🎟️ Adult Registration with a T-shirt is $35 and Youth Shirts are $20. 👕

We want to see pictures of you and your crew in your awesome new Second Mile swag! Look out for a Facebook Invite for the In Her Shoes Global 5k+ Podcast. We will use this as a hub for you to ask questions and share your photos. But sharing with us via email, text, or social media post will do too!

We love our Second Mile Haiti supporters more than words can say. Being in community with you all gives us the strength it takes to keep doing this work. Thank you for being an essential part of the Second Mile Haiti Family ❤️

We can’t wait to move and connect with with you this year! 👟

Sending endless love from 🇭🇹,

Jenn & Amy

Anastasia's Breastfeeding Journey

Hi Second Mile Haiti Family,

So, how many babies did we welcome this month between our two centers?

Any guesses?

Eighty! That's not quite a record, but it's close.

Eighty families may seem like a lot, but we do everything possible to ensure each and every one feels supported and heard.

Operating Birth Centers wasn't originally a part of the plan. It was our work with families and their malnourished children, that showed us insight we couldn't ignore:

Families need more support around pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and pregnancy prevention.

We're six years in to our Maternal Health adventure, and it's never been clearer: adequate support in these critical moments saves lives.

At 47 deaths per 1000 live births, Haiti ranks in the top ten countries with the highest infant mortality rate. More specifically, Haiti's neonatal mortality rate (when a newborn dies within the first 28 days of life) is 24 out of a 1,000.

We work hard to improve these odds for children in Haiti and it starts before they’re born. Between our two centers, we see more than 500 women a week for services that span from family planning to postnatal evaluations.

Soon, we hope to offer cervical cancer screenings, better ultrasound capabilities, pediatric visits, and more support for preterm babies.

That brings us to our featured family—Meet Anastasia and her mom Odiane. The pair came to us after a 6-day stay at the hospital where Odiane gave birth. Anastasia was born prematurely and was struggling to maintain her birth weight.

We started right away with techniques that may help encourage breastfeeding. Frenise, a nurse on our team and our lactation specialist, taught Odiane some ‘let down’ massages that stimulate mammary glands to release colostrum or milk.

At our center, Odiane had a plentiful supply of Moringa powder from the Moringa tree to help boost her milk supply. We have these trees lining our campuses because they are so beneficial!

Another trick that Odiane—and Anastasia—were taught was the "hamburger latch" that encourages better drinking for baby and a more comfortable experience for mom.

Their journey had some bumps, but Odiane had a team of people to cheer her on as she learned and implemented the tools that allowed her baby to thrive.

We had the privilege of seeing Anastasia and her mom earlier this month. It was such a joy to see a baby—who was just 1.6 kg (3 1/2 lbs) when we met her—standing on her own with her mom by her side.

Anastasia is proof that adequate support can save lives.

Our goal at Second Mile Haiti is to support any family that comes to our centers, regardless of their circumstances. To do that, we need your support.

Second Mile’s 2024 In Her Shoes Global 5K promises to be full of connection and learning while driving critical support for women in Haiti who need us today, more than ever.

When we move together next month, we will create essential movement towards better birth outcomes for mothers in Haiti, and that’s what this is all about!

We really hope to “see” you out there on the weekend of September 19th-22nd. Learn more about the 5k here.

We really love the community that Second Mile Haiti has created; a group full of love. Let’s put this love into motion and uplift women and children in Haiti together.

Register Here

Sending so much love from 🇭🇹 to all of you,

Amy, Jenn, and the Second Mile Team

Twins Born Early

This week’s newsletter was intended to be brought to you by Jenn— she’s been excited to tell you about the latest solar installation she participated in! But as it goes sometimes in this line of work, things happen. And something big happened on Wednesday that has required our full attention.

This Wednesday at 4:30 PM we had an unexpected delivery… twins born prematurely at 28 weeks gestation at our Cap-Haitien Maternity Center.

At Second Mile, we aren’t set up to take care of high-risk preterm infants. In fact, we would have sent new mom Lorenciana—at just 28 weeks along in her pregnancy—to the hospital to give birth to her babies. Hospitals are better equipped to care for babies coming that early.

However, there are only three reference hospitals in our area. We called two of them and showed up at the third to ask whether they had beds for two, 28-30 week preemies. None of them had space…

We immediately called a friend and former board member, Katie, who is a very experienced Neonatal Nurse Practioner with 20+ years of experience in a NICU in New York. She patiently guided us through every single step to care for these two premature newborns: how much and what type of fluid to give them, how much milk they needed, and the parameters for keeping them warm and oxygenated. She had all the answers for us and she remained on call for the entire two days that we had to keep the twins alive on our campus—a challenge that proved to be an in depth team-building experience. Second Mile staff have blown us away the way that they have all stepped up to learn and perform necessary actions. Three times this included resuscitation for one of the twins.

Lorenciana didn’t instantly have milk so we worked with her to stimulate her letdown and express her breast milk for her babies.

Lorenciana and her support people—her mom and sister—were all there to cheer us on. They were all amazing to work with and so understanding/ grateful when we told them we’d do our best until we found beds for them in a more appropriate setting.

On Friday at noon, we finally found beds for the small babies at a local NICU.

This is another really unfortunate reminder of how limited healthcare resources are in Haiti. There are not enough doctors, not enough beds, not enough specialized equipment, and not enough oxygen.

We owe our ability to care for this brand new family in this unfortunate situation because of everyone who has ever contributed to Second Mile Haiti. Our centers have 24/7 electricity (thanks to our solar panels), and we have oxygen for emergencies like this.

We were able to care for these twins because of you.

But what about the solar streetlamp installation that was supposed to be the topic of this newsletter?

Last Friday, we continued on from our the previous installation in the village of Pitimi into a new area called St. Paulette. Jenn and the Second Mile team installed 22 panels and for the first time reached the main highway that connects this rural region to all of Haiti’s major routes and cities.

🔦 We made it!

8 villages connected by light to the road that takes them to all three hospitals we talked about above.

This was a big week for Second Mile Haiti and the communities we serve!

And for these reasons, we need to do the do the In Her Shoes Global 5k and Podcast BIG this year!

The road isn’t easy, but the creative ways that Haitian communities navigate through challenges like these are eye-opening and inspirational. As an organization, we’ve learned to be just as creative, but our resilience comes from your support.

Participating in this year’s 5K is a fun and engaging way to show your support for Second Mile Haiti’s Maternity Center and mom’s like Lorenciana.

Register Here to receive the Podcast link and your SMH T-Shirt.

Love From Haiti 🇭🇹

Amy and Jenn

Second Annual In Her Shoes 5k

Hi Second Mile Haiti Family,

How are things in Haiti?

This is a question we hear a lot. And maybe you do too, especially if your friends and loved ones know how much you care about what goes on here.

Today, due to the relative safety and security of this area of Haiti, we can thankfully say, "Things are okay!"

Things have changed some. The Haitian police force received support from more than 200 Kenyan soldiers who are assisting in an operation to eliminate the perpetrators of violence. The gangs responsible for the chaos and destruction have gone into hiding, and conditions are improving towards a new normal with reduced fear and increased freedom. There is an interim government taking steps towards a fair and free presidential election.

Despite these positive developments, travel warnings for Haiti still exist, and that means we haven’t hosted visitors on our campus for more than 2 years.

You may remember that last year, in response to this, we organized a virtual global 5K. We weren’t sure how it would be received, but the Second Mile Community showed up joining us from as far away as Ireland and Southern Africa and as near as Canada and the United States.

It was the most connected we’ve felt to our community of supporters and the most fun we had all year!

And that brings us to today’s announcement:

The In Her Shoes Global 5K is back! For this 2nd Annual event, ur goal is to have 250 participants, twice as many as last year.

That means we definitely want YOU, yes YOU! to sign up today and invite your friends and family along for the ride.

Here's what you need to know:

The podcast accompanying the 5K was a big hit last year! It will be back again this year. We'll introduce you to someone new, in another immersive and eye-opening experience. More details to come.

We hope you'll participate this year and show your support for women in Haiti.

Don’t wait. Register today to receive your In Her Shoes 5K T-shirt in time for the big 5K weekend. Kids and pets can participate too. 🤗

We can’t wait to connect with you and other, new Second Mile supporters in just 36 days!

Lets get moving!
Love from Haiti 🇭🇹

Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato Soup at the Maternity Center

Hey Second Mile Haiti Family,

We know, we know…enough about the Orange-Fleshed sweet potatoes already!

But we just can’t. stop. talking. about them.

(Did you miss the newsletter introducing the Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato? Not to fret, you can find it here).

The new flavor on campus is bringing so much joy to our beneficiaries and their taste buds.

Have a look for yourself.

This week we served clients at our Maternity Centers a piping hot bowl of sweet potato soup. Have you ever tried it? Imagine a sweet and spicy mix of Caribbean flavors like ginger, coconut, and hot peppers. 🍠🥥🌶️

It’s been a hit around here!

It's been such a hit, in fact, that we have decided to serve it every Friday to the Prenatal and Postpartum Clients and even more frequently at the nutrition centers. The Orange-Flesh Sweet Potato contains high levels of Vitamin A, which is particularly beneficial to lactating women and children under five. Perfect for Second Mile Haiti!

🤱🏾👶🏾👧🏾

One woman who got a taste of the sweet potato soup liked it so much that she walked ten minutes out of her way to get to our Cap-Haiten Nutrition center (where the sweet potato garden is), adding twenty minutes to her walk home, to get her own cuttings of the vine to take home and propagate. Now that’s dedication!

The Orange-Fleshed sweet potato is making an impact here already.

Speaking of impact, would you believe us if we told you that Second Mile Haiti agronomists helped 54 families start home gardens this week?

It's true.

The team worked hard to help the women from 54 different households start tomatoes, leeks, bell peppers, hot peppers, and spinach.

Second Mile Haiti staff were welcomed with open arms and genuine enthusiasm by residents in Saint Raphaël Haiti who will be tending the gardens and reaping the produce. These new gardeners were equipped with a machete and watering can to support them in their new food-growing endeavors.

What does this all mean? It means more families in Haiti will have access to nutritious foods right in their backyards! The more gardeners we can equip with tools and seeds, the less food scarcity and malnutrition our friends will face.

A round of applause for Second Mile Haiti Garden Team and all of the new gardeners in Saint-Raphaël!

👏🏼👏🏾👏🏿

As always, thank you for joining us on this journey and for helping us plant the seeds of a more prosperous Haiti for generations to come. We can't do this work without you.

Love from 🇭🇹

Amy, Jenn and the Second Mile Haiti Team

The Numbers Fundraiser is only 9 days away. That's so 'us'

Hi Second Mile Haiti Family,

It's Jenn again. This is the third (or fourth!?) week I've written to you in a row. Give me some butter because I'm on a roll. 🧈

Now for the part where I admit some things I'm less proud of.

Near the beginning of every year, Amy and I plan a sweet fundraising calendar for the year ahead.

We pick out dates for all the virtual and in-person fundraisers we hope to hold and pencil in cities we hope to travel to so we can hang out with you in person.

But then, something happens that sends the plan sideways.

It might be a natural disaster, a pandemic, or something less severe. But something always seems to knock us off track, rendering us unable to travel outside of Haiti and needing more time and energy to write fundraising appeals and ask for the donations we need.

Luckily for us, our donors, whom we consider friends and family, have made it so that we don't have to stress when that happens.

Your monthly and annual donations and support towards specific needs keep Second Mile Haiti strong and agile, even if we forget to stop and ask for help.

Because of you, we never have to choose between fundraising or giving our beneficiaries, programs, and team the care and attention they need.

Whether it means building three new consultation rooms to accommodate the influx of patients from Port au Prince (May 2023) or adding an outpatient malnutrition program because our residential programs are at capacity (also 2023), you help us meet the moment.

For this, we are ENDLESSLY grateful.

Just this year, your support allowed us to address the growing food crisis in Haiti.

You helped us put food in the ground when so many Haitians were facing starvation levels of hunger.

And as the security crisis grew more critical, you stood with Haitian communities, lighting roads and giving families safety and peace of mind.

We were supposed to head to Texas next week to be in person with our favorite Texans while participating in our Annual Numbers Fundraiser virtually with all of you. 

We cancelled that trip because we are needed here. While we would love to see you all in person, we know you understand.

When we opt to stay, it means something important needs our attention.

2024 has been a whirlwind.

And once again, the fancy "Fundraising Calendar" we drafted in January has been tossed to the compost pile.

It’s currently feeding the earth alongside 8+ years of Fundraising Calendars.

(See the literal compost pile)

It's July now and to sustain our current operating budget, we need to raise $25,000. We think we can do it in nine days.

Here me out. The timing aligns perfectly with our favorite online fundraiser, almost according to plan.

That's right, folks, the Number Fundraiser is back for like 39th year.

Just joking. But it's been at least 8 years.

[Hi folks! Amy here, editing to say it's been 11 YEARS. Heyo!]

The Number Fundraiser is a one-day fundraiser where if every person chooses a number and donates the dollar amount for that number, we can raise $10,144 in one day.

It’s our favorite fundraiser because we love our interactions with all of you.

If you are new to the Number Fundraiser, don't worry. We will give more details in the coming days.

And yes. It’s only nine days away.

Every social media blog will tell you that announcing a fundraiser nine days in advance won’t yield the best results. But they haven’t met you!

We are calling on you to help us reach our goal of $25,000. Whether you give today, or help us clear the Number board next Saturday, July 20, all donations made between now and Saturday will go towards that goal. Mail donations are welcome.

In case I haven't told you enough, we love this community. When it comes to the individuals and families who rally around Second Mile Haiti and the people we serve, we have a special thing going on.

Let's figure out how to do this together in 9 days and tell all those blogs they are wrong ;)

Love from Haiti,

Jenn

Jennifer Schenk

Executive Director

Why Maternal Care?

Hi Second Mile Haiti Family,

In May, Second Mile Haiti registered more prenatal visits than any other health institution in the North. Mondays used to be our busiest day, as new clients would come in for the first time.

Now, all days seem equally busy.

Every day at 7 AM, we open the doors to the Maternity Center and start checking people in. There’s always a big gathering of women waiting, hoping to snag one of the first places.

I usually receive the first WhatsApp update by 9 AM, stating how many women have been checked-in so far. The message might look something like this:

81 people total

-24 new clients

-41 follow-up visits

-10 for family planning

-6 postpartum

As a team, we’ve had to figure out ways to accommodate these large numbers of clients while still providing high-quality care.

But, if you know us, you know we’re always looking for ways to improve.

We have two midwives dedicated to the newer clients, people coming in for their first and second visits.

Frenise, who received training in lactation support (shoutout to our friend, Laura!), covers all postpartum and family planning.

Then we have another two nurses dedicated to established pregnant clients who are here for their 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th… or … you get the picture. They’re not new and usually the visits take less time.

But if a woman is going through a more complicated pregnancy, the nurse will refer her to see one of the midwives.

We have one nurse checking vitals. She’s constantly scanning all patients as part of our triaging process. Additionally, if a patient has a history of high blood pressure, she is ALWAYS seen first.

We’ve heard too many stories of women, specifically women of color, being left in waiting areas for long periods without their blood pressure being checked leading to seizures and even death.

That’s why our first question when checking women in is “How are you feeling? Are you okay?” If the client responds no, Kendy (who does the check-in) walks her directly to a nurse for immediate attention.

At noon, our doors close and we no longer accept new patients for check-in.

That’s when I get the mid-day message:

Total patients for the day: 101

Number who have already been seen: 34

For the next few hours, I receive hourly updates letting me know how many patients have left because they’ve been served, and how many are left because they still need to be seen.

This helps me analyze the flow rate and determine if I need to assist with logistics to help women get out and on their way home. It’s becoming rarer that I need to help with clinic flow logistics. The team has it covered. 

In Haiti, we recognize that the fatigue experienced by healthcare providers is real. As it is, wherever healthcare providers are facing unprecedented demands.

The most recent study found that Haiti had 2.3 physicians for every 10,000 people*. That’s intense. But it doesn’t even account for all the physicians who have fled Haiti in more recent years because of the insecurity.

We strive to keep our midwives rested. In Cap Haitien, we don’t allow staff to work 48-hour shifts. Due to our volumes, it would be impossible. They simply wouldn’t get enough rest.

In our Saint Raphael center, which is more remote and serves a slightly smaller volume of clients, we had to resort to 48-hour shifts. Since it’s closer to Port-au-Prince, issues of insecurity and transportation costs made this the unfortunate choice. But we hope to change this scheduling model ASAP.

Fortunately, since gasoline prices have returned to the government rate of $4.31 per gallon and we haven’t had any road blockages in three months, we should be able to make the switch very soon.

Many healthcare providers in Haiti, work 48 hours at one facility only to turn around and work another 48 hours at another. They do this because many of their family members don’t have steady work and as a licensed professional, in a field with an overwhelming demand they do what they have to do to make ends meet.

I hate hearing about organizations who hire a health provider while knowing that the individual is already working 48 hours per week and doesn’t plan to leave their other job.

When we hire, we only select candidates who are currently unemployed or are seeking to leave their current position. This is important to us. Burnout is real and the health of our providers matters to us.

It’s clear that Haiti needs more midwives.

Thankfully, there are some Midwives-to-be in the making.

Second Mile Haiti is one of four institutions in the North currently hosting students from the national Midwifery program for their clinical rotations.

We just finished with the first eight students for the year and another eight students will start a month-long rotation next week. 

Earlier this week, there was a baby who had required resuscitation immediately after birth and needed to be transferred to our partner hospital. I recognized this as a potential learning opportunity for the students and asked if there was a student who wanted to accompany the team.

There were four students present. All four hands shot up.

They are passionate, eager, and ready to learn. I can’t wait to hire them in a few years.

Last month, I was present when a friend asked Amy what she would do to increase Second Mile Haiti’s overall impact.  

If you know Amy, you know she’s typically a soft-speaker (unless she’s particularly passionate about something).

Clearly she’s passionate about this issue, because her answer was fast and surprisingly loud.

“We need to build more maternity centers.”

I couldn’t agree more.

The data on Maternal Health from Haiti and countries around the world support this. More than ever, giving children a strong start is crucial to their survival past the age of five.

In our Maternity Centers, we can do so much more than what we are doing right now.

We can offer cervical cancer screenings, second and third trimester ultrasounds, pediatric visits through the first 1,000 days, and support groups for new parents.

These are all things we’ve already taken steps to implement.

As always, there’s so much more we can do. And on this Saturday morning, we’re here making small changes to improve our care.

Very soon, I hope we can share a secret we have been keeping for awhile now. I can’t wait! So, that’s how I am going to leave you today.

I hope you all are enjoying your 4th of July weekends! Eat a hamburger or two for me.

Until next time, friends!

Sending love and endless gratitude from 🇭🇹,

Jenn

Jenn Schenk

Executive Director

Second Mile Haiti

Street Lamps in Pitimi

Hi Second Mile Haiti Family,

Jenn here. I’m back again this week, because I can’t stop talking about how much I love these solar installs.

I am sure by now that it’s no secret that my favorite project is solar lamp installation.

I think it’s one of the most impactful things we do here at Second Mile Haiti.

Well, we have lots of things with great impact but this project is just, different. It’s different because we are pouring time, money, resources in a project that impacts communities outside our (most immediate) reach.

I was once told by a Haitian friend that the one thing he wishes the humanitarian aid community would focus on is infrastructure. There needs to be access to lights, roads, medical facilities, schools, etc.

Understandably, two of these things are getting built at a faster rate than the other two. Organizations often end up building medical facilities and schools in the areas they serve but too often there isn’t a durable road or any light leading to these facilities.

Navigating a road by foot or motorcycle in the dark, a one-mile trip might take 30 minutes and a family with a sick infant might not feel safe to make the trip because there is no light.

When we started the solar lamp project, I didn’t know that it would grow into such a large project. And I certainly didn’t fully comprehend the impact it would have on these specific communities.

I didn’t know so many new businesses would pop-up, that local meeting areas would draw larger groups, that we would see more soccer matches at night with more people enjoying the entertainment, that we would see kids studying under the lamps and playing jump rope in the streets.

There was a time when everyone would go inside their homes when the sun went down because a) it wasn’t safe and b) there isn’t much to do when there isn’t any light. Now, there are nighttime church services and people aren’t afraid to attend. Now, you can find food being cooked, served, and purchased at 9 pm.

You see people gathering, talking, and laughing in the streets in those easy hours after the work day is finished.

It’s magical and it’s something that everyone should have access to.

Think about it. Who doesn’t have the occasional need to eat at 9 pm?

It’s a universal phenomenon. Busy day, no time to cook, or simply the craving for something warm and (I’ll say it, greasy) after a long day. But in this area, people couldn’t act on hunger that came after dark. The darkness kept them inside, hoping to dull the hunger pains through sleep until morning. 

Now, it’s common to see a teenager prancing down the road carrying Youseline’s spiced chicken or some other delicious street food back to their families, while savoring the moment of carefree freedom this errand (and the lights) allowed.

bove: A girl removes rocks from a hole to create depth for the next light post.

The first time we installed solar street lamps, we put in 20 lamps in Jean Louis, the tiny community that is home to our Cap Haitien Malnutrition Treatment Center.

Immediately, other areas wanted what they saw in Jean Louis.

But we decided quickly that we would never install lights anywhere that wasn’t a connection and continuation from a previous installation.

As often as we’d hear requests, people asking us to install the solar lights in their village, our answer was always the same:

We’ll do our best to get there. But the street lamps must connect.

It felt really important to us to create long stretches of safety so that women and girls—all children—could move freely.

Yesterday, thanks to our growing chain of connecting street lamps, we entered in a new area called Pitimi. It was a long and productive day. We installed 38 lights in one day’s work.

As always, the residents of that area were prepared for our arrival.

These installation are only possible because we ask the community to participate by contributing sand, rocks, cement, water, and labor.

At each installation, we’ll have around 30 people actively working together to get one single panel into the ground. It’s a sight to see.


Each time we do an installation, the group of helpers seems to get bigger and bigger.

I’m sure it’s because they’ve been waiting for their turn. Before yesterday, the individuals pictures above still lived in an area without nighttime light.

Before last night, every evening they could look down the road and see the impact that the lights made for their neighbors.

When it was finally their turn, they were ready.

They’d been ready for months.

I find myself tearing up when I see young and older people helping together.

On the one side, these individuals have gone for 50+ years never having walked a road that wasn’t in complete darkness. For the youngest children, solar street lamps are the new normal.

I can’t help but think, thank goodness these kids are having a different experience. Thank goodness, their evenings will be full of less fear, and more light.

I tell you all of this because infrastructure is important. Too often, projects like these get overlooked by organizations of our size. So much focus is placed on maintaining programs.

But it’s worth restating. Remember the example? The family who waited until morning to take their sick infant to the hospital. What if it had been too late?

Infrastructure can save lives, just as programs can.

And I for one, am thankful that we have supporters who say, “this is important. count me in!”

Thank you.

It’s clear I haven’t quite “gotten over” the sense of wonder I felt yesterday as I participated in the installation firsthand, as I often do (it’s my favorite project after all).

I keep revisiting the faces of the people I worked alongside. I saw determination and joy and gratitude. But mostly hope. And I wish you all could have seen it.

For now, these photos will have to do.

And if you still want to feel like you were here with us, head to our Instagram page and watch today’s story or click on the dot marked “Light” for even more behind-the-scenes.

Sending love and endless gratitude from 🇭🇹,

Jenn

Jenn Schenk

Executive Director

Second Mile Haiti

The Problem with Orphanages

You’ve heard us say it before, and you will hear us say it many times again.

Families Belong Together.

Children don’t belong in orphanages. This we know for sure.

Haiti has an orphanage problem, which we’ve written about in the past.

Somewhere in the last 50 years, tragedy and natural disasters and well-meaning missionaries spurred the creation of so many orphanages, that, when we wrote about it in 2016, Haiti had more orphanages per square mile than there were McDonalds and Starbucks stores in the state of Maryland.

With orphanages around every corner, parents in challenging circumstance began to believe that perhaps the orphanage could provide more resources for their child than they could.

We witnessed this first hand.

Many of you know our origin story well. “Jenn and Amy met at an orphanage…”

It was an experience that taught us two important things: first, 80% of children living in orphanages in Haiti have living parents and second, orphanages aren’t good for children.

By speaking to those parents, we learned that most just wanted an opportunity to earn more money and grow more food.

What they really wanted was not to relinquish their children at all, but rather to provide for their children fully and go to sleep every night under the same roof.

And that’s why Second Mile Haiti was born.

What started as a vision to keep kids out of orphanages has now been fully replicated. We now operate from two locations within Haiti—with both campuses offering the same services. Both campuses 100% committed to helping parents care for their children and go to sleep every night under the same roof.

Our model at Second Mile Haiti is working, and it needs to be replicated in mass proportions throughout developing countries, in place of orphanages.

Imagine for a moment that you are the parent to a child. If anything terrible happened to you and your partner where you were no longer here to parent, would your next choice for your child be an orphanage?

Probably not. We would guess that your next several options would be family members. The same is true for people in Haiti.

In Haiti, there are sisters, brothers, grandmas and grandpas who can, will, and do take the children of deceased loved ones into their hearts and homes.

When provided with medical and nutritional care for the child and educational support for the adult, children can recover from illness and thrive with their parents or their next of kin.

We see it happen everyday!

Second Mile Malnutrition Treatment Centers and Maternity Centers are equipping families with the tools, skills and information that they need to care for their children and stay together as a family.

Our programs create jobs; Second Mile Haiti employs 80 individuals, all Haitian citizens.

The caregivers we’ve invested in are becoming business owners and growing their own food; they’re helping to prevent food scarcity and changing their communities for the better.

These are lasting effects with the power to change the trajectory for generations to come.

We’ll say it again because it’s that important. Our model at Second Mile Haiti is working, and it needs to be replicated..

Investing in the caregivers IS the solution.

To date, we’ve helped more 2,000 families rehabilitate their sick children and remain united as a family unit.

We’ve helped another 9,600+ families through prenatal and postnatal care, setting a strong foundation for a healthy future.

And we’ve helped another 3,000+ women and families prevent or delay pregnancy through family planning.

There are brighter days for Haiti ahead, and we believe that they will come when care is given to the community as a whole. These weekly newsletters are reminders to you that we are still here, doing just that.

Thank you for being with us in our effort to keep families together.

As Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed individuals can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has."


Together, we are making a difference.

Sending love from Haiti

❤️

School Program

Greetings, Second Mile Haiti Family!

Are you ready for summer ‘break’?

😎☀️

The end of the 2024 school year has been sealed for many students around the world. In Haiti, however, the summer heat has certainly reached us, but the kids are not quite out of school yet. The school year here still has three weeks remaining.

Around this time every year, we anxiously await the promotions of all the hard working students that we sponsor. Particularly, the kindergarten graduates.

Why’s that?

You may have heard us share the very real statistic that 1 in 10 children in Haiti do not live to see their 5th birthday.

The causes of this devastating statistic are multi-faceted including  malnutrition, illness, environmental factors, and lack of access to healthcare.

At Second Mile, we see the children who are expected to be the 10% of children who will not survive in Haiti.  The children who’s parents are preparing to say goodbye to their babies. By the time many parents reach our doors, they’ve already lost hope that their children will survive.

And then, with immediate intervention and many weeks of recovery, they live.

You can see why it is exciting for us to see these children reach the age of five! Kindergarten graduation isn’t just a sweet photo op (although it is that too)— it’s proof that a child has defied all of the odds placed against them at a very young age.

These kindergartners did not become one of the one in 10 children that represent under-5 mortality in Haiti, and that is something to celebrate.

We began sponsoring school children through our school sponsorship program in 2019 as a way left our centers.

Did you know that school in Haiti isn’t free?

It’s true.

In a country with political instability, economic challenges, and frequent natural disasters, education is one of the few reliable ways for individuals to improve their lives. And yet, the majority of the population can’t afford it.

Education in Haiti is not just about learning facts; it's a crucial tool for personal and community growth. For many Haitian children, going to school is the first step toward escaping poverty that has affected their families for generations.

Schools also offer a safe space for children in a country where safety and security are often in flux. Schools can be sanctuaries where children receive regular meals, access healthcare, and benefit from a structured environment that promotes social cohesion and stability.

The importance of school in Haiti cannot be overstated.

It is essential for personal and national growth, offering a way out of poverty, promoting social inclusion, supporting democracy, preserving cultural heritage, and preparing individuals for global challenges.

There, we said it!

By prioritizing education in Haiti, we can work towards a more prosperous, stable, and fair society.

Thanks to the unwavering support of our School Sponsors, Second Mile Haiti was able to provide fully paid scholarships to 168 students in 2023, enabling them to attend school and pursue their dreams. Thank you, School Sponsors!

Your contributions are making a significant difference in the lives of children and in the communities where they will become future leaders.

If you’re not currently a School Sponsor and would like to be one, you can sign up here.

School sponsors offer support and solidarity to Haitian parents and a pathway to a better future for Haitian children.

Learn more

Thank you for being on this journey with us.

❤️ from 🇭🇹

A Triumphant Emergence

Hi Second Mile Haiti Family,

Jenn here. I’m back again this week to share about one moment in particular.

Yesterday, a 21-year-old named Franchesca arrived at the Maternity Center in labor at 6:30 PM, 7 cm dilated.

She had started prenatal care with us at 28 weeks. Late starts like this are not uncommon as more and more women find themselves pushing off prenatal care due to the current situation in Haiti.

But for Franchesca, this late start, was causing some concern.

Above: Inside the grounds of Second Mile Haiti’s Maternity & Birth Center just outside of Cap Haitien, Haiti

When Francesca came for her first visit, the Midwife attending to her had asked her to get an ultrasound for more accurate dating. Even though Franchesca was pretty sure about the date of her last period, the size of her belly didn’t match those dates.

Our midwives are trained in first-trimester ultrasounds, but not the more complex second and third-trimester ultrasounds. They told Francesca where she could go and to back her results.

Franchesca returned for her next appointment and the one after that. But Ultrasounds are expensive; she never returned with the scan.

When she arrived yesterday evening in labor and very close to birth, we only had her last menstrual period to rely on.

Our protocols dictate that women should be at least 37 weeks to deliver at our facility.

Frachesca appeared to be just 35 weeks or maybe less. Without more certainty that her baby wasn’t premature, Frachesca wasn’t a good candidate for birth at our Center. Instead, we were prepared to drive her and her support person to our transfer hospital just 15 minutes away. We were ready to hop in the vehicle and go…

There was only one problem.

Franchesca didn’t have a support person.

Francesca had been dropped off by a neighbor, who didn’t stick around after she’d come inside. Our transfer hospital has been clear, we must not transfer a client in labor who doesn’t have a support person by their side.

It’s a policy we’ve had to respect.

Since Franchesca was already pushing, the decision was made to support her here, at our Center, and to be ready for an emergency transfer after the baby was born.

It wasn’t ideal. But it was the situation we faced. And to be frank, these types of less-than-ideal scenarios have grown more and more common over the past several month.

The truth is that many pregnant women in Haiti don’t have everything they need for a healthy pregnancy and a safe birth.

Caption: Today’s prenatal education class attended by 130 pregnant women. Miss Cossier, a Nurse Midwife gave information on breastfeeding.

In the meantime, Franchesca was pushing and we needed to find her a support person.

She’d forgotten her phone in her rush to come to the center, but the soon-to-be mom did have her own mother’s number memorized. Herode, our operation’s Manager, called her mom.

She was 25 minutes away, without money to travel.

With no time to fetch her, we contacted Kendy. Kendy is a Second Mile Haiti employee. He has his own motorcycle and lived in the area where Franchesca’s mom was located.

Even though he was off-duty and in church, he didn't hesitate when we asked him to locate Francesca’s mom and bring her to the center.

This was Francesca’s first pregnancy and she was understandably scared about the prospect of giving birth. Yet, at our Center, she had a full team of support. By her side were two Midwives, one nurse, and myself.

We gave her our undivided attention.

All hands on deck.

Manithe, the midwife who had been with Franchesca since her arrival, decided to stay on to assist the oncoming team. Kendy was on his way to find Francesca's mom and Herode was preparing the transfer car—just in case.

We were all hoping for the best, while remaining prepared for the worst:

Franchesca’s baby may be coming too soon. But, we’d be ready to help the baby breath if that’s what was necessary.

I felt grateful that Francesca could be surrounded by so much love and support.

In a country where there is only 2.5 physicians for every 10,000 people, and even fewer skilled Midwives, this feels special and rare.

Women like Francesca don’t usually get to experience such care. Too many health facilities in Haiti are overcrowded and understaffed. In these settings, health providers—who are doing their best under challenging circumstances—barely have time for basic checks.

The result is that most women take their chances and give birth at home where they can spend their resources on food instead of hospital fees. And—at least—at home they have a little space.

At Second Mile Haiti, we try to offer the best of both worlds: comfort, affordability, and a place to move around, plus trained Midwives who can respond when things don’t go as planned.

Within the hour, Franchesca’s pushing intensified.

As the baby emerged, the umbilical cord became visible, wrapped tightly around the baby’s neck. The Midwife, Miss Claude, skillfully loosened and unraveled it. When she did, the baby came out screaming.

Music to everyone’s ears.

A strong cry. A healthy set of lungs. To everyone’s surprise, Francesca’s baby was full term or close to it. The nurse assigned an Apgar score of 10-10. There would be no emergency transfer. We had ourselves a healthy baby.

Within two minutes of the baby’s triumphant emergence, Francesca’s mom arrived.

She dropped to her knees with the good news. “Thank you, God.”

And in the subsequent minutes, she told us how their family had been displaced—how she had migrated from Port au Prince only two months ago. 

Life is hard here.

Yet, new babies and growing families give us all the motivation we need to continue to hope for better days.

Our volumes of patients are increasing—both pregnant women and malnourished children—and each case is becoming more difficult, but I am glad we are here.

Francesca deserved this moment.

All moms do.

Once again, this week, I am coming to you to say thank you.

I am proud of the work we do. I am proud of the goals we have. I am proud that we don’t waiver on the quality of care we give just because our volumes increases or the cases are more complicated.

That’s mainly because of you

Thank you for being a part of this life saving work. Your trust in us means more than we can say.

From where I sit, you can see 130 women about to take their leave from our weekly education class for prenatal clients. Seeing them rise, is a reminder to wrap this up and get back to work.  

Before I go, I’ll say this: Even as our volumes increase, I can promise this, we’ll work to support each and every family with as much dedication, creativity, and persistence as we showed to Franchesca.

Above: Three generations. Franchesca, her mother, and her daughter, Christoria.

Sending love from 🇭🇹

Jenn

Jenn Schenk

Executive Director

Second Mile Haiti

Growing Together: The Joys and Benefits of Gardening with Neighbors

Hi Second Mile Haiti Family,

We missed you last week!

Jenn and I (Amy) were lucky enough to fly to Texas for a quick trip to catch up on some much needed family time.

We say we were lucky because flying out of Haiti at this time is somewhat risky with the continued social unrest.

While we were there, we were able to visit with family, play with our nieces and nephews, and meet up with a few friends. We enjoyed the local recreation center where we went swimming and played basketball.

A wonderful time was had by all!

Today, we write to you from Haiti, where we are back home and happy to be getting back into the swing of things.

While we were away we received some encouraging photos from the team!

In March, our gardening team helped several graduates of our Malnutrition Treatment Center, and several of their neighbors, start home gardens!

It’s been eight weeks and almost everyone who planted seeds in March is seeing incredible success. 

It may not look like much. But these seedling represent thousands of plants with the power to bear nutritious foods for families in Northern Haiti.

The nursery of seedlings above belongs to Mirlanda, a mother who spent time at our Malnutrition Treatment Center in 2022 when her daughter was just a few months old.

Now her daughter is 2.5 years old and the pair are inseperable. But more on them soon…

Mirlanda (on the left) and her neighbor are two of 124 individuals in Northern Haiti to start a home vegetable garden with Second Mile Haiti’s support so far this year.

Since 2020, there have been 1,380 home gardens established as an extension of the malnutrition treatment program.

Our goal with the home garden part of our program is to ensure that the parents of children with a history of undernutrition are equipped with the tools and know-how to grow nutritious foods at home.

AND be able to share that knowledge with their neighbors.

Here’s how Mirlanda did just that:

Phase 1:

During her stay at one of our Malnutrition Treatment Centers—as her daughter was recovering from Severe Acute Malnutrition, Mirlanda was exposed to our campus, practice gardens where she learned the basics of cultivating and maintaining a garden from expert agronomists.

Phase 2:

Once her daughter was completely well, Mirlanda was asked to invite six of her neighbors to join her in starting a home garden, one at each of their home. She jumped at the opportunity!

Second Mile Haiti provided the seeds, tools and education to start the process.

Phase 3:

During the third phase, Second Mile Haiti staff return every four weeks to check in on their progress and see if the groups need any additional gardening tips.

In between their visits, Mirlanda used the skills she learned during her stay at Second Mile to coach her neighbors through the vegetable planting process.

Phase 4:

And finally, phase four is when they get to harvest their produce. Mirlanda and her friends should be able to harvest their gardens in June.

We are eager to see what types of foods they will get to enjoy!

Mirlanda’s success with home gardening isn’t the only thing that makes her special.

She has been described as “wise, congenial, collaborative, kind” and “very good at taking care of her little one” by Second Mile Haiti staff.

Mirlanda has also been successful with her business kit. She sells fresh produce and other necessities out of her wheelbarrow.

Mirlanda shared what her daily life looks like as a mother, business women and gardener:

“I wake up at 5 AM I go to my garden. I work in the garden. Then I come back home to prepare food for my daughter. Then she wakes up and eats. Then I leave her with my mother for the day and I go out to sell. When I come back I make another meal. We eat and then we go to bed.”

Thank you for supporting communities like Mirlanda’s with your donations. Because of you, families get to stay fed even when there is a shortage of food in the country.

Stay well, Second Mile Haiti Family!

❤️ from 🇭🇹

More Light, More Opportunities

Hey Friends,

Happy May!

We look forward to spending another month with you.

Allow us to share how Jenn, Herode, and other members of the Second Mile team collaborated with neighbors in Saint Raphaël to end the month of April with an illuminating salute.

Last Thursday, we made the bumpy trek to our Saint-Raphaël Family Center to install another round of solar-powered streetlamps!

By now we’ve developed a system that runs on plenty of pre-orchestrated teamwork.

Here’s how it works:

Second Mile Haiti provides the poles, the solar street lamps, and the tools  to assemble them. The community comes bearing water, rocks, concrete and helping hands.

Together, we were able to install 40 solar powered street lamps to light the way for birthing people to reach our center and improve the overall safety of families in this area.

Not only that, these street lamps offer extended business hours for many local families who sell food and other goods, day and night.

Consumers too, are no longer worried about running out of something important, or finding something to eat after daylight hours.

Everybody wins!

To date, we have installed 300 solar street lamps in 8 villages.

Want to know a bit more about the lamps?

They are durable!

Out of the 300 we have placed, only 2 have been damaged due to being hit by a big truck, and only one stopped working and needed to be replaced.

Not terrible odds, eh?

This vital work wouldn’t be possible without your support. We are grateful that women in labor will no longer have to travel in darkness to safely deliver their babies at Birth Center in Saint-Raphaël.

Thank you.

Before we let you go, we must enjoy a mini ‘Happy Agriculture and Labor Day’ celebration, together.

The holiday lands on May 1st and is significant to Haiti because of it’s rich history. Producing food is one of Haiti’s many strengths. It’s an exercise of independence, a song of freedom.

This photo from last Friday captures the joy that a fruit tree can bring to a family.

Families at our Malnutrition Centers get to welcome a new sapling to their home orchard each week. The variety ranges from mango and avocado to breadfruit and moringa! To date, we have been able to share 3,330 edible plants with the community.

Bon fet Agrikilti e Travay

Happy Agriculture and Labor Day!

❤️ from Haiti

Meet Besly and Ella: Two Recent Warriors

Hi Friends, It’s good to ‘see’ you again this week.

Last week, we told you about our biggest need: to raise funds for children and pregnant women who need hospital-based care.

We told you why some children in our Malnutrition Treatment program need care at a local hospital and how we work with that hospital to make it happen.

We told you how last quarter we spent just over ten thousand US dollars in hospital fees—BUT how this covered medical care for 84 children and 13 emergency c-sections as well!

We mentioned how some children simply require a handful of laboratory tests and medication, whereas other children may need intensive care— and yet even with these two extremes, it costs an average of just $62 per child.

And finally, we mentioned how kids like Fabiola, Ella, and Besly are alive and well today because you helped them get that care!

Today we want you to meet a few of these special warriors.

If you have 60 more seconds read-on, but if you don’t and want to contribute to our hospital fund, you can do so now!

This is Besly. Today Besly is 16-months-old. But this photo was taken in October.

On this day, Besly and his mom were in their 10th week in our Malnutrition Treatment Program and Besly had just spent 8 of the last 10 weeks in a hospital bed.

His mom, Stephanie, was tired, and frankly, she wasn’t feeling exactly hopeful.

By this time, her son had countless interventions meant to keep him alive, including a blood transfusion, but Stephanie had yet to she her son make any true improvements.

Thankfully, she didn’t give up.

Stephanie spent several more weeks at Second Mile Haiti and we helped her get back and forth from the hospital each time Besly’s pediatricians wanted to see him for a check-up.

Eventually the improvement was visible and Stephanie could finally let herself believe that her little boy would survive.

Besly is one of the kiddos who’s hospital bills surpassed the $62 average we mentioned earlier…

but every cent was worth it.

Today, Besly is 1 year and 4 months old. He now weighs 18.5 lbs — more than double the 7.5 lbs he weighed at 10-months-old.

This is Ella.

Baby Ella is 4-months-old, but this photo was taken when she was just a few days old.

Ella was born at our Cap Haitien Maternity Center in January 2024. Her parents love her dearly. Today Ella is having surgery—a “Frenectomie”—a small operation to release a lip-tie.

After today’s surgery, the hope is that Ella will be able to breastfeed better. The surgeons want her to keep gaining weight so that she is healthy enough for a second surgery later this year.

This surgery isn’t just about preventing malnutrition, it’s about keeping a family together.

Ella will need a second surgery to repair her cleft lip.

~~

Contribute to Ella’s surgery fees here.

Besly and Ella are just 2 examples of dozens of children who are thriving today because they got the care they needed, when they needed it.

If you didn’t catch our last email, which explains why our partnership with the local hospital is absolutely essential for the success of families in our program—you can read it here.

In the meantime, we’re still seeking to raise $10,000 for the next three months of hospital-based care for children and mothers.

Please consider making a $10, $20, of $50 donation today.