August Fast Fact: Our centers are 100% powered by solar power! 🌞
Noteworthy has a whole new meaning this month!
Recently, the staff at our Cap Haitien Malnutrition Treatment Center took time to write actual notes (with pen and paper 😱) to encourage students who are heading back to the classroom this September.
School in Haiti is not free and moving on to the next grade level is never guaranteed. Last year, we covered the school expenses for 80 former graduates of the treatment center (shoutout to our School Sponsors)!
As these 80 kids prepare to head back to the classroom, they'll each be met with a personalized note from one of our staff members.
"We hope you work hard and have fun! "
Love, your favorite nurses, psychologists, & educators
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Heart Help for Rodenika
Malnutrition doesn’t just occur when a child is not getting enough calories or nutrients. It can also be caused by an underlying health condition that isn’t getting the treatment it deserves. That’s what happened with one-month-old Rodenika. As we do for every new admission to our center one of the first things we did for Rodenika was get her seen by local pediatricians. We always cover these expenses, accompany families to and from the hospital, and sit with parents during their child’s visit— taking notes, collecting prescriptions, and helping each caregiver navigate what may be their first experience with a complicated health system.
Over the course of four separate hospital visits Rodenika was eventually diagnosed with a heart condition. It was the leading cause of her inability to gain weight despite plenty of breastmilk and formula. She started taking medications and immediately began to improve. This simple intervention had been out of reach for Rodenika’s parents, but with just a few hundred dollars in hospital expenses and a few weeks of education and recovery, Rodenika's family gained the healthy baby they had been fighting for.
This is the type of support families receive at Second Mile Haiti.
Meet Jos!
If you been receiving these newsletters for some time, chances are you’ve seen this smiling face in the past.
Jos has been working with Second Mile Haiti since our first Malnutrition Treatment Center opened in 2013. You may catch Jos welding street lamps for a solar panel installation, fixing a plumbing issue onsite, or transporting supplies on Black Friday. But if we are ever worried about a family we can't reach by phone, Jos is the one to visit their home and check in. He knows where more than 1000 families are located throughout Northern Haiti.
So what is Jos up to this week, you ask?
This week, Jos is busy visiting the schools where graduates of our Malnutrition Treatment Center are enrolling their kids for the upcoming school year. Not only is Jos paying the tuition and making relationships with school administrators, he's also delivering books directly to students!
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Sponsors Needed
We’re still in need of a few sponsors to help us reach our goal and send 200 kids back to the classroom. Becoming a school sponsor means you make it possible for 2 children to join their peers in the classroom with books, uniforms, and everything they need to succeed in school.
By setting a recurring donation of $32/month you can ensure the education of 2 children for the entire year.