Dr Jeremiah J Lowney, Connecticut orthodontist and founder of Haitian Health Foundation. He traveled to Haiti in 1982 to provide free dental care and thus HHF had its start. "After working three years in Port-au-Prince and other areas of Haiti with Mother Teresa's Sisters of Charity, Mother Teresa asked Dr. Lowney to move his small outreach to the rural city of Jeremie.... HHF has established a stable and responsive preventive and curative health care system and development programs in one of the poorest areas of Haiti. In addition to the city of Jeremie, HHF provides support to 250,000 people in over 100 rural mountain villages in the Grand'Anse." It is a 501(c)(3) non profit which has earned 4 Stars by Charity Navigator. It meets four areas of Rotary focus: healthcare, development, relief and education.
"HHF has two main primary care clinics - one in Jeremie and one in Dayer, along with three satellite clinics ... and a maternal health center and waiting home known as the Center of Hope. The main clinic in Jeremie is a fully equipped, 27,000-square-foot outpatient clinic, dental clinick, mental health, xray and pharmacy."
Marilyn Lowney told us that getting nutritional food has been a huge problem. Cost of food and fuel has spiraled but there have been also many shortages. The brutal gangs commit many crimes and create fear but Marilyn said their neighbors in Jeremie watch out for the clinic. She said 562 people die every day due to diseases from lack of clean water, nutritional food etc. One of their projects is "Happy House". $4,000 gets a family a concrete block building with cement floor, tin roof, windows and doors - replacing a cardboard, thatch roof hut - Recipients participate in building the home which also provides work for community. Another project is educating the children - $350 per year educates, clothes and feeds a child. Community development project provides goats, composting toilets. To date HHF has provided more than 13,000 goats, 500 composting toilets and 4,000 homes.
More information can be found at their website: www.HaitianHealthFoundation.org - HHF provides a wish list of items needed - perhaps we can begin a new collection project....
