Vwa Ayiti’s sanitation and water purification initiatives were just the first steps in our plan for ridding Labadi and Bod Mer Limbè of disease and parasites.   

Our next move was obvious: the immediate distribution of the de-worming medication Albendazole. Albendazole effectively stops a parasite’s ability to reproduce, in turn reducing environmental contamination, and ultimately improving the purity of Labadi’s water supply. 

In December 2006, Vwa Ayiti began distributing de-worming medication, by March of 2007 we saw the difference: the children whose bellies had been distended from parasites were once again flat…no longer marred by parasites living under their skin. Vwa Ayiti now sponsors village-wide de-worming programs every six months.

The life expectancy in Haiti is only 47, and usually it’s a life full of illness, with no access to healthcare. Currently the villages of Labadi and Bod Mer Limbè rely on one privately owned, ill-equipped clinic. The nearest hospital in Cap-Haitien, requires both a boat trip and difficult land crossing.  Once there, care is extremely limited, by the lack of equipment, medication, and supplies.

Vwa Ayiti has partnered with two Canadian NGOs—Sante Pou Yo and Hearts Together For Haiti (HTFH)—to establish and equip a Haitian-run medical clinic in the village of Bod Mer Limbè. 

HTFH has completed construction of a clinic, and Sante Pou Yo has brought volunteer doctors, nurses, medical students, and paramedics to provide basic healthcare, and consultations. Sante Pou Yo also conducts basic educational programs in first aid, infant care, nutrition and sexual health.