More Than A Clinic, We Are A Community

None of these women chose to be Fanm Chay (traditional Haitian birth attendant), as if you would choose a job. This work chose them. They live where the normality is women struggling in childbirth and yet no hospital is close at hand to help. Each of these women said, “ we have to help them”. All of the women know that the “profession” of Fanm Chay is not a recognized profession by their society; yet, the Fanm Chay work regardless, knowi...ng the irrefutable value of their life-saving presence.

Such a profession is more difficult than what most you and I can imagine. They work any time of day, often times leaving during the night by horseback. Taking the tools available to them (a machete and years of training mixed with tradition) they hurry with the mission to deliver a living baby. For three days they will remain with the mother, constantly at her side in the home. They will help the mother in every way and when finished, pay is always optional.

These women are first responders and in such reality, money is no negotiating factor between living and dying.

As quietly as they work throughout the night, so too their results come modestly rolling in. 
Had anyone asked, no one might have known in the previous three months alone, 11 women delivered 73 babies. What? Did we really catch that significance in a country where 1 in 5/7 infants die at birth. Yes, there is room for growth in the clinic for obstetric programming, no one denies this. Ever since the Fanm Chay and medical team have been working collaboratively, the numbers have been rising in pre and post natal visits. Mothers are receiving vital check ups and education from the doctor. However rural healthcare must be taken outside the building as much as within (if not more), and leadership care and opportunities ought to be taken on foot where news travels best. Networking with the Fanm Chay, the valuable woman of this region, is revealing to us not only the valuable growth we have available at the clinic but unique opportunities within the community as well.

The “clinic” in rural Haiti is strong and growing. What many do not realize makes Haiti Healthcare Partners emerging, are the many Haitian lives supporting it from within the community such as the Fanm Chay. We are more than the clinic, we are the community we touch and serve everyday.