All things considered, it makes no sense that the Friends of The Children of Haiti managed to build a medical clinic in Haiti.
The Haitian government frowns on foreign ownership of property and makes development of land there next to impossible. Yet in 1999, after several years of red-tape wrangling, FOTCOH purchased 16 rocky, wooded acres in Cyvadier, a ramshackle town far-flung and desperate for medical care.
To boost the local economy, FOTCOH employed local laborers to clear the dense overgrowth with machetes and pulverize the ragged rock with sledgehammers. Haitians crafted concrete blocks by hand, stacking them into a three-story structure while other workers constructed a cement-and-stone wall around the property with discarded rock.
Inside the 6,000-square-foot building, the main floor consists of 11 rooms, including exam and surgical areas, plus a pharmacy. The second story offers a kitchen and dining room, plus two bathrooms, four open sleeping rooms and access to a deck overlooking the sea. The top floor includes an open sleeping area, a bathroom and access to the roof which supports solar panels and a windmill that collect power.
In Spring 2000, the Haitians splashed the exterior with paint of gleaming white, the finishing
touch to a project that has given the entire community a sense of achievement and enhanced
self-worth.
FOTCOH now hopes to staff the clinic year-round, to provide continuous medical care to rural Haitians.