NEWS

Vassar Haiti Project hosts ‘Art & Soul’ fundraiser

Lila Meade
For the Poughkeepsie Journal

A young boy of 9, Carlhenri, lay on a bare plank of wood at the front of the clinic, seeming lifeless.

As I emerged from the clinic pharmacy in Fiervil, Haiti, I saw our 13 students, on spring break from Vassar College, standing stock-still, staring at the child as a scene unfolded. Carlhenri’s father, brothers and uncles could only watch and pray as Dr. Gueslin Joassainvil, the clinic’s director, inserted an IV into his arm. The little boy was semi-conscious, not reacting to the sound of his name. Cholera, a water-born disease, ravaged his body and he was at a dangerous stage of dehydration.

Thankfully, the clinic that the Vassar Haiti Project (VHP) opened two years ago, in partnership with the people from Fiervil/Chermaitre, was functioning and we had the donated IV and sterile fluids to save him. Thankfully, we had just received supplies from the Henry Schein Foundation Grant, including a blanket for the boy. Thankfully, there was a doctor, rare in this mountainous region, nearly a seven-hour drive from Port au Prince, who knew what to do. And thankfully, VHP has had contributors for 15 years, every one of whom participated in some remote, but vital way, in saving Carlhenri.

Right after the IV was inserted, a man on a motorcycle arrived with 24 bottles of water that were brought in for the Vassar students. The irony, or injustice of the situation, was not lost on Lily Elbaum, class of ’16. She wondered out loud about the irony of unquestioned privilege we had to clean water while Carlhenri, and so many other people like him, was regularly denied this right.

This story is just one example of the kind of thing that happens at the clinic every day. Medicine and medical supplies are scarce in Haiti, even more so in a place as geographically remote as Chermaitre. Joassainvil regularly sees patients suffering from hypertension or gastro-intestinal illnesses, but also sees instances of dengue, typhoid, cholera, and the relatively new Zika virus.

For several years we have worked towards purifying the water for the villagers. Recently, through a Rotary International Foundation Global Grant with the Poughkeepsie-Arlington Rotary Club, we have painstakingly navigated the requirements of the grant. The grant was inspired by the Tansukh Dorawala Memorial Fund, who was a celebrated Rotary district governor. This grant can’t come soon enough! Water-borne diseases will be minimized with collected and purified water given to the villagers who all rightly deserve clean water.

The clinic serves thousands of people who ordinarily would not have any access to health care. This year, Joassainvil will be visiting us in Poughkeepsie as a guest speaker, sharing first-hand experiences of the clinic and its importance to the region.

Joassainvil’s inspiration embodies why we love working in Haiti. Our work connects Poughkeepsie to Chermaitre through our Haitian art sales. We buy colorful and fantastical art at fair prices in Haiti, and sell it at fair prices in America on a fully volunteer basis. With the profit we’ve worked with the people of Chermaitre to build a hope-giving school and a life-giving health clinic in the village.

The VHP holds an annual event to raise money to fund the clinic. This event, Art & Soul Reception, will take place at 5:30 p.m., May 4, at the Vassar College Alumnae House in Poughkeepsie. The event features vibrant Haitian art, live music and food and drink. All proceeds from ticket sales and art purchases go to the clinic. Amazingly, this one event keeps the clinic operating for an entire year.

Amaesha Durazi, a freshman international student who made the recent trip to Haiti, said she felt she was “enveloped by the warmth, strength and dignity of the Haitian people” which made her realize that “love has no language.”

But there is an important word, “welcome,” and you’re welcome at our love-filled fundraiser May 4.

Founded in 2001, the Vassar Haiti Project has raised more than $1.2 million for various projects in Chermaitre, Haiti, including the medical clinic, a women’s cooperative and a primary school.

Lila Meade is co-founder of the Vassar Haiti Project.

If you go

What: Art & Soul Reception

When: 5:30-8 p.m., May 4

Where: Vassar College Alumnae House, 161 College Ave., Poughkeepsie

Tickets: $65 each

Information: Visit http://www.thehaitiproject.org/ for tickets; also visit http://pages.vassar.edu/haitiproject/; call 845-797-2123