Cavaillon, Haiti, where our clinic is located suffered a direct hit from Hurricane Matthew and we are still getting information about the damage people have suffered. We have only had sporadic communication with Dr. Nixon, our head doctor and Ketlene, our head nurse, and Fr. Antoine Ingrid. Thankfully communication is slowly improving and we will follow add information and images to our website as we get them.
HOW DID NOVA’s CLINIC FAIR IN THE STORM:
One solar panel blew off of our roof but the remainder seem to be functioning, we lost some outdoor ceiling tiles, and we lost several large trees on our property but that appears to be the physical extent of the damage. Our water well is still providing potable water. This is a major blessing at this time since in post storm recovery access to clean uncontaminated water is a major problem and leads to post-disaster diseases.
HOW ARE THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY OF CAVAILLON?
There were four confirmed deaths, including a mother and three children who were swept away when the river overflowed. Unfortunately we are expecting this number to rise. The river has flooded the town center and the neighborhood of Grand Dieu which was hit hard when the river burst its banks.
“More than 1,000 homes have been damaged or destroyed by the flood waters and violent winds,” said Ernst Ais, the mayor of the town of Cavaillon, near Les Cayes.
NOVA’s CLINIC A TEMPORARY REFUGEE CENTER
During the storm the roof at the local orphanage blew off and 60 children slept at our clinic during the storm. In addition, 10 local families who live near the clinic whose homes were destroyed had to seek refuge at our building during the storm. The children from the orphanage are now in another facility, but our neighbors are still living in the clinic because they lost everything. There are still 37 people temporarily living in the clinic, most of them children.
WHAT NOVA IS DOING TO HELP
In addition to sheltering some of our neighbors, NOVA is providing emergency supplies of rice, pasta and cooking oil to families who lost everything. The President of NOVA has authorized the staff to purchase and distribute these basic items for people in the community in the most desperate need.
NOVA is also providing electricity to charge phones so people can be in touch with family members in other parts of the country and the US. Cavaillon is still without power but NOVA’s solar electrical system, although damaged, is still functioning to provide some power to the building.
CLEAN WATER
Thankfully our well was not damaged by the rising river and is still providing clean water to the community.
MEDICAL CARE
Our clinic is still open but with limited staff. Some of our staff is still unable to travel to work due to unpassable roads but our doctor who lives on site has been open and treating patients throughout the storm and its aftermath, with the assistance of our security guards and maintenance people.
HOW YOU CAN HELP THE PEOPLE OF CAVAILLON
NOVA is establishing a dedicated hurricane relief fund for the people in our community. While our primary mission is to provide medical care, at this time we are in a position to help in provide emergency shelter and care. Our intention is to help the people in our community in the immediate emergency phase of the aftermath of the storm and assist our people in getting back on their feet. We are already incurring extra expenses and this will continue. Thanks to all the support from our donors in the past, our newly constructed clinic is one of the few safe buildings in town so we will do what we can to provide whatever basic care we can as well as continue to provide medical care to our patients.
We need help.
Please, if you can, contribute to our relief fund here:
https://www.novahope.org/products-page/mission-donation/hurricanerelief/
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NOVA’s Friends are helping raise money for NOVA’s relief efforts:
Our friends at DOMUS are generously donating 10% of all proceeds from sales in their store at 413 w 44th st | ny, ny 10036 on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9th to help NOVA with our work and relief efforts in Haiti. In addition they are hosting a sale in their store of artwork donated by local artists who donated pieces to raise money for NOVA. 100% of the sale price of the artwork goes to NOVA Hope for Haiti.
