Haiti - Respe

Project Overview

The Fairfield-Suisun Rotary Club wanted to engage in a long-term sustainable international project that was close enough for members to participate in hands-on work.  Club members Tara Dacus and Jowel Laguerre brought forward the idea of working in Haiti to Talyon Sortor, the international projects leader for the club at the time.  The idea was to commit to the village for many years to come and work on various projects that the village felt would help them be more sustainable.  The “project” was the village, not one building or latrine. 

 

We began the project in September 2012 with Jowel and Talyon making a site visit to meet with village leaders and youth groups to determine what the priorities of the village were.  There were many needs discussed, but a health clinic was chosen as the first priority.  A building and land were made available to start the clinic.  In February 2013, Jowel and Talyon returned with the help of two Rotarians from the Cordelia Club.  The building was cleaned, painted, and a generator and wiring were installed to provide power and light to the rooms.  Villagers came by and helped with the work each day.

 

The clinic is now serving patients on an ongoing basis with a nurse and medicine is available in the village for the first time. 

Each year a group returns to the clinic to improve the facility and bring specialized care.  The last few years have included a dental team from Dixon.

​

Here's a link to the video from starting the clinic from the ground up.  Haiti- Respe Special thanks to Suzanne Bragdon.