Grand Bois Medical Outreach Clinic

Updated on June 26, 2023
by Haitian Christian Outreach

Every chance I’ve had to go up into the mountains to visit towns like Grand Bois and Seguin, I am blown away by the natural beauty in Haiti. Not many of our teams get the chance to travel that far into the mountains, so most of what they see is in Peredo. Haiti is such a naturally diverse place.

Driving further down the main road, eventually you’ll reach a turnoff to head up the mountains. As the elevation goes up, the temperature goes down. The dirt turns from brown to gray to red, and the trees change from palms to pines. Strange cacti shoot out of the ground, surrounded by craggy gray rocks everywhere. It’s absolutely beautiful.

HCO’s first ministry in the Southeast started in Seguin. We saw the colorful compound in the distance as we bounced around in the back of a Land Cruiser on our way to Grand Bois. Twenty minutes past Seguin, we pulled up to a large church building built into the side of a mountain.

This trip was for a group of medical students from The New York Institute of Technology (NYIT). I tagged along to take pictures and help in whatever way I could. The plan was to set up a few different stations where a senior doctor would guide the med students through a basic clinic process. We had three separate stations set up while Elvinia and Eline ran the temporary pharmacy from the front of the church. It was a solid system, and Ro had the chance to talk to the people who were waiting to be seen while they sat in the front of the church.

It’s strange to see things like Tums and Acetaminophen being given out as a prescription. At home, we just head to our cabinet and pop whatever we need to fix our problem. In a town as remote as Seguin, there’s only one dispensary. The closest hospital is a three-hour ride down the mountain to Peredo. Mobile clinics like the one that NYIT did are effective for treating immediate issues, but for anything that lasts longer than the prescription, you wonder what will happen.

These kind of experiences show the need for reliable medical care in Haiti. Partnering with NYIT, our doctors and medical staff in Peredo are able to exchange knowledge and experiences with medical students and instructors. It’s a partnership that benefits the Haitians that live in the Southeast, and the Americans that come to Haiti to learn about global health. Mobile clinics like these are just one more way that HCO works in communities to point Southeast Haiti to Christ.