The Blessing of Hospital Births

On the hill near our campus a young mother died after giving birth in 2012 before Peredo Community Hospital was open. In October 2013, the first baby was born at PCH — in a bright, sterile, labor and delivery room, staffed by Haitian doctors and nurses. In a country where 76% of women still give birth at home, unassisted, this is huge. In 2017, PCH added 24/7 birthing services and treated around 5,000 patients total. We are seeing about 6-7 babies born each month. To know where things were in 2012 — and now to have photos sent regularly of precious new babies born in our hospital — we are full of gratitude that God has brought HCO’s ministry in health care so far in such a short time.

It’s a very special thing if you happen to be in Peredo when a mama gives birth. Several of our teams have had the privilege of being on site during labor and delivery. Some praying in the waiting room for mama, baby, family, and medical staff. Some assisting our midwives. Some donning gloves, holding the hands of a mama, and wiping sweat from her brow, all while wishing desperately for knowledge of more Creole words of encouragement! All celebrate when baby enters the world!

This little guy was born at 6:50 p.m. on February 8, 2018, after his mama was in labor all day. Mama and dad heard about PCH on the radio and have friends who have come for care at the hospital. Dad, sister, and grandma brought mama down the mountain on a moto as labor began. After waiting all day, this family celebrated the birth of their first baby boy! Proud grandma is pictured below with baby boy who was just about 30 minutes old!

All of the babies born at PCH receive an Infant Care Kit to bless and encourage mama, sending her home with some baby supplies and clothing. Through the generosity of so many, we are currently well-stocked on kits for new mamas!

These are some of the babies born at PCH in 2017!

We also love the blessing of seeing children who have been born at PCH grow up in our community. Widelyne celebrated her first birthday on February 7, 2018 while one of our teams was in Peredo. We were there to visit with her, her mama, and Eline as Eline helped Widelyne learn to take a few of her first steps.

You can drive to any part of your town and likely pass several doctor’s offices, immediate care clinics, or hospitals. Today, 70% of Haitians still don’t have access to health care. Overall, excellent health care facilities and staff are still much needed in Haiti, particularly in the Southeast Department, where Peredo Community Hospital serves.

All of this is made possible because HCO raises funds to be able to provide quality health care and the hope of Jesus through patient visits and our new surgical center. If you would like to celebrate what God is doing through a regular or one-time gift, you can give to help make health care at PCH possible!

An unplanned blessing of our hospital is its impact on our school children. On our Peredo campus, the hospital is located across from one of our schools. At recess, students play in the yard between the two buildings. As a part of our Every Child sponsorships, we visit with our students to get to know them better. We have some fun kids in our schools, and we like to ask them what they want to be when they grow up. Now, more than ever, we are hearing things like: “I want to be a nurse to help take care of people who are sick” or “I want to be a doctor so that I can help people.”

We love that our students have this place of hope – the hospital – that has grown up before their eyes in just a few short years.

We love that some of our older boys have slung buckets of concrete when we poured the roof of the new surgical center.

We love that our students are cared for by our hospital staff when they have health needs.
And we love that some of our hospital staff hangs out and plays soccer with the kids.

Most of all, we love watching God use simple things like a school and a hospital to meet needs, build His kingdom, and bring glory to Himself!

We would love for you to help us celebrate what God is doing with a regular gift to our health care ministry! You can provide a patient visit with a gift of $20, or you can give toward completing the surgical center. Give today! Gifts of all sizes will make it possible for HCO to continue providing quality health care and the hope of Jesus!