X-ray Comes to Peredo Haiti: When We Dare to Pray Big Dreams

“Our God is a big man!” RoRo’s young disciple, Jimmy, said these words when the digital X-ray arrived in Peredo on Tuesday, March 5. For over 5 1/2 years, HCO has prayed and worked towards this day!

It all started with a research trip by Mac, Cameron, and Dr. Chuck VanMeter in the summer of 2013, about 6 months after Peredo Community Hospital officially opened to the public. The need was obvious, plans were made, and many conversations happened to spread the word about this great big God-sized dream. Along the way, God opened an amazing door in Zanesville, Ohio, with Becky Joseph, Dr. Bill Allen, Megan Schreiber, and the Zanesville Rotary Club. These individuals stepped forward in a major way as they worked with the Rotary Club to raise the needed $40,000. RoRo and Cameron explored many different avenues of Rotary funding, even meeting with the Rotary Club in Jacmel. After many months, even more meetings and phone calls, and endless prayers, our team kept the faith and God provided funding through the Zanesville Rotary Club!

In January, we were able to celebrate even more of God’s provision for the Surgical Center. Through the great generosity of IDES, FAME, Lifeline, and TECH partners, over $100,000 of donated surgical supplies arrived in Peredo. With all of this and the surgical center construction moving closer to completion, plans were coming together for HCO’s first surgical team on April 6.

In January, the X-ray equipment was purchased, training was completed, and plans were made to fly it into Haiti on a small plane with Flights for Christ in February. But due to the unrest in Haiti, as of March 1 the equipment still hadn’t been able to arrive. There had also been the complication of arctic weather in the Midwest which was making it impossible for the plane to fly. We continued to trust and pray. God open the doors for peace to return to Haiti, provided good weather in the Midwest, and removed other potential obstacles. All of the X-ray equipment and the sterilizer arrived in Haiti on March 5!

• People won’t have to travel to Jacmel to hear the words: “The machine is broken!” This is the normal response when patients attempt to access the only other X-ray machine in SE Haiti.
• People won’t have to then travel to Port-au-Prince, over 4 hours away on bumpy roads, to wait for hours, if not days, for an X-ray.
• Over 1 million people in a medically underserved area will now have ongoing access to reliable X-ray services in their own region and community.

All of this took us back to words penned by Allison Conder in September 2016 after her summer internship in which she helped a young man, Anderson, who broke his arm on our soccer field:

[quote author=”Allison Condor” source=”2016 blog”]

One tap-tap ride to Jacmel with a broken arm.
Four more tap-tap rides to Jacmel over the course of 5 days with a broken arm when the doctors decided not to show up the first (or fourth) time.
X-rays were taken.
X-rays were read by our staff in Peredo.
Returned to hospital in Jacmel to set up appointment for surgery.
Performed surgery.
Casted.
(Elapsed time: 8 days in Haiti)

We cannot begin to emphasize the lives that will be changed by the completion of the surgical wing of the hospital. Lives that will change because of the digital X-rays we will be able to take. A parent should not fear that eight days may pass before their child’s broken arm is fixed. And Anderson was one of the lucky ones. Each day this summer, I would walk the halls of the unfinished building and through the future surgical rooms. I would pray for all the future Andersons who will have more than just their arm saved. God has bigger plans than we can dare to dream. Dare to pray them with me.”

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We all prayed big dreams and were shamelessly persistent. In March 2019 those prayers were answered, and HOPE came to SE Haiti in the form of digital X-ray equipment! Praise God for His faithfulness!