Month: October 2018

Hike for Haiti

by The Joseph School

Reflections from guest blogger, Guy Dauncey, IPSOS

On a summer’s Friday in London, a group of ‘Healthcare Hikers’ from Ipsos Healthcare used one of their ‘Responding Responsibly’ days to walk the Jubilee Greenway in aid of The Joseph School, in Haiti.

Following the devastation of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, The Joseph School was formed to help teach, inspire and empower a new generation of Haitian leaders on the premise that the best people to change Haiti will come from Haiti.

I [Guy] have been lucky enough to be selected, along with three others from Healthcare in North America, to volunteer at The Joseph School, in January 2019. The entire trip will be funded by The Ipsos Foundation and Ipsos Healthcare, which means that any funds we raise will be donated directly to the school and its healthcare needs.

The Hike

Hike for Haiti was conceived after a brainstorm session discussing ideas for Responding Responsibly.  The aim was to create a group participation event, inclusive to all, in a format where everyone could challenge themselves and push themselves as far as they were willing to commit to.

The Jubilee Greenway is a 60km circular footpath which runs through a number of London’s parks and past some of London’s most famous sights.  It was founded to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – one km for each year of the Queen’s reign.  A team of 14 from across Healthcare volunteered to walk various stretches of the route, an opportunity to use a Responding Responsibly day, support a very worthwhile cause, get some exercise and see some of London’s sights all at the same time. 

Collectively, we had walked almost 500 KM and over half a million steps, in just one day.  A big shout-out to the Healthcare Hikers:  Alistair Bates; Aniko Cseledi; Barenese Du-Pont; Charlie Adams; Dipesh Mangabhai; Gabriela Lopez; Myles Taylor; Nattali Samuel; Nicholas Dale; Paulina Dabrowska; Sabina Heinz; Salim Ben-issa; Sophie Oldfield.

The Results

The fundraising has gone unbelievably well – a huge thanks to everyone that has donated.

We’ve had an overwhelming response and this will go towards helping fund the School’s Healthcare needs including:

  • A medical team to administer vaccinations for the children
  • Nurse practitioners to conduct periodic health assessments of the children and to help with specific health issues
  • Medical treatments or surgeries that the children need
  • The setting up of a medical clinic recently acquired by The Joseph School Foundation

I’m looking forward to travelling to Haiti in January to help get the medical clinic up and running.

If you would like to see a short (2min) video of our journey, along with some photos, please go to: https://www.relive.cc/view/g24759701788

From Classroom Checkups to a Community Clinic

by The Joseph School

The Joseph School is excited to announce that we have entered a pilot partnership with the Haitian Ministry of Health to reopen an abandoned medical clinic in Cameau, Haiti.

A school and a clinic . . . how did this happen? 

Cameau Clinic

The mission of The Joseph School is to educate and prepare tomorrow’s servant leaders in body, mind, and spirit. Throughout our four years of operations, we’ve learned that educating our students also means addressing the living conditions of Haiti —like access to sufficient food, clean water and medical care.  

To promote healthy minds in the classrooms, our students need healthy bodies.

Our current Food of Education program provides daily meals for every child, teacher and staff.

Our Summer Nutrition programs ensures at-risk students, and their families, receive nutritional supplements to combat summer malnutrition.

Each semester, our students receive well-child check ups from a registered nurse, or team, as part of our Medical Missions. 

  • Lisa Hellman, Family Nurse Practitioner, assessing 4th grader, KennyLove
  • Student weigh-ins

Health and wellness has become a necessary focus for our school, and has already impacted the lives of our students, their families and their communities. So much so, that the Haitian Ministry of Health has asked TJS to take over an abandoned clinic in Cameau (a few miles from our campus). And after months of prayer and deliberation, we have said yes!

The clinic is not operational right now. However, in due time, we plan to utilize the existing clinic as a base from which to improve the overall health of Cameau, Cabaret, other surrounding communities and to provide healthcare to The Joseph School students, families and staff. 

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As part of our new project, our US headquarters has added a Medical Advisory Board. If interested in learning more about the clinic, and our preliminary plans, please email info@thejosephschool.org. Subject: Clinic.