Stories from the Field
July 9, 2009
Women And Prevention Are Priorities For Fieldwork Projects In Leogane, Haiti
Duke University rising Junior Matt Gay is starting to believe that he can make at least a small difference in a world of immense health challenges. Gay and six other students are spending eight weeks this summer in Leogane, Haiti, an official field site of the Duke Global Health Institute. They have teamed up with Haitian student nurses to raise awareness about cervical cancer, a major killer of women in the country.
“This interaction is only the first of a continued collaboration of ideas,” says Gay, whose worldview has been influenced by the service trip. He says, “I am beginning to embark on a journey of encouraging and empowering nursing students to implement educational practices of their own.”
The group of seven Duke students is immersed in the fieldwork program which is organized by Duke Engage and the Durham-based Family Health Ministries (FHM). FHM was founded by DGHI Affiliate and Duke Physician David Walmer, and plans to build a Family Health and Research Center in Leogane. This service trip focuses on addressing the health care needs for women, and GPS mapping and surveying of local health care facilities.
While surveying the land in a rural community of 4,000 people, the students discovered that both the clinic and hospital had closed, leaving few health care options for its citizens.
“We were stunned,” says Gay. “I thought about this rural village and how it represents a broader phenomenon of need that is pervasive throughout the Leogane community.”
In an effort to introduce preventive health care services to more Haitians, Duke students are creating a brochure and short educational film on cervical cancer that will be translated into Creole and distributed to the Leogane community. Students are also encouraging hundreds of women to complete HPV screenings and to regularly get health checkups. At least 20% of the women recently tested at the Leogane clinic have tested positive for HPV. Junior Sunita Saith says as a result of their outreach, more women are returning to the clinic for follow-up appointments and treatment.
Students Trek Through Mountains Of Rural Haiti
The student group took a short break from their projects last week for a two-day hike through rural Haiti, led by FHM Executive Director Kathy Walmer. They hiked up the rugged mountains of Chaîne de la Selle in Southeast Haiti, which is home to the pine forests of La Visite National Park.
“Although tired and sore, the group was thrilled to have had the chance to spend time in rural Haiti,” says Walmer. “Meeting the friendly, smiling people along the trail was all the encouragement the students needed to keep on walking.”
The 30-mile hike was an unforgettable experience for Duke Senior Laura Ferraro who saw how the indigenous people lived in the mountains of Haiti. She recalled her conversation with a Haitian woman who said people die because they cannot afford health care. For those who live in remote villages, transportation to the nearest medical facility, which may be hours away by foot, is also unaffordable and often unavailable.
“I kept thinking about a woman, pregnant, about to give birth on the side of this epic mountain. Not only would she be experiencing pains much greater than my own, but she would have very limited options,” says Ferraro. “Essentially her survival was entirely dependent on God or whatever divine presence she believes in.”
The group also traveled to several other towns including Fort Jacques and Fondwa, where students visited an orphanage and played games with the children.
Other students on the trip include Juniors Ju Yon Kang and Max Kligerman, and Seniors Kevin Chen and Johnny Lai. They will complete their fieldwork projects at the end of July.
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Read more about Walmer’s two-day hike in Leogane:
http://familyhm.org/dukengageandfamilyhealthministries.htm
Read the blogs of Duke students Kevin Chen and Sunita Saith:
http://dukeengage.duke.edu/blogs/sites/47
http://dukeengagehaiti.blogspot.com/