Butler county minister returns to aid clinic
The Rev. Jim Lewis of the Karns City and Chicora United Methodist churches had been to Haiti many times, but his March trip was different.
Gang violence in the Caribbean island nation had reached such a level that it wasn’t advisable for him and his group, Hearts 4 Haiti, to fly into the capital of Port-au-Prince anymore.
“I’ve noticed the gang violence in Haiti the past two or three trips,” said Lewis. “We put the luggage inside our vans, not on the top. Things aren’t as safe as they used to be. We had an armed guard at the guest house in Port-au-Prince. Things were getting a little sketchy.”
And this was before the president of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated on July 7, 2021, or 16 American missionaries were kidnapped by a gang in October. The last of the hostages was released in December.
Still, Lewis and 10 companions had no intention of giving up their mission to aid a medical clinic in Mombin Crochu in the rural northeastern part of the island.
The group flew from Pittsburgh to Orlando, Fla., on March 7, traveled to Fort Pierce, Fla., and took a plane from Missionary Flights International to Pignon, Haiti, where they landed on a grass airfield.
“Then we took an hour-and-a-half ride through creeks and rugged terrain to reach Mombin Crochu,” said Lewis. The city and surrounding area is home to 35,000 people, mostly farmers.
Hearts 4 Haiti has been assisting the clinic and its doctor, Maudlin Mesadieu, for 19 years ever since group members met Mesadieu as a medical student and began to financially support him through medical school. After he graduated in 2012, the group worked to build a clinic for him in Mombin Crochu.
“It’s very rural. It’s way out there. Nobody goes there,” said Lewis.
The group assisted in the construction of the 4,000-square-foot concrete block building. It contains exam, dental and surgery rooms. It’s staffed by 20 people including the doctor, a dentist and community health workers.
There’s always work to be done by the visiting Americans. “The clinic is not completely outfitted. We still need to get hospital beds in there,” said Lewis.
On their latest trip, Heart 4 Haiti installed two generators to provide the clinic with electricity. The visitors also went out on three mobile health clinics to outlying areas an hour away where they saw 100 people a day.
They also delivered 10 goats they had purchased in Haiti to residents as part of a program to help families improve their financial situation. Goat milk is not only a source of nutrition but goat breeding can be a pathway out of poverty.
Lewis said the recipients of a goat either pay back the $50 cost of buy the animal or give a baby goat to the program. Lewis said the goal is to make the goat program self-sustaining.
“There’s a waiting list for goats,” said Lewis. “It’s like a loan, but it’s a live loan for a goat. They’re great to breed.”
There's a similar program involving donkeys, which cost $100. A donkey was used for the Meals on the Hoof program where a donkey is loaded with food stuffs such as rice and beans for delivery to outlying areas.
Lewis’ group also delivered medical supplies and worked on setting up a cassava mill. Cassava is a starchy root vegetable that is used in Haitian diet. The plan is to set up the mill in partnership with a neighboring town. The mill will convert the cassava roots into a paste.
The group also funds a microloan program. The microcredit program gives small loans to the poor, usually about $20, while promoting self-sufficiency and independence. The loans allow Haitians to start small local businesses, like those selling boiled eggs and bananas.
"It’s a very busy week. There’s always something going on, projects to set up,“ Lewis said.
At least the weather was a welcome change from a Pennsylvania winter. Lewis said the temperature was always between 85 and 90 degrees with low humidity. “It rained on us maybe once, so it was very pleasant as far as I was concerned,” he said.
The visitors stayed in the clinic’s guest house. They dined mostly on goat, rice, beans and Spam.
“We take the Spam with us just to make sure we have it,” Lewis said.
“People are always asking me if things are changing. We put our little bit of positive influence into the country,” he said.
“It changes incrementally. It’s change, but not huge like we would want, not like here in the United States,” he said. “There’s always been violence in Haiti, but it was spontaneous. The gang violence is new.”
“Organized gangs are a new phenomenon in the last two or three years, the kidnappings. They were kidnapping Haitians for a couple of years now. They are fighting for territory. The politics are unsettled, as always,” he said.
Still, Lewis plans to take a group back in August. “We work with a church down there ... but on an August vacation Bible school. Four hundred children show up for crafts, Bible stories and we feed them. It’s a huge, huge thing. They get a meal that day.”
Lewis said the trip is open to anyone who wants to help. The cost is $1,700 and no special talents are needed. “You can help out in the clinic. Everybody has something they can do each day,” he said. For more information, call Lewis at 724-822-6168.
“It’s a life-changing experience. It opens one’s eyes up to a whole new culture. It gives you an appreciation of what we have here,” he said.
