Jessica Jean-Francois, Program Manager, April 21, 2012
The Hope for Haiti Public Health program is successfully training community health workers and educating students in public health and preventative care. This month we had the opportunity to assess some of the 2,400 students that benefit from the program on their knowledge of the several themes taught by the community health workers in their schools. The results were astonishing and the process was very beneficial. Most of the schools that participate in the program are in extremely rural parts of southern Haiti. Since many of the schools only reach up to the 4th grade, we developed an exam to test the 4th grade at every school and compared their scores. At each school, the student with the highest grade received a gift from Hope for Haiti during our bi-annual site visits. From the exam, we were able to learn more about the success of the program in the communities. We identified the themes that the students understood the best and which ones they wanted to learn more about. We received strong feedback about what is going well and developed ideas for improvements.
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| Mirlande and Loudena with their exams |
Ricardo listens closely during a public health lesson |
Ricardo receives a celebratory pen from Hope for Haiti for his success on the exam |
It was in the small mountain community of Grenodière that we met Ricardo D’Haïti. Ricardo received a perfect score on the exam. When asked how he managed to receive a perfect score Ricardo answered “I listen closely to everything the community health workers say and I study at home.” Ricardo wants to one day become a doctor. In Plaçon, sisters Mirlande and Loudena attend a school, which is a 3-hour hike with 7 river crossings to the nearest market. When people fall ill in the area, the community has to carry them down this long and treacherous 3-hour path just to get them to the nearest hospital.
The young people that benefit from the Hope for Haiti Public Health Program are learning how to prevent common illnesses because oftentimes prevention is the only defense they have. It is the smartest thing they can do. The students know that learning about keeping good hygiene and addressing early symptoms of illness properly can save lives.
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| Ricardo watches closely as the public health nurses treat a pretty nasty wound |
Ricardo with the Hope for Haiti First Aid Kit held in Grenodie Çre |
The Class in Plaçon with their community health workers |