Beginning in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, Hope for Haiti’s organizational leadership established the Professional Development Award. In honor of former Board Member Dee Dee Nye, the Dee Dee Nye Professional Development Award (DDNPDA) is awarded to staff members who exemplify Hope for Haiti’s Core Values and have made significant progress toward improving their performance and work outputs. The Awardee(s) will work with their supervisor and COO to develop a 12-month professional development plan to increase skills, knowledge, and experiences to help them continue their professional growth.
Evanie St. Paul is a Public Health Nurse on the Hope for Haiti team and one of this year’s two award winners. Evanie joined the organization in the fall of 2016, amidst our team’s response to Hurricane Matthew, which impacted families in the Sud Department.
As a Public Health Nurse, Evanie helped train community health workers, supervised health education sessions led in Hope for Haiti’s partner schools, and ensured our partner facilities’ first aid kits were replenished and up-to-date.
In 2018, Evanie attended a training that led to her working on our Nutrition team, where she cared for children at risk of malnourishment and helped their parents maintain a nutritious diet that prompts healthy development.
When nutrition evaluations and treatment became part of our mobile clinic offerings in 2019, Evanie became the coordinator, helping to plan and execute each one. This work proved even more vital following the 2021 earthquake that affected southern Haiti.
“After the earthquake, many people had more difficulties accessing proper care,” said Evanie. “We worked to make primary healthcare available and bring consultation services as close to communities as possible.”
Evanie said about winning the award, “I love the work I do with Hope for Haiti and expect that I will continue to do better every day to improve the health conditions of the Haitian population through education and health services.”