Salvation Army meets health, spiritual needs in Haiti
Captain Dr. Felix and Major Violet Ezeh are the administrators of the Bethel Clinic in Fond-des-Negres, Haiti. They've served in this mountainous region of southern Haiti since 2001. Here are just a few of the many ministry blessings they've experienced over the past couple of years.
OUTBREAK
The cholera outbreak, which began in northern Haiti nine months after the massive January 2010 earthquake, arrived in Fond-des-Negres a month later. More than 500 cholera patients were cared for at the clinic. A medical team from Japan (the Association of Medical Doctors of Asia) helped set up a 20-bed cholera ward, and Médecines du Monde opened a temporary, additional 40-bed cholera treatment center on Army property that was used throughout 2011. The clinic also received a grant from Catholic Relief Services to support cholera treatment, education and community rehydration. Now the clinic cares for cholera patients with complications from other medical conditions.
AIDS RELIEF
The clinic is in its eighth year of a U.S. government-funded AIDS relief program; 840 patients are receiving anti-retroviral therapy.
TRUCK
The clinic received a grant from the USA Central Territory to replace its 12-year-old truck with a Toyota Land Cruiser earlier this year. Corps members were invited to pray over it as a fitting way to put it into God's service.
OPERATING ROOM
The Bethel Clinic received a grant from the Clearwater, Fla., Corps (attended by many USA Central Territory retired officers!) to prepare and equip a sterile-environment operating room for minor surgeries and C-sections.
TILES
Last fall a grant was received for ceramic tiling of the entire clinic. "It was quite a challenge to lay tiles while still fully serving patients," said Violet. "The crew worked ward by ward, through nights and weekends, moving patients around as the work progressed. The results have been tremendous, brightening the wards and helping staff keep the clinic cleaner."
OUTREACH
The Bethel Clinic helped support a special prison outreach visit organized by the Fond-des-Negres Corps. About 40 soldiers (band, songster and League of Mercy members) journeyed three hours to reach the Anse-a-Veau prison. "After ministering through music, testimonies and the Word, we shared a hot cooked meal, personal hygiene items and scripture tracts with the 250 men being held there," Violet concluded.