St. Anthony’s Renovation

St. Anthony’s is one of the primary medical clinics at which Espwa serves in Cap Haitien, Haiti.  Our longtime friend and medical director, Dr. Eugene Maklin, sees patients there each week.  After this past March’s medical trip, it became clear that St. Anthony’s was overwhelmingly hot, overcrowded, and too small for effective patient exams.  Between April and June, one of our network partners, Food for the Poor, was able to raise the capital needed to address some of its shortcomings.

By employing Haitian construction crews, the building underwent a dramatic transformation.  Site improvements included the following:

  • Demolishing one exterior wall and extending two rooms and the gallery
  • Reinforcing structural beams and columns
  • Reconstructing concrete slab floors
  • Repairing bathrooms
  • Replacing the electrical wiring
  • Replacing the roof with new plywood underlayment, metal roofing, and hurricane strapping
  • Repainting and refinishing

We can’t wait to return and serve at St. Anthony’s on our next medical trip and are so excited that community residents have such a nicer clinic!


June 2016 Trip Report

We wanted to express a big thank you to everyone who supported us on the trip a few weeks ago – from financially, to prayers, to supporting our family members while we were gone.  It is always encouraging to see how these trips come together and the impact they make.

The blended team of Duquesne Faculty members and Pleasant Hills Church experienced many things in Cap Haitien.  We had an amazing time seeing the progress on the New Hope Hospital and visiting with Dr. Eugene.  In his typical easy-going but passionate fashion, he gave us a tour of the hospital and grounds, as well as a visit to the newly renovated St. Anthony’s clinic.

The team also visited the site of Jovenel’s first farm, as well as EBAC orphanage.  At EBAC, we met with longtime missionaries Alice Wise and Kathy Gouker, whose stories never fail to captivate, as well as our pastor to the Peace & Joy Families, Benjamin Fleurant.  Our time with Pastor Benjamin, strengthening the relationship and getting feedback from his time with the children and their families was much needed.

One brief success story from this trip is worth sharing.  Our project liaison and owner of Haitian Creole Tour, Frantz Louis-Charles, was very excited to show us the tract of land he had recently purchased!  After very humble beginnings at EBAC orphanage, Frantz has flourished these past few years in the tourism business that was originally funded through an Espwa small business project.  To see Frantz as a landowner, working hard and succeeding in his profession, it brings a great sense of pride in the work that we do.  We do it for the Frantz’s of Haiti.  People we love and who just need some hope.  A little empowerment and faith goes a long way.

The final excitement for the trip was our annual beach trip with the Peace & Joy families!  On the 27th of June, we embarked on a bus-turned-tap-tap adventure that started with picking up the families.  Long story short, the bus ended up getting a flat tire that was beyond repair, so a tap-tap army came to the rescue.  Nothing was keeping us from the beach!

Until next time, thanks again for your support.  It’s trips like these that re-focus our efforts and give us the motivation to keep running the race laid out for us in Haiti.