On January 24, 2010, 12 days after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Bumi Sehat Foundation International (BSIF) sent a medical team into Haiti at the request of the civic leaders of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, as well as the Dominican Republic Red Cross and Dominican Republic Chambers of Commerce.  They requested our aid and assistance as an internationally recognized maternal/child health emergency relief organization with prior field experience, including the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

In the first 5 months of operation in Haiti, the Bumi Sehat Health Clinic performed over 1200 pre- and post-natal care visits; oversaw the birth of 80 babies in a safe and clean environment; and provided more than 500 children under the age of 3 with vitamins and well-children visits.

Bumi Sehat’s generous community of international donors raised over $100,000 help us do our part to alleviate the suffering caused by the earthquake and to give Haitian women a safe place to birth.

Our corporate friends, including New Chapter, Inc., Vitamin Angels, CP Medical and The Ten Dollar Club have assisted us by donating valuable vitamins, supplies and funding.

Finally, Direct Relief International supplied Bumi Sehat with $600,000 in valuable medications, medical supplies and emergency funding, without which we would not have been able to provide the quality care we did.

We are deeply grateful for all of the confidence and care offered us  in our decision to go to Haiti to offer help to birthing families.

By March 2010 the BSFI team and citizens of Jacmel had erected a forty-four-foot dome clinic and were providing regular quality maternal/infant health services. At this time the decision was made to transition the clinic from disaster relief to a permanent birth center. The status change was endorsed by the Jacmel Ministry of Health, as the clinic was to become a permanent, licensed Haitian health care facility. Our goal was to offer quality midwifery care in a maternal health clinic with an all-Haitian administrative staff as well as training local Haitian midwives to work in our facility.

At the end of June 2010 the BSFI Haiti clinic was handed over to a legally separate organization, Mother Health International (MHI).

Patient Statistics March – June 2010

Prenatal Visits: 1,200

Births: 80

Pediatric Care: over 500

Attachments:

FinalVolunteer Application3-11-10.pdf

[Click here to download the updated Bumi Sehat Haiti Volunteer Application (PDF)]

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