So Many Die When You're Gone

"So many die when you're gone"
by Tracey Goldner

Joe and Linda Markee will never forget the cries of their Haitian friend, Elvire Bazilme.

"We always saved a few lives on our medical missions to Haiti and were excited to come home and share our successes," says Linda. Then one year, their friend Elvire came to visit them in the United States. "As she flipped through our photos from Haiti, she suddenly burst into tears," says Linda.

"You help so many people when you’re in Haiti, but you don’t know about all the people that die when you’re gone," Elvire wailed. "So many babies die after you leave us."

"Those sorrowful cries are still with me and they were our impetus for building a permanent health clinic for the people in Terre Blanche, Haiti," says Linda.

This retired couple from Vancouver, Washington, established Haiti Foundation of Hope (HFH), a nonprofit organization committed to addressing the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the people living in or around Terre Blanche. Joe is a retired obstetrician with more than 40 years’ experience and Linda is secretary, organizer, historian, and a former nurse.

Medical Teams International has partnered with the Markees since Hurricane Jean devastated Haiti in 2004. The Markees, who speak French and Creole fluently and who have lived in Haiti for two years, spent seven weeks with Medical Teams International staff treating typhoid, malaria and dozens of other ailments.

"It was miraculous to see the impact we had there because typhoid is such a serious illness; but within three days, the infections cleared up with the antibiotics and IV fluids supplied by Medical Teams International," says Joe.

Since that time, the partnership has grown. Together, Medical Teams International and Haiti Foundation of Hope send medical teams with 8-15 members to Terre Blanche almost every quarter. Each team treats approximately 1,000 people that come from as far as eight hours away for medical care.

They see treatable conditions like malaria, skin diseases, diarrhea, parasites and infections, but also terminal illnesses like advanced cancer and AIDS.

Terre Blanche does not have electricity, running water or an economic base. ("There are a lot of tragic stories and people we can’t help," says Linda. But the Markees are committed to the Haitian people and say they are "right where God wants us."

Terre Blanche, or white earth, is a hot, dry town in northern Haiti. People there survive on subsistence farming and some years have to "replant five times just to get a crop," says Joe.

"This is a town without electricity, running water, buildings or any sort of economic base," says Linda. Until recently, no one there had ever received a paycheck.

But HFH is working to improve living conditions and bring hope to the people. Employing local construction workers and lay workers, the foundation built Terre Blanche’s first medical clinic this year.

The Clinic of Hope opened its doors February 2007. The clinic during construction.
Until the clinic opened, the closest care available to residents was more than two hours away. The Clinic of Hope, or "Dispensaire Coummunitaire l’Esperance" in French, has two full-time nurses, a pharmacist, a clinic chaplain and a record-keeper. The second story has sleeping quarters and a kitchen for visiting medical teams.

In addition to opening a medical clinic and sending ongoing medical teams, the Haiti Foundation of Hope has also assisted with the installation of two community wells, operated a primary school for more than 10 years, supported a women’s trade school, built a church for the community and supported the ministry of Pastor Delamy Bazilme. Joe and Linda have become familiar faces in Haiti over the 24 years they’ve been involved. Linda jokes with Haitians on her visits that she is so happy to see her son, Delamy, again.

"The Markees are such incredible and humble people," says Tammy Teske, disaster response project officer for Medical Teams International. "They could be spending their retirement with children and grandchildren and taking vacations, but instead they are committing themselves fully to Haiti. They’ve poured their lives into this project."

Already more than 100 patients a day. The Markees take time to look back and celebrate their successes but are quick to say there is still much to do. “Now that the clinic is up and running, we’ve got even more demands,” says Linda.

The biggest problem they face right now is meeting the increasing needs at the clinic. More than 100 patients show up every day, and the number continues to grow. HFH plans to hire a new nurse this year to meet the needs. "It’s great news and is a good problem to have," says Linda. "It means that the clinic has a good reputation."

Word spreads quickly through the countryside when medical care is available. Joe traveled to Haiti this spring to provide medical training to the clinic’s nurse and to educate staff on how to use the new ultrasound machine. But by the time he arrived, the clinic’s courtyard was so full of patients who had heard an American doctor was in town, that he spent the week juggling primary care with his training.

Incorporating community health in coordination with Medical Teams International, the foundation is also laying the groundwork for a community health project in Terre Blanche that improves the health of children and mothers.

"Our contribution to the community health project in Terre Blanche will work to reduce the number of people the clinic sees daily," says Mike Wenrick, Medical Teams International's program manager for Latin America. "We hope to prevent illnesses and promote health through immunizations, proper nutrition and other community-based education programs so that children will grow up healthier and not require so many visits to the clinic."

Medical Teams International has also helped HFH through donations of medicines and medical supplies. Each volunteer medical team carries a bag of much-needed medicines for their work in the clinic. Medicine is difficult to find in Haiti—yet just a small amount can save a child’s life.

In 1983, Joe says, "I didn’t really know why I was going, but I felt like I was being called." He’s quick to admit he didn’t even know exactly where Haiti was the first time he traveled there. "We realized after a few visits that if we really wanted to get serious about Haiti, we should go and live there."

Ten years and one permanent health clinic later, the Markees can serve in Haiti and leave knowing that medical care is available for the people in Terre Blanche. Finally, there is relief for cries like those of Elvire’s.