After years of traveling to Haiti with volunteer medical teams, a Vancouver couple has stepped up its commitment to the poorest country in the Americas.
Joe and Linda Markee have created the Haiti Foundation of Hope to firm up their support for a village so poor it barely has dirt.
People around the country have been helping, which is why Linda Markee opened an envelope recently at the downtown post office and found a $2,000 check from Michelle and Barack Obama.
"I went to the bank and said, 'Look at this!' And they said, 'Wow!'" Linda recounted.
The Markees' son-in-law, a member of the foundation board, called the accountant's office listed on the check to confirm its authenticity; so did an executive at the local bank.
According to online reports published after their tax records were released, that contribution was among $172,050 — about 6 percent of their adjusted gross income — the Obamas donated to 37 different charities.
The $2,000 sure will help, and the star power of the first philanthropists can't hurt. But the level of need is numbing, said Mike Wenrick, Latin America program manager with Portland-based Medical Teams International.
"We try to work with the neediest populations. And without a doubt, Haiti is the most extreme situation as far as environmental degradation, community health, household income," said Wenrick. "It's shocking when you go to Haiti and see hardships people deal with. It's an economy based on charcoal. Water quality is terrible. Years of civil war. It's by far the neediest by any indicator."
It can be tough even to savor the successes, said Joe Markee, who started making medical-mission trips to Haiti in 1983.
"When we took teams to Haiti, there always was someone who lived — someone who would have died without us," the retired doctor said.
It was a reason to feel excited, a success story to enjoy.
But a Haitian friend explained the tragic side of that story.
"You don't know about all the people who die when you're gone," their friend said. "So many babies die when you're not here."
Actually, Joe kind of had a clue.
"When a team comes in once or twice a year, people almost riot to get in," he said. "If there is a good chance your child will die, and the team is leaving, you do what you can."
The foundation brings more stable care to the village of Terre Blanche. The name — French for "White Earth" — reflects its lack of resources. That white "dirt" is calcium carbonate.
"You walk outside," Linda said, "and the sun coming off it is blinding. They have a hard time growing anything."
"It's desert," Joe said.
There's no drinkable water, and the road stops at a town five miles away.
Now the foundation is operating a school and a clinic in Terre Blanche.
"The Haitians call it a hospital," Joe said. "It's not a hospital."
The Haitian ministry of health found a physician for the clinic, which also employs a Haitian nurse, lab technician and pharmacist. The foundation, with an operating budget of $175,000 for 2009, pays the salaries.
The clinic also is a place where Medical Teams International can assign volunteer teams, and it's a reliable destination for medical supplies and gear, Wenrick said.
"We rely on partners to provide on-the-ground knowledge, and in this place, that's the Markees and the strong relationships they've built," Wenrick said. "They have the Haitian contacts who know the local needs and can provide the necessary leadership."
That's the key to progress, said Joe Markee, who's lost count of the number of times — "50 or 60" — he's gone to Haiti.
"Focus on one village," the 69-year-old doctor said. "Get to know the problems."
Linda, 67, said the Markees also gained a lot of perspective when they lived in Haiti for two years during the 1990s.
"I've heard people say, 'We're Americans, and we know what's best for you.'"
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www.haitifoundationofhope.org
