As spring is unfolding, we are happy to announce the next Haiti clinic trip for May. We will be offering free natural health treatment for another 2,500 people, bringing the total of poor Haitians served by this tiny grassroots operation to a staggering 17,500! As always, we are just a few friends all chipping in together, and whatever anyone contributes goes a long way. And as always, we will add a new location to our mobile clinic.
Spring is coming, time to heal oneself.
Healing oneself is healing thousands,
healing thousands is healing oneself.
Once again, let’s bring one seed of donation
To the field of serving Haitian children, pregnant women, and elders.
— Thupten Jinpa
Studying Haitian herbs with Oliama
In the meantime, Oliama, one of our local master herbalist, bonesetter and midwives passed away from the complications of long-term malnutrition at the age of 52. This illustrates the reality of poverty in Haiti. With the help of some of you, we were able to raise money for his funeral, as well as to keep his young children in school and fed for a while (see our complete homage and memorandum for Oliama Derivière). He will be sorely missed by us and by the patients. (below – studying Haitian herbs with Oliama)
Feedback from the Patients
People are already gathering around Jinpa’s father’s yard, asking “When will they be back?!? I’m out of my drops / creme / herbs!” The general feedback over the years has been that being treated naturopathically at the clinic saves them from having to go to a doctor or hospital frequently, which is both very expensive and riddled with unwanted side effects. People are amazed how efficient natural cures are, and that there are no side effects. Many people say that they used to have to go to the doctor all the time, where they’d get antibiotics etc., and be sick again and again. Since they discovered our clinic, all they have to do is come back to see us for a check up and some little thing once a year, and other than that, they do not need biomedical care any more. Thus, our clinic is an unintended large scale field study of naturopathy versus biomedicine in an underdeveloped country—a strong testimony!
Direct Recycling
Thanks to Bernard, we are by now able to recycle a high percentage of the glass and plastic bottles we give out to people. How is that possible? Usually, people gather in the mornings the moment we set up the clinic. Bernard has been telling the crowd many times now “What costs us the most is to buy the empty bottles for the medicine preparations we give you. If you keep them and bring them back, it saves us money that we can then use to buy more medicine to give you.” By now, most people are return patients, and most live within the radius of wherever our mobile clinic is that day. We give out numbers to the people in line, and usually over 70 number cards are gone before we are even ready to see the first person. So people feel safe that they will not lose their place in line if they go home to fetch the bottle. By now, when Bernard makes his announcement, there is an excited scurry as people hurry off to bring back their empty containers. And we save a lot of money, and there’s less garbage in Haiti, too.
Please Help to Fund the Clinic
Every dollar goes a long way. We estimate that because all the work by the non-Haitian crew is volunteered, $3 USD provides each patient with a complete comprehensive treatment that includes natural remedies for their physical and emotional needs, acupuncture, cupping, massage, and / or bonesetting as required.
