On Monday, Quality Control Officer Darline Aurelien and Production Officer Ken Thercy traveled the 4,500 miles from Haiti to France for training with MFK’s new partner, Nutriset. Darline and Ken were excited for the trip as neither had ever left Hispaniola, the island of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The planning of the trip and task of getting all the necessary paper work took months. Like any great adventure Ken and Darline faced many trials and tribulations. On arriving in France both were shocked by the near freezing temperature in Paris. For two people who have never left the Caribbean it was a cruel greeting. The cold was made worse by the fact that Ken’s luggage was nowhere to be found and is still somewhere between Port-au-Prince and Paris.
The two proceeded to travel by train to the small town of Malaunay in the north of France, the home of Nutriset. Ken and Darline are hard at work but are also looking forward to the weekend when a Nutriset colleague will show them the sights and delights of Normandy. For MFK this is a step closer to the procurement and installation of the Opti-nut, new machinery that will be capable of producing 15,000 kilos of Medika Mamba a month. For Ken and Darline the training will expand their capacity and enable to them to take additional responsibilities when the new machinery comes online.
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Meds & Food for Kids saves the lives of Haiti's malnourished children by producing and distributing highly nutritious foods, including Medika Mamba, a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food endorsed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Because of its commitment to Haiti's long-term development, MFK produces Medika Mamba in Haiti, with Haitian labor, and with many Haitian raw materials.
Photos courtesty of www.jsilverberg.com
In the fall of 2008, Chloe VanDenBrink, an undergraduate student at the University of Indiana, was in Haiti as a United Methodist Volunteer sponsored by HAPI, an artisans’ co-op in Mizak. While in Haiti her job was to survey communities to find children to enroll in the Medika Mamba program.
On Chloe’s first trip hiking through the mountains in Mizak, after a long day and with four malnourished children enrolled in the Mamba program, a man approached her and insisted she visit a nearby family. Chloe initally resisted, for although she understood the family was in dire need, there were no more spaces left in the program for the children in the area. The man’s persistence and unwillingness to hear no for an answer eventually made Chloe relent. Together they hiked an additional mile to Loti, the poorest area in Mizak. The home that he led her to was in a state of disrepair far beyond the usual hurricane damage in the area. As Chloe approached the house she could see a child lying on a small cloth on the front porch. As Chloe gazed down at the fly-covered, motionless, emaciated girl she had the frightening thought, “Why is this family leaving their dead child to lie on the ground like this?” Then something astonishing happened: the child began to move.
The child’s name was Marie-Claudine; when she was found by Chloe she was 19 months old and weighed only 6.7 pounds, about the same as a newborn baby. Chloe realized that the situation was life or death and that getting Marie-Claudine started on the Medika Mamba program was her only chance of survival. When Marie-Claudine began the Mamba program there were low expectations of a recovery, and some wondered if it was too late. What could not be measured on a scale were Marie-Claudine’s courage, bravery and resolution. After just five weeks in the Mamba program Marie-Claudine had more than doubled her weight to 15.5 pounds and was an impressive 18.3 pounds by the end.
During Marie-Claudine’s treatment, she formed a strong connection with Chloe that still links the two to this day. Chloe has been back to Haiti four times since 2008 and has made sure to check in with Marie-Claudine on every visit. Last year Chloe helped build a new home for Marie-Claudine’s family, and Chloe describes her time working with Marie-Claudine as the best experience of her life.
Marie-Claudine continues to grow and develop. Marie-Claudine’s courage serves not only to inspire Chloe but to remind us all of the resilience and fortitude of the Haitian people. Marie-Claudine is a reason we have great hope in the future of Haiti despite the seemingly unending challenges. Chloe’s dedication to Haiti proves the amazing outcomes that may be achieved when people come together for a cause. Meds and Food for Kids is proud to be a part of Marie-Claudine and Chloe’s inspiring story.
Chloe recently graduated from Indiana University and is planning to attend graduate school in the fall to study public health and hopes to be able to use what she learns to make a positive impact in Haiti. Marie-Claudine resides in Mizak with her family.
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Meds & Food for Kids saves the lives of Haiti's malnourished children by producing and distributing highly nutritious foods, including Medika Mamba, a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food endorsed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Because of its commitment to Haiti's long-term development, MFK produces Medika Mamba in Haiti, with Haitian labor, and with many Haitian raw materials.
Reported on 2-3-2011 by Jamie VanArtsdalen, MFK Fellow
Most of the employees arrived on time today at 7:00am, though some had trouble getting to work due to tire burnings downtown which meant fewer taptaps (public transportation) on the street. The radio was turned on and all employees listened as the election results were being announced. There was this nervous energy in anticipation of what the results might be.
At about 7:45am the announcement that Jude Celestin would not be in the running for president was announced. Everyone started shouting and dancing with relief. They were all commenting that now everything would be calm and things could go on as usual. I had just been in discussions with Ken, the production officer, as to whether we should produce or not today because of the threat of more unrest before the announcement was made.
We are up and running and hoping to make over 700 kg to make up for closing early yesterday due to protests in town.
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Meds & Food for Kids saves the lives of Haiti's malnourished children by producing and distributing highly nutritious foods, including Medika Mamba, a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food endorsed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Because of its commitment to Haiti's long-term development, MFK produces Medika Mamba in Haiti, with Haitian labor, and with many Haitian raw materials.
