July 28, 2004

Dear Friends in Jesus Christ,

Greetings again from northeastern Haiti, where we returned in April following the civil and political unrest that had forced our departure from this country. We were grateful to find our little hospital not only undamaged, but continuing work to serve the health needs of the people of the Mombin Crochu region. Thanks to God’s grace and the faithful efforts of our Haitian friends and co-workers here, no service was lost at Covenant Hospital during the disturbances. In fact, the hospital has been able to move forward in providing for patient care needs, and we are glad to be able to tell you about one of those strides in this letter.

During our work here at Covenant Hospital we have been repeatedly and starkly reminded of a basic clinical truth often taken for granted in State-side medical practice: The foundation for health and healing is adequate nutrition.

While hospital beds here are frequently occupied by children with well-defined nutritional diseases like kwashiorkor and marasmus, the medical staff has come to understand that deficiency in proper nutrition is also a major factor in almost all of the illnesses for which patients are hospitalized here. Chronic malnutrition, present in so many of the rural Haitian people, compounds the stresses of other illness. A child with an early mild respiratory infection, for instance, quickly becomes more serious as disease unmasks underlying inadequacies in her body stores of iron, essential vitamins, and trace minerals. Because her usual intake of energy and protein calories is not sufficient to repair tissue damage, the cute little girl with a cold has now become a seriously ill child with pneumonia who requires a prolonged hospital stay and has a high risk of dying from her sickness. This is the substance of medical experience each day in Haiti.

In severe cases we have used charitable funds to purchase needed food, and have noted how dramatically and rapidly those patients have improved. Adequate food is as important as medicine in the clinical management of our patients at Covenant Hospital. Because of this understanding, the medical and nursing staff has decided to creat “Food for Healing,” (“Manje pou Gerizon,” in Creole). The program’s name tells it all. We will supply two nutritious and well-balanced meals each day to each patient during the time of hospitalization. We have built a special kitchen for meal preparation adjacent to the hospital, which was dedicated on its first day of use with a prayer that God’s blessings might rest on the healing meals prepared and on the patients who will benefit. Although Food for Healing is only a few weeks in progress, we are already seeing some of the results—we have been able to discontinue IV fluids and antibiotics earlier, and patients are out of bed, walking, and ready for discharge sooner than before. Moreover, our patients appear to be restored to health at an earlier stage in their illness than we had experienced before.

The role of the family in convalescence is not being ignored. Family members gather and carry food from the kitchen, help clean up, and are encouraged to feed the patient when necessary. They continue to give their family member the details of personal care.

Food for Healing is a restorative program begun in faith by our physician and nursing staff. We have seen the need and the clinical logic of the intervention—and we are seeing benefit. But Food for Healing is not in our budget, and we don’t yet know if we will be able to continue the program. You can contribute to this program through the Extra Commitment Opportunity (ECO) set up for Covenant Hospital Mombin Crochu. ECOs are sometimes known as “over and above” giving.

If you feel called to contribute, individuals should send checks to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Individual Remittance Processing, PO Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700. Write the title (Covenant Hospital Mombin Crochu—Food for Healing) and the ECO number on the subject line (# 040636) of the check and put it on your cover letter, too. Send a copy of the cover letter to International Health Ministries Office at 100 Witherspoon St. Louisville, KY 40202-1396. If churches would like to contribute to Food for Healing, they should send checks to their normal receiving site.

Food for Healing—it makes sense, and it works. Thank you so much for your encouragement, prayer, and support as we continue to strive for the blessings of God’s Kingdom for the people of rural Haiti.

In Christ’s Holy Spirit,

Paul and Joan McLain
Mission Co-Workers
Mombin Crochu, Haiti

The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 136