This decision grows from the very heart of why we are in Haiti.

Since buying the land, many of our team have been reflecting on Matthew 15, where people with disabilities come to Jesus seeking hope and healing. In a culture where people with disabilities were often overlooked or cast aside, Jesus changed the narrative, saying: “I have compassion for these people.” His compassion was not simply sympathy. It moved him to action. People were welcomed without discrimination, healed and fed, and they and their families found hope and love.

That is the heart behind all of our work in Haiti.

We believe every person is created and loved by God. No one should be overlooked because they have a disability, need long-term support or cannot access the care they need.

Over the years, this conviction has led HHA to develop services that were previously out of reach in northern Haiti. These include the region’s only spinal cord injury rehabilitation centre, one of its largest wheelchair distribution programmes, Maison de Grâce, a safe space where children and young adults with disabilities are cared for and loved unconditionally, and a new critically-needed oxygen generation plant.

Together, these services provide care, inclusion and compassion where it would otherwise be missing.

A permanent home for growing services

As this work has grown, however, the spaces it depends on have not grown with it.

Our services are currently spread across several locations, often operating from rented buildings that were not designed for their purpose, can be difficult to access or cannot be secured for the long term. These buildings have been a huge blessing, but they also limit how many people we can reach and make it harder to provide connected, lifelong care.

Purchasing this land changes what is possible – and gives compassion a permanent home.

Our vision is to create an “oasis of hope and healing”: a place where pathways, treatment rooms, learning spaces and gardens are designed around the dignity, care and potential of people with disabilities.

It will bring services closer together, making it easier for families to access the support they need while giving our teams the facilities and stability to provide better-connected care.

The first phase: a new home for Maison de Grâce

With the land now secured, we have been working with partners, architects and our local team to plan what comes next.

The first phase will give Maison de Grâce – our centre for children and young adults with disabilities – its first ever purpose-built home.

The new facility will include dedicated spaces for therapy and rehabilitation, education and learning, play and recreation, vocational activities, respite care, and support for parents and carers.

Most importantly, the new space will enable Maison de Grâce to serve more children and families and provide an environment designed specifically around their needs.

Eventually, we hope all our existing services will move to the new site, creating a connected centre for health, rehabilitation and disability support in northern Haiti.

There is still a long journey ahead. Turning this vision into reality will require prayer, expertise, courage and generosity. But we are full of expectation for what God will do through this place – and for the hope, care and opportunity it will make possible for generations to come.

This is more than a new building or a new site. It is a commitment to a future where people with disabilities and their families are seen, loved and valued, and where compassionate, quality care has a permanent home.

We look forward to sharing more about these plans as they develop.

You can also read about this announcement here. 

Thank you for being part of this story.

It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through the year! As we reflect on the past six months, we are so grateful for the incredible progress happening across our projects – all made possible through your prayers, generosity, and partnership.

It’s been a while since we shared a big update, so this news item is a little longer as we celebrate some of the most joyful highlights from recent months. Be sure to read to the end for an exciting opportunity this autumn to get involved alongside our (brave? slightly crazy?) CEO Carwyn and a team of other intrepid supporters!

This World Health Day’s theme is "Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures" – a commitment to providing a strong, healthy start in life for every mother and baby. For me, this theme could not be more relevant: I have just got back from a trip to Haiti, where I spent time visiting our maternal and infant healthcare projects. While it was a trip filled with joy, it was also a sobering reminder of the immense need, and of the critical importance of helping mothers and babies to thrive in regions where pregnancy and childbirth are still hugely dangerous.

At Fort Saint Michel, a small but vital health clinic in one of Cap-Haïtien’s poorest neighbourhoods, I met the health workers delivering our community healthcare programme for mothers and babies. This initiative provides antenatal consultations, postnatal home visits, 'Mothers' Clubs' for education, and training for Traditional Birth Attendants to support safer home births. It is a lifeline for women who would otherwise have no access to healthcare during pregnancy.

However, the programme is at risk. Recently, the clinic lost a major international funding source, leaving Community Health Workers unpaid for over a month. Despite this, many continue to work voluntarily, driven by their commitment to protecting mothers and newborns. As we walked through the community, women - having heard about the funding cuts - stopped us in the street to desperately share how much this programme means to them and their families. It was a sobering reminder of the critical need to keep this work going. We are now working with our local partners to ensure that support continues, because without it, too many women and babies will be left without care.

At Justinien University Hospital (JUH), the largest government hospital in the north, it was a joy to see firsthand how our support is saving lives. We have seconded an expert paediatrician, donated five mOm incubators, and are providing medical-grade oxygen and financial support for vulnerable families.

It was here that I met Baby Justinien, who was born prematurely on the street. His mother, who has learning disabilities, was unable to care for him, so a kind stranger brought him to JUH. He was extremely premature and in a critical condition, but, thanks to the incubators and oxygen your support has helped provide, the doctors and nurses were able to stabilise him. They named him Justinien - after the hospital - and in an extraordinary display of compassion, they are now taking turns caring for him as if he were their own.

This World Health Day, as we celebrate "Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures," we are reminded that hope begins with access to healthcare. Without it, too many mothers and babies face unimaginable risks. With it, futures can be transformed.

We want to thank every single person that is joining us on this mission, with a special mention to J&K Wonderland Foundation, whose ongoing support of this work is making incredible things possible, and to Konbit Sante, whose partnership locally is truly invaluable. Thank you for helping us to ensure healthy beginnings – so that more mothers and babies have the future they deserve.

Key Statistics (since opening in September 2023)

• 5600 outpatients seen
• 4000 laboratory tests
• 6200 received health education
• 84 pregnant women registered
• 72 prosthetic & orthotic devices provided
• 36 wheelchairs & trikes given
• 230 physiotherapy sessions provided

Highlights from New Hope Kajo-Keji

• Clean running water is now available in the clinic thanks to the addition of a pump, control unit, insulated water towers and sinks. This is a huge upgrade and will dramatically improve working conditions for our team and their patients.
• Electricity is now available onsite thanks to installation of a generator, solar panels and battery storage.
• Prosthetic limbs, and wheelchair distributions are taking place at the clinic thanks to outreach mobile clinics provided by our team from New Hope BidiBidi.  
• First baby born at New Hope Kajo-Keji! - although deliveries are usually referred to the government hospital, one baby girl decided to make an appearance quicker than expected. Our amazing midwife stepped in and delivered a healthy baby girl.

Story for New Hope Kajo-Keji: Rose and Solomon

Rose lives in Kajo-Keji with her son Solomon, having returned from BidiBidi refugee settlement in Uganda. Although she has to walk three hours to reach the clinic, Rose has been making use of the services available since the clinic opened in September 2023, and has returned three times with Solomon when he has been suffering from a fever and diahorrea.

Rose and Solomon visited the clinic again in March, when Solomon was diagnosed with Malaria through a rapid test and was given medication to combat the disease. Malaria is the most common case the team seen at the clinic.

Rose commented that the team have really helped and cared for her and she was grateful that HHA have empowered a local team. Our team provided Solomon with more than just medication – they also showed him love, and gave his mother hope in difficult circumstances. Ultimately, this is what HHA’s work is all about, and what we strive to achieve with every beneficiary that we see at New Hope Kajo-Keji.

Throughout May 2024, we are running our Matched May Appeal where all donations towards our global disability work will be doubled by a generous donor. This is an amazing opportunity for your donations to go twice as far. HHA is also being featured on the BBC Radio 4 Appeal presented by Paralymic gold medalist Ellie Simmonds so tune in and find out more about how to support this important work! Get all the info here.

A few more of the things we’ve bought that have made a real difference…

Battery chargers - enabling us to keep vital equipment (like blood pressure machines, thermometers and calculators) working, even with limited access to electricity

Zip ties - helping our technicians to make specialised adaptations to wheelchairs, to make sure that beneficiaries are comfortable and well-seated, and most importantly to help avoid pressure sores 

Footballs and coloured chalks - for students at Amazing Grace School

LED light strips - used for our sensory classroom at Amazing Grace and in New Hope Rehabilitation Centre BidiBidi - to create safe, inclusive and educational spaces for children and adults with disabilities

Post-partum maternity pads - to provide dignity to new mothers at our clinic in South Sudan

Coloured chopping boards - to help improve food hygiene standards in our staff kitchens in both BidiBidi and Kajo-Keji

Safety glasses and ‘quality’ power tools for our workshop, where we custom-make prosthetics and orthotics

Brackets and wallplugs (particularly difficult to buy in-country) that enabled us to construct shelves in our pharmacy in Kajo-Keji - keeping the space organised and tidy!

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this campaign making the purchase of these small, but hugely important, items possible.

1. GLOBAL DISABILITY CARE

We continued to provide empowerment, dignity, and support to people with disabilities in Haiti, Uganda, and South Sudan. Last year, we provided over 1,450 wheelchairs, more than 300 prosthetic and orthotic devices, and thousands of rehabilitation sessions. We also opened a new rehab garden for patients with spinal cord injuries in Haiti, hosted another wonderful 'Night to Shine' for young people with special needs, and got a new vehicle in Uganda, enabling us to reach more people through mobile clinics.

HHA are taking part in this global day of charity where, for 24 hours, every donation will be worth more. The fundraising platform Global Giving is offering $1.2 million of ‘incentive funds’, and the more we raise on the day, the more of these funds we receive. This is an amazing opportunity for us, a great way to kick off our Christmas campaign, and can have a huge impact on our year-end fundraising (last year we received over $20,000 in incentive funds alone, just from this 24 hours of fundraising!)

If you are able to make a donation to HHA this Giving Tuesday, and increase the value of your gift at no extra cost to you, please make your donation directly through our Global Giving project today! 

We will be using this opportunity to raise vital funds for our maternal and infant health projects globally. Pregnancy and motherhood should be a time of joy and hope - something we are reminded of at Christmas, when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. But for thousands of women and girls around the world, it is simply a time of fear: a girl in South Sudan is more likely to die in childbirth than finish secondary school; 1 in every 39 babies born in Haiti will not survive their first month. 

We provide maternal and infant healthcare in Haiti, South Sudan, and Uganda, to make pregnancy, birth and childhood safer, happier, and less scary. This includes community outreach to identify and refer high-risk pregnancies, expert maternal and neonatal care at our dedicated clinics, training and resource provision within communities to make home births safer, and nutritional support and vaccinations in early childhood. With our new clinic in South Sudan, rapidly expanding community outreach projects in Uganda, and growing awareness of, and demand for, our services in Haiti, we have more capacity than ever to improve outcomes for mothers and babies. But we desperately need funds to be able to do so. 

Giving Tuesday kicks off our period of festive fundraising, and is a great opportunity to make your Christmas donation go further. But don't worry if you can't donate  today - we'll be sharing other ways to support our maternal and infant health work very soon, so stay tuned!

As a result of these grants, the team of CHAs has increased from two to five and undertake regular household visits to these communities. Since May, the CHAs have carried out 1,217 antenatal and postnatal checks, 306 malnutrition consultations and have provided education on childbirth, breastfeeding and nutrition to 724 households - a key step towards increasing understanding and improving maternal and infant health. Lastly, the CHAs have provided 1,883 vaccinations for children and pregnant mothers.

We have also been able to recruit 20 Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) Traditionally, TBA’s are individuals within the community who possess knowledge and skills related to childbirth and maternal care, often passed down through generations. They provide assistance and support to pregnant women during childbirth and the postpartum period but are largely untrained, using traditional methods, cultural practices and their own accumulated wisdom, which is common in Haiti. Now, these 20 TBA’s have been trained to identify high risk pregnancies and refer them for hospital care and have been given safe birthing kits. These TBAs have so far helped 49 women to have safer, cleaner births.

The success of this project to date means that over the next year, we expect the Community Health Agents will support over 2,000 households through ante and postnatal checks, health and nutrition guidance and malnutrition screening and will provide over 6,000 infants with vital childhood vaccinations whilst the Traditional Birth Attendants are expected to assist over 200 vulnerable women and babies. 

We are so grateful to the two foundations that funded this work for their incredible support, which will have a lasting impact in these communities.  

The inauguration day was incredibly joyful, with community leaders, government representatives, and HHA staff and supporters coming together to celebrate this long-standing dream becoming a reality. East Africa Programmes Manager, Isaac Taban, said: “Before the war, there were 44 clinics running [in this area]; now, there are less than 20 health facilities. With the opening of this clinic today, the community is very excited, because they are going to benefit from the services that we’re going to offer.” Carwyn Hill, CEO and co-founder, said “That first promise that we made to this community - to help - has finally come to fruition today, seven years later. We’ve never lost hope during that time, and it was amazing to hear the community today, so thankful and appreciative of the services, and so desperate for them. In the coming weeks you will see this clinic fully up and running!”

We are incredibly grateful to everyone that helped to make this possible. Special thanks go to the UNHCR, The Peter Stebbings Memorial Charity, Eleanor Rathbone Charitable Trust, the Favell Family, our incredible church partners, every single person that donated to our East Africa Rebuild Hope Appeal earlier this year, and those that wish to remain anonymous. Your generosity means the world.

This has been a HHA dream since we first visited Kajo-Keji in 2016 – a dream that we were forced to put on hold when the brutal civil war devastated the community just months after our visit. Our new clinic will provide life-saving care for an estimated 500 patients each month, through maternal health consultations, community outreach, and wheelchair, prosthetic and orthotic provision. It will provide health, hope and dignity to a community that has desperately needed it for too long.

Stay tuned for updates on the clinic as we embark on this exciting journey! In the meantime, on behalf of the thousands of mothers, children and people with disabilities that this clinic will serve, thank you for helping us to finally make this dream a reality. 

Out of over 1,600 entries globally, Hope Health Action East Africa (HHA EA) and 16 other organisations have recently been awarded a notable Innovation Fund grant to improve the lives of displaced people and host communities.

An increasing number of refugee families are returning from Uganda to South Sudan’s Kajo-Keji, but they’re finding their communities completely devastated. There is no infrastructure or adequate health services for returnees. For example, there were 49 health facilities in Kajo-Keji before the conflict. Now only 14 exist and they offer only very basic services. Whilst this carries implications for every returnee, this adversely affects women and children in particular, as well as people with disabilities or chronic illness.

The solution? A new health clinic that will improve outcomes for returnees in Kajo-Keji. This clinic will initially serve up to 500 patients per month, with CRADLE providing coverage for around 17,300 women of child-bearing age. Additionally, around 2,300 households with a person with a disability will be supported by community-based rehabilitation services.

Our Rebuild Hope Appeal began the fundraising process with tremendous success, thanks to our lovely supporters. This UNHCR Refugee-Led Innovation Fund award, alongside the Rebuild Hope Appeal results, will help push the clinic forward with breathtaking momentum. In fact, preparations are well underway! Refurbishment of the clinic building will begin in May, and recruitment for key staff positions is already in progress. We hope to open the clinic in Autumn of this year, and we are thrilled to bring you with us on the journey to opening day.

Designed by refugees for refugees, the Innovation Fund is creating a way forward for displaced people. We are honoured to play our part, with the help of this funding, by supporting South Sudanese returnees in Kajo-Keji with this new health clinic.

Check out this Tweet from UNHCR highlighting two of our HHA EA staff, and hear how HHA EA hopes to transform lives in South Sudan.