May 15, 2025 • 7 mins
We spoke with BOD Chair and Secretary Anne D'Orvilliers about how medical aid to Haiti help Haitians heal Haitians with a commitment to serving the poor and creating a reliable, consistent and sustainable healthcare system in Haiti.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest this morning is Anne Doorvliers. She is chair and
Secretary of Medical Aid to Haiti. Good morning, good morning,
thank you for being here today.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Well, thank you for having us so for people.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Who don't know about Medical Aid to Haiti. How did
it all begin?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Well, thank you for having us. Medical Aid to Haiti
started in two thousand and nine and it evolved from
a Haitian ministry from Saint Peter Claver's Church in West Hertford, Connecticut.
The teams that had been going to Haiti were there
for one week and when they came home, the people
that they provided healthcare to saw nobody for until the
(00:41):
next mission trip. So the mission of Medical a to
Haiti is to help Haitian heal Haitians and that was
the goal. Is to provide a continuum of care when
we weren't there, and we have been able to do
that very nicely. Over the years. We started with weekly
mobile clinics to five local areas that were underserved and
(01:04):
gave medical care to people that had no access or
could not afford medical care. Over the last fifteen years,
we have now evolved to where we are supporting a
hospital and a neighborhood clinic high up on a mountain
in Marleeque Patienville, Haiti. The hospital is partnered with doctor
(01:26):
Wilkins Gilbert who's a general surgeon and local Haitian, and
the staff is all Haitian. The hospital provides healthcare including obgyn, pediatrics,
general surgery, ophtthalmology, dental ultrasound and X ray imaging, laboratory
(01:50):
and pharmacy service. And this is provided twenty four to seven.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
How is it that you were able to send people weekly.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
It's all funding the low local Patian community medical teams.
We were able to fundraise and we were able to
support them with the resources they needed to go out
and serve their communities.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
So it's very important that you receive donations in order
to continue with this work.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Correct, And we're humble to say that ninety five percent
of all donations received by Medical Aid Tahiti go directly
to our projects. And that's because our entire board, all
our volunteers and our missionary members, our volunteers, they pay
for their own travel to the clinics when we have them,
(02:40):
and we're all volunteers, So that allows ninety five percent
of all donations to go directly to our project.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
That's amazing. I am an ordained minister and I've done
missions work even in Africa. I've been to Kenya, Somalia, everywhere,
so I know how expensive it is to pay for
my flight, to get all of my shots, to take
the malaria pills, all of that. So God bless these
people for the work that they do. It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
We are very proud of the teams that have been
put together. One of our primary team leaders was doctor
Michael Borke. He was in OBGYN through Woodlands Women's Health
and he led a team several times to Haiti and
the teams that he pulled together were very skilled, they
(03:26):
were very adaptable and we saw typically three hundred people
during a week of service there. But right now we
are not able to go because of the situation in Haiti.
But we are happy to say that our mission of
helping Haitians hill Haitians is being fulfilled. The hospital is
(03:47):
open twenty four to seven. It continues to see up
to three hundred patients per month. They are doing surgery
twice a week, seeing four to eight patients that need surgery,
as well as being available for emergency surgeries such as
these sections. Recently, they had a thirty two week old
(04:12):
baby born. They were able to keep the mother and
the baby, and the baby is now thriving. We are
just impressed and humbled by everything that they're able to do,
and that is possible because of the funding that we
receive from our donors that go to providing them with
(04:35):
the salary they need and the services and the supplies.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
And speaking of donations, you're involved with the Birdie's for
Charity program through Travelers Championship. Why did you decide to
do that.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
We have been doing the Berdi's for Charity program now
for about six years. Two years ago, our focus was
on getting an X ray machine to get the funds
needed to procure and send a portable xtray machine down
to the hospital, and that's exactly what has happened over
the last year. We were able to purchase it last year.
(05:11):
It is now in operation there. They have sent us
images and they're able to diagnose on site rather than
having a patient have to go down into Porto Prints
where it's a little bit dangerous right now, and diagnose
their patients to provide them with the healing that they need.
So that is just one of the examples of how
(05:33):
Birdie's for Charity has helped our organization. This year, we're
looking at expanding and enhancing surgical services they as I said,
they have two days a week that they provide surgical services.
And we're looking to get a second anestesian machine because
(05:54):
one of them that we have is about fifteen years
old and it's only a portable one. So we'd like
to have a newer, extra anistation machine. And that's one
of the big purchases that we would do with the
funding that we would get this year from birdie for Charity.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So if you'd like to help Medical Aid to Haiti,
go right to their website Medicalaid to Haiti dot org.
You'll see the Birdie's for Charity logo right there. In
every dollar that you donate, Webster Bank will give fifteen cents,
so instead of making a dollar donation, they're actually getting
a dollar fifteen donation. So again, go to Medical Aid
(06:31):
to Haiti dot org. You have an event coming up,
and I know you have one in the fall.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
We're all in the midst of planning for the fall.
We have a Autumn's Palette will be held again this
year it will be at Cafe Oors in Manchester, and
then we have our craft Festival, which is always a
big hit. It's a great way to start your Christmas
shopping early and the vendors and craft people that are
there bring their wonderful, wonderful items.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
I'm speaking with and Or Vlier's chair and secretary of
Medical Aid to Haiti again. That web address medicalato Haiti
dot org. Please go there, make a donation, find out
more about this organization. You can volunteer, you can help out,
maybe even do missions work with them. Thank you so
much for being here today and for serving the community well.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Thank you Allison for this opportunity to spread our mission
and our purpose through a much wider audience than we
typically have. And we look forward to our Bertie's for
charities coming in and please consider it. Please do the
math
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest this morning is Anne Doorvliers. She is chair and
Secretary of Medical Aid to Haiti. Good morning, good morning,
thank you for being here today.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Well, thank you for having us so for people.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
Who don't know about Medical Aid to Haiti. How did
it all begin?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Well, thank you for having us. Medical Aid to Haiti
started in two thousand and nine and it evolved from
a Haitian ministry from Saint Peter Claver's Church in West Hertford, Connecticut.
The teams that had been going to Haiti were there
for one week and when they came home, the people
that they provided healthcare to saw nobody for until the
(00:41):
next mission trip. So the mission of Medical a to
Haiti is to help Haitian heal Haitians and that was
the goal. Is to provide a continuum of care when
we weren't there, and we have been able to do
that very nicely. Over the years. We started with weekly
mobile clinics to five local areas that were underserved and
(01:04):
gave medical care to people that had no access or
could not afford medical care. Over the last fifteen years,
we have now evolved to where we are supporting a
hospital and a neighborhood clinic high up on a mountain
in Marleeque Patienville, Haiti. The hospital is partnered with doctor
(01:26):
Wilkins Gilbert who's a general surgeon and local Haitian, and
the staff is all Haitian. The hospital provides healthcare including obgyn, pediatrics,
general surgery, ophtthalmology, dental ultrasound and X ray imaging, laboratory
(01:50):
and pharmacy service. And this is provided twenty four to seven.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
How is it that you were able to send people weekly.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
It's all funding the low local Patian community medical teams.
We were able to fundraise and we were able to
support them with the resources they needed to go out
and serve their communities.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
So it's very important that you receive donations in order
to continue with this work.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Correct, And we're humble to say that ninety five percent
of all donations received by Medical Aid Tahiti go directly
to our projects. And that's because our entire board, all
our volunteers and our missionary members, our volunteers, they pay
for their own travel to the clinics when we have them,
(02:40):
and we're all volunteers, So that allows ninety five percent
of all donations to go directly to our project.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
That's amazing. I am an ordained minister and I've done
missions work even in Africa. I've been to Kenya, Somalia, everywhere,
so I know how expensive it is to pay for
my flight, to get all of my shots, to take
the malaria pills, all of that. So God bless these
people for the work that they do. It's amazing.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
We are very proud of the teams that have been
put together. One of our primary team leaders was doctor
Michael Borke. He was in OBGYN through Woodlands Women's Health
and he led a team several times to Haiti and
the teams that he pulled together were very skilled, they
(03:26):
were very adaptable and we saw typically three hundred people
during a week of service there. But right now we
are not able to go because of the situation in Haiti.
But we are happy to say that our mission of
helping Haitians hill Haitians is being fulfilled. The hospital is
(03:47):
open twenty four to seven. It continues to see up
to three hundred patients per month. They are doing surgery
twice a week, seeing four to eight patients that need surgery,
as well as being available for emergency surgeries such as
these sections. Recently, they had a thirty two week old
(04:12):
baby born. They were able to keep the mother and
the baby, and the baby is now thriving. We are
just impressed and humbled by everything that they're able to do,
and that is possible because of the funding that we
receive from our donors that go to providing them with
(04:35):
the salary they need and the services and the supplies.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
And speaking of donations, you're involved with the Birdie's for
Charity program through Travelers Championship. Why did you decide to
do that.
Speaker 2 (04:49):
We have been doing the Berdi's for Charity program now
for about six years. Two years ago, our focus was
on getting an X ray machine to get the funds
needed to procure and send a portable xtray machine down
to the hospital, and that's exactly what has happened over
the last year. We were able to purchase it last year.
(05:11):
It is now in operation there. They have sent us
images and they're able to diagnose on site rather than
having a patient have to go down into Porto Prints
where it's a little bit dangerous right now, and diagnose
their patients to provide them with the healing that they need.
So that is just one of the examples of how
(05:33):
Birdie's for Charity has helped our organization. This year, we're
looking at expanding and enhancing surgical services they as I said,
they have two days a week that they provide surgical services.
And we're looking to get a second anestesian machine because
(05:54):
one of them that we have is about fifteen years
old and it's only a portable one. So we'd like
to have a newer, extra anistation machine. And that's one
of the big purchases that we would do with the
funding that we would get this year from birdie for Charity.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
So if you'd like to help Medical Aid to Haiti,
go right to their website Medicalaid to Haiti dot org.
You'll see the Birdie's for Charity logo right there. In
every dollar that you donate, Webster Bank will give fifteen cents,
so instead of making a dollar donation, they're actually getting
a dollar fifteen donation. So again, go to Medical Aid
(06:31):
to Haiti dot org. You have an event coming up,
and I know you have one in the fall.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
We're all in the midst of planning for the fall.
We have a Autumn's Palette will be held again this
year it will be at Cafe Oors in Manchester, and
then we have our craft Festival, which is always a
big hit. It's a great way to start your Christmas
shopping early and the vendors and craft people that are
there bring their wonderful, wonderful items.
Speaker 1 (06:58):
I'm speaking with and Or Vlier's chair and secretary of
Medical Aid to Haiti again. That web address medicalato Haiti
dot org. Please go there, make a donation, find out
more about this organization. You can volunteer, you can help out,
maybe even do missions work with them. Thank you so
much for being here today and for serving the community well.
Speaker 2 (07:19):
Thank you Allison for this opportunity to spread our mission
and our purpose through a much wider audience than we
typically have. And we look forward to our Bertie's for
charities coming in and please consider it. Please do the
math
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