CERVICAL CANCER SCREENING:
Haiti has the highest reported rate of cervical cancer in the world, primarily due to the lack of screening and treatment availability. THANKS TO YOUR SUPPORT, World Wide Village is honored to be one of the first non-profits to participate in a national cervical cancer prevention program with Haiti sans Cervical Cancer (HsCC) and Family Health Ministries to begin screening women for HPV and treating early signs of cervical cancer for women in rural Haiti.
In April, World Wide Village screened an additional 160 women for HPV – Human Papillomavirus – which causes cervical cancer. Women between the ages of 20 and 50 were screened in the rural villages of Williamson and Luly, about 30 miles up the coast from the capital city of Port-au-Prince. The women were grateful for the opportunity to be screened. Of those 160 women, 44 tested positive for HPV and had the opportunity to travel to Port-au-Prince to be treated with cryotherapy by staff from HsCC. This brings the total number of women screened to 250, with 60 women receiving treatment. These women are no longer at high risk for cervical cancer!
We are so grateful for your generosity that made it possible to start this program. We are also thankful for HsCC and their staff for leading the way in preventing this disease that takes the lives of too many women in Haiti each year…women who are mothers, daughters, aunts and friends.
Would you like to help World Wide Village continue to fight cancer in Haiti? Please consider giving to the World Wide Village healthcare fund at: worldwidevillage.org/donate-now.
HEALTHY MOTHERS + HEALTHY BABIES:
Being pregnant in Haiti is risky business – especially in rural Haiti where access to maternal care is minimal or non-existent. According to UNICEF, more women die in Haiti before, during or after childbirth than anywhere else in the Western Hemisphere. Why? It’s heartbreakingly simple: the majority of Haitian women do not have to access to or cannot afford maternal health options.
Thanks to your generosity since December, the Healthy Mothers + Healthy Babies maternal health program kicked off this month! Through this program, women in rural Williamson and Luly will have affordable access to prenatal vitamins, counseling on proper diet and nutrition, monitoring of blood pressure and other important maternal health factors, and sterile birthing kits for safe deliveries. Adlana was our first young mom-to-be enrolled in April!
SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT:
Haiti is a very evangelized but poorly discipled country. Missionaries have been traveling to Haiti for decades and the name of Jesus can be seen everywhere – on storefronts and tap-taps, schools and homes. Yet the foundation for these beliefs is often not deeply rooted. To help foster spiritual growth, World Wide Village pastoral partners have encouraged local pastors in the Williamson and Luly area to actively disciple young men in their local churches in Haiti. Each pastor was challenged to select 12 young men to pour into and encourage in their walks with the Lord. Pastor Yves Louis has met this challenge and is celebrating success and growth in these 12 young men. To learn more, read our recent blog post about discipleship in Haiti.