Join GCF & Volunteer for our Services
The Health Committee encourages the philanthropic participation of physicians, nurses and other health professionals for the Mobile Clinics in Haiti. GCF’s Mobile Clinics have become a major source of health care for residents who cannot afford to see a doctor. On each of GCF’s mission trips to Haiti, health care professionals see an average of 3,000 patients. Often, the medical specialists traveling with the mission are the only specialists in the region. In addition to basic medical and pediatric care, GCF’s Mobile Clinics offer neurology, dental, gynecology, cardiac and psychiatric care to patients in dire need of these services. GCF’s teams also worked closely with Les Cayes’ local public hospital to perform both minor and major surgeries. Understanding the dire need for continuity of care, GCF joined forces with Forward in Health (FIH) to build Klinik Fonfred, a modern multi-disciplinary medical center in Fonfred, near Les Cayes, Haiti. GCF needs your support to continue funding Klinik Fonfred's day-to-day operations. Klinik Fonfred currently offers critical medical and dental care to the southern region of Haiti. The clinic operates Monday to Saturday servicing up to 15,000 patients a year. Please help GCF maintain the standard care being provided to those in need by making a monthly donation to this worthy cause.
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GCF, in partnership with Forward in Health (FIH), currently oversees the operations of Klinik Fonfred, a modern medical center. Klinik Fonfred is located on 3.5 acres in Fonfred, a rural community near Les Cayes, Haiti.
The facility features four exam rooms, a triage area, a dental clinic, a lab, a pharmacy and a radiology room. In partnership with Dr. Thomas Beague, hospitals and specialists in the US, and Athena, the clinic now has a dental component and electronic medical records. The staff comprises four (4) medical Doctors, 1 Dentist, 6 Nurses, and an administrative and housekeeping staff. The clinic sees an average of 50 patients a day from Monday to Saturday. Your continued support will help the medical facility run its day-to-day operations and provide essential medical care to the children, women and men of Southern Haiti. Please consider becoming a member of the 100 club and donate $84/month or $1,000 to contribute to KF's yearly budget of $160,000.
In subsequent phases of our medical center’s development, the facility will include an operating suite with two complete operating rooms and a trauma center. It is GCF’s intention to continue to partner with the Ministry of Health Officials in Haiti, the local medical community in the Les Cayes area, international non-profit and non-governmental organizations, private corporations and all willing contributors to build a medical facility that continues to provide the absolute best medical care possible to the men, women and children of southern Haiti. Please join us in this most exciting and rewarding journey, as we grow into and even larger medical facility for the entire southern Haiti Region.
GCF EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS
Since 1999, GCF has been providing scholarships to under-privileged students at the primary level in Southern Haiti. The goal has always been to provide a strong foundation for these children, by giving them access to the best-performing primary schools. All of GCF's scholarship recipients are from families at or below poverty level. Their parents are hopeful and determined to give their children a chance at an education and all have high hopes that some day their children will find their way out of poverty into prosperity. To that end, many of our older scholarship recipients are now lawyers, doctors, nurses and are at least earning a salary. Some are pursuing their education abroad. On an average, GCF provides 100 scholarships a year. The organization aims to continue this program and extend it to even more deserving students.
GCF partners with the School District of Palm Beach County to sponsor a county-wide essay contest each year celebrating Haitian Heritage Month during the month of May. Since 2004, the Haitian Heritage Month Celebration Committee has been organizing the annual Haitian Heritage Month Essay Contest during the month of May. The essay contest is open to students in grades 9-12, in Palm Beach County public schools. The goal of the contest is to acknowledge deserving local students and give them an opportunity to practice their writing skills. Students are asked to write an essay on a specific topic related to their culture, history life, and school experience from their country of origin to the United States. A committee comprised of teachers and administrators judge the essays based on a writing rubric to include content, originality, style, grammar and spelling. Essay contest winners are recognized during the regular School Board meeting, the third Wednesday of the month of May, when they receive a plaque along with their prize awards and a copy of the Haitian Heritage Month Resolution. Each year, students stories and dissertations are proof of their interests to connect to their history and culture and a manifestation of their commitment not to forget their country when they succeed in life. Here are the links to a couple of winning essays.
GCF SPORTS INITIATIVE
True to its mission to promote mental and physical development of young athletes in the region of Les Cayes, GCF continues to partner with local organizations to sustain youth tournaments in several different age groups. Below are some of our more notable achievements: In 2005, GCF partnered with ANAPOK to revive the local soccer league in Les Cayes in the U-23 and U-17 Boys Categories. In total, 14 teams benefited from GCF’s support.
The success of this program has been impressive, in fact, one team became National Champion for the First Division League in Haiti, and at least two players were selected for the Haitian National Team. Since 2006, GCF has partnered with ANAPOK in Les Cayes to support volleyball at the school level.
With contributions from GCF, each year, a local group organizes a scholastic championship between area schools in three different age groups: minor, junior, and senior. More than 200 girls and boys take part in these tournaments. Many graduates from these programs have continued on to play at the university level in Port-au-Prince, and some have even been selected for the Haitian National Volleyball Team at both the youth and senior levels. To provide continuity to the scholastic tournament, GCF has partnered with ANAPOK, to create a local volleyball league to guide club teams and organize club tournaments during school vacations. Since 2006, club tournaments have been organized for girls (3 different categories) and men (senior). Les Cayes has also been the host city for the national volleyball tournament, under the leadership of the local league. With its involvement in the Fonfred community via Klinik Fonfred, GCF has also supported the local soccer team, Hazel de Fonfred, with gifts of equipment, uniforms, shoes, and other soccer materials.
GCF SPECIAL PROJECTS
KF TRANSPORTATION - in 2019, Klinik Fonfred acquired a Toyota Land Cruiser truck from a departing NGO that left Haiti as the country was experiencing a tough political and economic downturn. The purpose of the truck is to provide transportation for employees as well as patients who may require emergency transportation to the General Hospital for follow up care. The truck does replace the need for a proper ambulance, but it is the best substitute due to the terrible condition of the 5Km stretch from Les Cayes to the Klinik.
The total cost to acquire and repair the truck was approximately $10,000. With this purchase, the KF eliminated monthly employee transportation expenses and now has a means to transport patients to other facilities as needed. Definitely a win-win for both Klinik Fonfred and the community.
LABORATORY AT KLINIK FONFRED - In 2016, Klinik Fonfred was severely damaged by the powerful storm. Along with the structural damages that have been repaired, the clinic’s new lab equipment was severely damaged and is yet to be fully rehabilitated. The lab’s full rehabilitation is being made possible partially by a South Florida Hurricane Matthew Relief grant awarded to Gaskov Clergé Foundation on October 17, 2018. The clinic’s administration completed the rehabilitate the lab with new equipment and it’s own source of solar energy in August 2019. The damaged equipment has been replaced with new automated hematological and chemistry analyzers that now provide complete lab work for the community which has definitely improve patient care. In addition, the lab equipment was purchased from a local supplier in Haiti, which allow the Lab Technicians to be trained on site, get technical support and the necessary lab supplies without delay. KF is striving to become a more complete health center as the center improves its lab capabilities and adds more specialized services in 2020 and beyond.
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