I was honored and quite surprised as I never saw him express much interest in my work. When I returned from my recent mission to Haiti I saw a large wrinkled up manila envelope sitting on the kitchen counter. I was busy unpacking and noticed the envelope still sitting there untouched. Finally, I asked what it was and he said it was just something for me from his teacher. Opening it I found it was full of money, mostly coins and wrinkled up bills. It added up to $106 and change. There was also a note from his teacher saying “you are raising a fine young man.” I was so moved by the generosity of his classmates and the actions of my son. I wondered what he had said to inspire his class. He is a young man of few words and he said “I just told them what you did”.

Of all the accolades and awards that I have received, this is the most moving one. There is nothing more rewarding than watching your children grow into fine young adults and learning from your example. Your children are observing everything you do good or bad so this is a valuable lesson in mindfulness.

Dr. Auguste and Dr. Suprien with our lovely patient in Haiti

This sweet 82 year old woman was illiterate but there was no mistaking her gratitude in any language when she kissed all the doctors and nurses after her surgery to remove an early cervical cancer.  We often take PAP smears for granted but in many areas of the world there is little or no access to this simple test that can save lives. Worldwide Healing Hands sent a medical team to Haiti to train healthcare providers to screen and treat this preventable cancer in a single visit.

Dr. Joseph Auguste and Dr. Valery Caleb Suprien are Haitian OB/GYNs who are highly skilled surgeons with a great fund of knowledge.  It was such a pleasure to work with them and their nurses in this training program in Haiti. They were such quick learners that they will now become trainers for other health professionals.

Obtaining consent with a fingerprint

What is the issue, problem, or challenge?

Cervical cancer cases number 94 per every 100,000 women in Haiti, giving Haiti the distinction of having the highest incident rate in the world. However, the cancer is preventable and treatable. Haitian women do not receive needed screening and treatment due to few resources and limited access to medical professionals trained in the screening methods. Pap smears are not available to women in these low-resource areas. Providing screening even once for a woman can save her life.

How will this project solve this problem?

WHH  partnered with Project Medishare For Haiti to provide screenings and the necessary treatment to women during its one-week mission in January. In addition, WHH’s medical team educated and trained two OB/GYNs, as well as nurses and affiliate professionals. WHH teaches the single visit approach so women, no matter where they live, can be screened and treated. This life-saving approach is vital; when a mother dies, her children are 10 times more likely to die within 2 years.

Potential Long Term Impact

WHH trained Haitian doctors during the mission so that they, in turn, will train additional medical professionals in cervical cancer screenings and treatment. While conducting screenings and treatment during this mission, WHH used the screenings as training/educational tools for local professionals who then will be able to increase the number of trained providers, boost prevention of the deadly disease, and reduce the number of women’s deaths caused by cervical cancer.

You can help prevent cervical cancer by donating to Worldwide Healing Hands. Your donation will be used for training and buying the necessary supplies.

Our dedicated packing team

A team of doctors and nurses from Worldwide Healing Hands is packed and ready to embark on its mission to Haiti later this week. The group will conduct important cervical cancer screenings and train Haitian doctors, midwives and staff in the screening and treatment methods. The latest mission follows Worldwide Healing Hands’ outreach on Thanksgiving Day when Dr. Paula Dhanda and Dr. Arthur Bikangaga conducted free health screenings to individuals in conjunction with a free community meal in the City of  Clearlake, CA.

Dr. Paula Dhanda and her team will arrive in Port Au Prince on January 3 and team up with other volunteers from around the world.

Paula R. Dhanda, M.D., OB/GYN

Dr. Dhanda is Worldwide Healing Hands’ team leader for the mission in Haiti. She is an obstetrician and surgeon who has served Lake County, CA, for more than 20 years.

She has traveled to Chad in Africa, Nepal, and Haiti on previous healthcare missions. She believes each individual who volunteers to help on the mission contributes to Worldwide Healing Hands’ goals .

“Every journey starts with a single step toward your destination. You can make a difference.  You can change a person’s life!”

Scott Welker, M.D., General surgeon

A surgeon from Clearlake, CA, Dr. Welker has worked on a previous relief mission in Haiti before, just after the 2010 earthquake. It is his first trip with Worldwide Healing Hands.

“Haiti is a nation with many needs; and when a person’s health is improved, the rest of her life can also get a lot better,” says Dr. Welker. “I feel an obligation to give back, as I have led a very privileged life and benefited from the help of others from the beginning.”

H. Vernetta Johnson, M.D., Anesthesiologist

Dr. Johnson is a board certified anesthesiologist of 28 years and also a chronic pain management physician out of Lakeport, CA. She joins the team for her second trip to Haiti.

“I found on my previous trip that it was very rewarding to take care of such humble and appreciative people.  I also had the opportunity to work with a group of extremely competent anesthesiologists and surgeons. I am looking forward to providing whatever assistance necessary.”

Christine Hansom, R.N.

Christine is making her fourth trip with Worldwide Healing Hands, having traveled with to Haiti on previous missions. She has spent 35 years as a nurse, most of that time in her home area of Lake County, CA. For 26 years of her career she has been a home health nurse.

As a certified diabetes educator, Christine says she will be teaching discharge planning and outreach programs. “The missions are always great experiences. I am looking forward to going.”

Carol Stahr, LVN

Carol has worked as a nurse with Dr. Dhanda for nearly 11 years. She resides in Lakeport, CA. Carol traveled to Chad on Worldwide Healing Hands’ first mission and to Haiti following the earthquake in 2010.

“I have a deep desire to help in any way I can. Also, I am eager to see the changes and advancements that have occurred since we were there before.”

Jacklin Sime, Medical Student

Jacklin is a young man in his fifth year of medical school in Haiti. He has trained with Dr. Dhanda on a previous mission, and he will join the team upon its arrival in Haiti. He is working toward graduation from medical school in 2017.

In response to an inquiry about his chosen path to become a physician, Jacklin said, “My first goal is to save lives — by treating sick people, helping patients survive from their diseases — and as a philanthropist, medicine is the best way for me to share and show my love to people.”

In March of 2011 she went back to Haiti for another medical mission, while there she visited the ‘Amputee Soccer Team’ that she had adopted the first time she was in Haiti. The soccer team is made of of young men who lost limbs during the earthquake.

Dr. Dhanda is extremely devoted to her mission and gives her all to help those who are in need. Her next mission will be to Nepal in 2012. She is truly an angel of mercy who spreads love and caring wherever she goes.”

– Stars of Lake County, 2012

This year we pay tribute to mothers everywhere, but one special woman takes that tribute far beyond giving a pretty card and a wrapped present. Her devotion to helping underprivileged women, often mothers, is truly inspiring. Dr. Paula Dhanda is a gynecologist, surgeon and a Park Lane Fashion Director. She uses her Park Lane earnings to support her charity, “Worldwide Healing Hands.”

As a physician and surgeon, Dr. Paula is dedicated to providing medical care to women in some of the most under-served areas of the world.  She has worked in Chad, Haiti and is currently planning her next mission to an isolated hospital in Nepal. Admirably, she donates 100 percent of her Park Lane profits to her charity.

For centuries, a clean birth has been recognized as essential to the health and survival of both mothers and newborns. When babies are delivered in unsanitary conditions without proper care, an otherwise healthy child can be at risk for getting an infection and even dying. According to the World Health Organization, each year almost one million babies die from infection.

For this reason, the United Nations Population Fund and numerous aid organizations are distributing clean birth kits (CBK) in the developing world. These CBK are appropriate in conflict or humanitarian emergencies. Most births in rural areas of developing countries take place at home, often without medical assistance. In these settings, the CDK can reduce maternal and child mortality. The kits are distributed free, so financing is the major obstacle in increasing the kit’s use.

A simple small package, the Clean Delivery Kit contains a clean plastic liner to put under the birth area, gloves,pieces of gauze, a clean razor blade and string for tying the umbilical cord, and soap to wash well before and after the birth. A pictorial instruction sheet is included, as a reminder of the information about the birth process and how to use the materials in the kit. These simple tools are enough to save thousands of lives every year.

The more women who safely deliver their babies, the more women who experience the realities of infection avoidance in birth, the more women there will be who can help their sisters or neighbors or daughters to have safe births as well. The Clean Delivery Kit begins a cycle of health and well being that stretches much farther than the home it is used in. When women thrive, all of society benefits.

Help us to provide clean birth kits. http://worldwidehealinghands.org/donate.html

HOW DO CLEAN BIRTHING KITS WORK?
A Birthing Kit works by providing the SEVEN CLEANS for a clean birth:
1. Clean birth site – preventing delivery onto the floor
2. Clean hands – to prevent the birth attendant transmitting germs to mother and baby
3. Clean ties – to prevent bleeding from the umbilical cord for mother and baby.
4. Clean razor – to reduce infection caused by other implements
5. Clean gauze – to wipe away birth canal secretions from the eyes, which decreases future eye infections
6. Clean umbilical cord – washing and drying the stumps prevents infection
7. Clean perineum

• It is probably one of the most difficult things you will ever do mentally, emotionally and physically. The hours are excruciatingly long and the emotional toll can be unrelenting.

• It is an emotional roller coaster. One moment you will feel joy and satisfaction because over having made a significant difference in someone’s life and the next moment you may witness the sorrow of a tragic loss of life.

• You will be continually confronted with the challenge of giving adequate and meaningful health care under difficult circumstances.

• You will meet like minded volunteers and create life time bonds with wonderful, giving people.

• Working in a resource poor environment you must be creative and invent solutions for problems.

• Be prepared to teach so that you will leave something behind that is long-lasting.

• Be prepared and open to learning. You cannot help but come back changed for the better.

• Communication is challenging due to language and cultural differences.

• Cultural sensitivity is particularly relevant to maternity care. It is important to incorporate those traditions that will strengthen family ties and provide a support system for the woman and her baby.

• It is an adventure but it is not a vacation. The accommodations are usually spartan but luxurious compared to what the local people live in all the time. The food will sustain you and you may learn about hunger. For me weight loss is a good thing.

• It is not uncommon for volunteers to experience profound reactions when arriving home, such as—guilt, sadness, anxiety, and depression.

• Coming home is difficult because your friends and family may not really relate to what you have been through unless they have had a similar experience. Keeping in contact with other volunteers is helpful.

• You may be struck by our shameful waste and abundance. How can we have so much while others have nothing?

• It is life changing as you will never look at things the same way again.

• This experience is rewarding beyond measure.

• You may come away, as I did, with a renewed belief in what humans are able to accomplish when we all work together for a common purpose.

• Mission work is definitely not for everyone.

I invite other volunteers to share their views and comments here.