Below is a Go Fund Me page to raise funds to send Consuelo and Mathe to attend the WFOT council meeting in Paris from August 28-31. https://gofund.me/9361e8dd

Thursday February 10th 2022, 12pm-1pm (Haiti Time) on Microsoft Teams. Please register for this event here: https://caot.ca/viewEvent.html?productId=11101 Guest speakers: Diana Honorat, OT and president of the Haitian Association of Occupational Therapy, Clinetana Priono, last year OT student at the Faculté des sciences de la réhabilitation de Léogâne and Carmen Moliner, OT and collaborator on the partnership between the Haiti Association of OT and Sherbrooke University They will discuss the implementation of OT as a new profession and service to the population in Haiti, the steps toward the WFOT recognition, as well as the challenges and success related to field experience and internships. They will then present the international collaboration between passionate professionals and the impact on the development of OT in a low income country with major political instability.Organised by the Global Health Network of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapy 

  The executive Council and members of the Association Haïtienne D’Ergothérapie/Haitian Occupational Therapy Association (AHE-HAOT) want to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone who has walked alongside us during this time of crisis through prayers, well thoughts, funds, etc. The 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti on August 14th leaving devastating damage in the southwestern portions of the country. In response, a group of 24 occupational and physical therapy students from FSRL set out to assist with relief efforts. The students had a successful week of assisting at three locations: Diquini (Adventist Hospital) in Carrefour, Fondation Tous Ensemble – Rehabilitation Center (FONTEN) in Les Cayes, and a facility in Port de Piment. In addition, Consuelo, an OT and member of the association resides in Les Cayes and has been on the front lines of recovery/relief efforts since minutes after the earthquake occurred. Consuelo is the founder/director of FONTEN and worked alongside 10 of the students.  The Haitian Association of Occupational Therapy assisted with raising funds to support the students, Consuelo, as well as other occupational therapists and organizations conducting relief efforts. We cannot give enough thanks to all those who provided funds to assist in the relief efforts. We would like to provide an update of the past 1-2 weeks and provide information regarding upcoming efforts!     Partner Locations Les Cayes The students partnered with Consuelo/FONTEN. Together they assisted three sites: The Mormon Church, Brenda Strafford Hospital, and the Temple of the Jehovah Witnesses. The students assisted with organizing supplies, preparing hygiene kits, distributing purchased water bags, assessing the needs of the three partner sites, and purchased and distributed food. In addition, the students assisted with wound care and management, assessment of orthopedic conditions, and provided pain management to individuals injured in the earthquake.  Port de Piment Students partnered with a rehabilitation center in Port de Piment. During the week, the students assisted in assessing orthopedic needs in the community, distributed kits consisting of food, soap, detergent, etc., conducted surveys on people’s health and assessed adaptive devices.   Diquini (Adventist Hospital) Alongside Emerson, an physical therapist graduate of FSRL and director of Centre Universitaire Tèt Ansanm (CUTA), the students assisted with mobilizing fractures prior to patients receiving orthopedic surgeries, assessing orthopedic needs of the patients, and assisted with wound care and management of patients.       If you would like to donate to our needs please do so here through our website and Paypal:  http://ahe-haot.org/en/donations/donation/  Funds Received and Distributed $300 ( – Student group in Les Cayes $300 – Student group in Port de Piment$400 – Consuelo/FONTEN  The funds AHE -HAOT received were able to be immediately sent to those on ground in Haiti for use towards relief efforts which was a huge help and blessing!     What’s Next??  AHE-HAOT is beyond excited to be able to continue to help with relief efforts. Currently, the association will be assisting two organizations that are actively involved with earthquake relief efforts.  1.     Fondation Mont Carmel – $300 (plus a $7 transfer fee) Medgine Carnes, an occupational therapist and member of the AHE-HAOT, will be a part of a group providing assistance to individuals in the Nippes department (Anse-à-Veau, L’Asile, Baconois). The group will be packaging and distributing hygiene kits, tents, sheets, and first aid products.  2.     Espere Community Counseling Center – $500Espere is an organization that provides much needed counseling services within Haiti. They have had teams assisting with mental health needs in the south since shortly after the earthquake struck Haiti. They will have teams working throughout the affected areas for at least the next month. A few of the counselors/psychologists will be working with churches, organizations, and other community groups to offer individual and group counseling services. In addition, they will be conducting trainings on trauma, coping skills, and trauma-informed care.  AHE-HAOT has contacted the Office of Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities to inquire how we can assist in helping individuals with disabilities who were directly affected by the earthquake.  The association will continue to partner with occupational therapists and organizations assisting with relief efforts. World Federation of Occupational Therapy  AHE-HAOT received a letter of support from the World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT) and we would like to extend our thank you for this kind gesture. The WFOT also sent a letter of support to the Ministry of Health on behalf of international therapy. Our partnership and work with WFOT have been extremely beneficial over the years and we are appreciative of their support during this difficult time.   The message is in the smile: Mesi Anpil!

Author: Wood Guerlin TELLUS Collaborators: Oliverio LEMUS-FOLGAR Karly Emmanuel JEAN Clinetana PRINO Ramona ADRIEN DORISSMOND Carmen MOLINER Chantal VISCOGLIOSI COVID-19 exposed the Haitian health system. Already devastated by socio-political-economic crises, this was one crisis too many. In the last week of March 2020, the government declared a state of emergency and a month later the cases were on the rise and experts were already talking about a peak for Haiti. To this end, many awareness capsules have been put online to prevent COVID-19. Radio interventions, television shows, webinairs have been used to educate the Haitian population on the actions and barriers to observe in these times of pandemic. Like many other times, people with disabilities and who represent nearly 10% of the population were less reached by this information. Aware of this fact and taking advantage of a grant from the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), nine Haitian students and eight Canadian students, in their respective countries, collaborated under the supervision of professors from the University of Sherbrooke to bring a response to this alarming situation detrimental to people with disabilities. The main objective was to inform people with disabilities about public health instructions to reduce the spread and consequences of COVID-19. It was a largely successful project despite the significant obstacles encountered throughout this initiative. To do this, we have developed awareness capsules, taking into account the challenges of people with disabilities (visually impaired people, deaf-mute people and all those living with other physical or mental disabilities) in order to influence behaviors that can decrease the spread of the disease. The first step was to collect information from our target population. Thanks to these relevant informations, the capsules have been developed taking into account the barriers and facilitators for this clientele in order to optimize the chances of overcoming these challenges. For example, our awareness videos have been translated into Creole and sign language to reach the visually impaired and the deaf-mute population. Since the majority of this population has limited access to technology, and therefore to the internet as well, different mediums have been used to reach them: distribution of leaflets, social media posts , websites and radio broadcasts, oral presentations in churches and community organizations. Despite the obstacles and learning challenges to overcome during these eight months of hard work such as telecommuting for our meetings, the power shortage and the glaring instability of the Internet network in Haiti, this valiant, strong and united team has enabled people with disabilities to be better equipped with regard to useful and important information that would allow them to protect their lives and those of their loved ones facing the threat of COVID-19. This project not only allowed people with disabilities to have access to adapted content and to have the feeling that the population cares about them, but it also allowed all these Haitian and Quebec students to develop skills and abilities they did not even think they had in them. For example, it allowed people from two different cultures to work together for a common goal. In addition, the team members demonstrated self-determination and gained greater confidence especially by sharpening their communication skills. All participants agree that they are winners coming out of this enriching experience. Ms. Janet O’FLYNN, Dean of the Faculty of Sciences of Rehabilitation of Léogane (FSRL) in Haiti, mentions that this project has above all allowed students to experience educational expectations at a high level and created opportunities to meet intercultural challenges between Haitians and Canadians. According to her, students learned to manage all aspects of a large project, divide tasks among team members, and overcome obstacles to achieve goals on time. Karly Emmanuel JEAN, occupational therapy student at FSRL, declares: “This project was a success for me despite the multiple obstacles that we encountered. I learned to be independent and was able to develop more leadership and self-confidence. If the University of Sherbrooke offers me another project, I will answer yes without hesitation for a second. It was a great collaborative experience supporting Haitians with disabilities and I feel fulfilled in the end”. Speaking of obstacles, Clinetana PRINO, also a student at FSRL, continues: “As the person responsible for organizing the broadcasting of the knowledge and for the distribution of the sanitary materials, I encountered many difficulties such as the insecurity prevailing throughout the country, but in collaboration with my colleagues, we managed to buy all our equipment and distribute it to our partners. In addition, we were able to produce our radio broadcasts. This project has been an intense learning experience for me”. Speaking of advantages and disadvantages of such a project, Oliverio LEMUS-FOLGAR, a Quebec student, agrees: “In my experience, this project required an adaptation in the ways of working of different participants. Indeed, in North America, it is anchored in our culture a notion of time which is very different in Haiti. This cultural difference often appeared during meetings and communications. As a result of teamwork, we ended up finding a work balance, which contributed to optimal collaboration from that point on. Also, the biggest and most persistent obstacle was the technological challenges my peers in Haiti faced. There were times when the resource gap only annoyed me. I can’t even imagine the emotions they evoked in my colleagues in Haiti. This therefore made communication difficult since it was mainly done online on electronic platforms. In the end, thanks to the grant received, we managed to equip the Haitian interns, which helped overcome our technological challenges”. Lessons learned: sharing knowledge This project not only allowed people with disabilities to have access to adapted content and to have the feeling that the population cares about them, but it also allowed all these Haitian and Quebec students to develop skills and abilities they did not even think they had in them. For example, it allowed people from two different cultures to work together for a common goal. In addition, the team members demonstrated self-determination and gained greater confidence especially by sharpening their communication skills. All participants agree that they are winners coming out of this enriching experience. Ms. Janet O’FLYNN, Dean of the Faculty of Sciences of Rehabilitation of Léogane (FSRL) in Haiti, mentions that this project has above all allowed students to experience educational expectations at a high level and created opportunities to meet intercultural challenges between Haitians and Canadians. According to her, students learned to manage all aspects of a large project, divide tasks among team members, and overcome obstacles to achieve goals on time. Karly Emmanuel JEAN, occupational therapy student at FSRL, declares: “This project was a success for me despite the multiple obstacles that we encountered. I learned to be independent and was able to develop more leadership and self-confidence. If the University of Sherbrooke offers me another project, I will answer yes without hesitation for a second. It was a great collaborative experience supporting Haitians with disabilities and I feel fulfilled in the end”. Speaking of obstacles, Clinetana PRINO, also a student at FSRL, continues: “As the person responsible for organizing the broadcasting of the knowledge and for the distribution of the sanitary materials, I encountered many difficulties such as the insecurity prevailing throughout the country, but in collaboration with my colleagues, we managed to buy all our equipment and distribute it to our partners. In addition, we were able to produce our radio broadcasts. This project has been an intense learning experience for me”. Speaking of advantages and disadvantages of such a project, Oliverio LEMUS-FOLGAR, a Quebec student, agrees: “In my experience, this project required an adaptation in the ways of working of different participants. Indeed, in North America, it is anchored in our culture a notion of time which is very different in Haiti. This cultural difference often appeared during meetings and communications. As a result of teamwork, we ended up finding a work balance, which contributed to optimal collaboration from that point on. Also, the biggest and most persistent obstacle was the technological challenges my peers in Haiti faced. There were times when the resource gap only annoyed me. I can’t even imagine the emotions they evoked in my colleagues in Haiti. This therefore made communication difficult since it was mainly done online on electronic platforms. In the end, thanks to the grant received, we managed to equip the Haitian interns, which helped overcome our technological challenges”.

Holt International is looking for Occupational Therapists to facilitate training for the Child Nutrition Program in multiple countries. The Child Nutrition Program is a nutrition and feeding intervention based on a training of trainers approach and this program is currently operating in India, Ethiopia, China, Mongolia, Haiti, Vietnam, Uganda, Haiti and the Philippines. The goal of this program is to support children to grow and thrive within our communities. As part of growth and sustainability plans for this program, we are interested in finding more technical experts within the countries where we are growing. We are looking for country nationals (in the above countries) who are occupational or speech therapists or have related professional experience. These consultant roles would support the feeding and positioning training portion of the Child Nutrition Program. We are interested in specialists with some experience in speech or occupational therapy or related therapy and who have an interest in working with infants, children and children with disabilities. Currently the Child Nutrition Program is operating in community, foster care and institution-based care settings with children of all ages and development levels. These consultants would work with in-country program managers to become country-level trainers and provide ongoing support to sites around feeding and positioning for children. These consultant positions would also include roles in the ongoing training, scaling, monitoring and evaluation of programs. Anticipation of 1-5 weeks of work annually, program dependent. Additional information can be provided about specific programs and opportunities to interested therapists. Please feel free to contact me at Emily DeLacey at emilyd@holtinternational.org and please CC Michael Quiring at mquiring@holtinternational.org. More program information can be located here. https://www.holtinternational…. Open Access to Holt International’s Feeding and Positioning Manual: Guidelines for Working with Babies and Children www.holtfeedingandpositioningm… PUBLISHED:24 Mar 2020 EMP. TYPE:Sessional SALARY:Local hire rates, varies with experience and location. CONTACT: Emily DeLacey MS, RDN, LDN, Director, Nutrition Program, Holt International EMAIL:emilyd@holtinternational.org WEBSITE:Visit Website (External) ↗