The principal goals of our work in Pignon include the following:

1. provide Hópital Bienfaisance medical and professional support for their hospital, satellite clinics, sponsored schools and orphanages, farm, and reforestation project;
2. promote and sustain programs in health education, with particular focus on pediatric and maternal health initiatives;
3. lead nutritional study research groups;
4. achieve a marked decrease in pediatric malnutrition and the number of underweight children in the community; and
5. curb the devastating spread of common endemic disease caused by preventable microbial infections.

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Project Pignon is currently only able to welcome groups of 4-7 volunteers during several time frames throughout the year. If you would like to organize or join a group, please let us know so that we can work out optimal trip dates!

FIMRC offers several exciting opportunities for our volunteers in Pignon.  While the nature of the volunteer mission will vary depending on each group, the needs of the hospital and community, and the skill and language level of our volunteers, FIMRC is committed to accommodating every type of volunteer and turning no interested individual away.  FIMRC strives to provide missions that are culturally and socially enlightening to our volunteers.  Each volunteer will learn firsthand about the social, medical, and political issues facing those living in Haiti’s rural Central Plateau region.

Volunteers will have the possibility of working on several projects.  Those with a medical background will be able to assist in the hospital’s wards and operating room, assuming it parallels with current scheduling.  Others may shadow doctors and nurses in the hospital, assist in the pediatric ward, or travel to one of four satellite clinics to provide crucial medical and non-medical support.

Hópital Bienfaisance, FIMRC’s partner in Haiti, supports several schools and orphanages in the area.  FIMRC volunteers will provide much needed health education and life skills lessons to the children at the supported schools and orphanages. 

For those who enjoy the outdoors, depending on the season of travel, FIMRC volunteers could assist with the hospital’s goat program, farm, or reforestation project.  We believe that proper healthcare involves not only acute care, but also preventative measures along with a healthy environment and stable community.

FIMRC has also partnered with the Community Coalition for Haiti (CCH), a US-based organization, to lead a nutritional study in Haiti.  The study will research the medical, social, and psychological impacts of malnutrition on children in and around the surrounding areas of Pignon.  At the conclusion of the study, the partnership will use its findings to create a large scale nutritional improvement program.  FIMRC volunteers will have the option of participating in the study, by gathering certain information throughout their trip. 

It is important to note that a visit to a FIMRC clinic may not revolve around clinical or medically focused experiences for the volunteers.  While giving an injection may be an inspiring experience for a volunteer interested in a career in medicine, FIMRC requires that medical care is delivered by qualified, specially trained professionals for the benefit of our patients.  Those volunteers with medical background or expertise will likely have the opportunity to work in the hospital alongside hospital staff.  However, undergraduate volunteers are encouraged to enhance the project by participating in and conducting health education seminars, construction related projects, and other activities that promote the FIMRC mission. Opportunities are available to shadow doctors to gain medical experience. FIMRC asks that all volunteers be flexible and willing to help FIMRC and hospital staff where needed. The experience will be eye-opening, and the opportunities for shaping an itinerary to your interests are great.

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Volunteers will stay in dormitory style rooms on the hospital grounds.  Rooms have one, two or four beds per room, with two shared modern bathrooms.  The hospital is located in the center of Pignon, and neighbors an internet café.  We ask that you indicate all food preferences and pet and food allergies in the enrollment forms. The rooms are clean, with western style toilets and showers.  Three meals and drinks are provided as part of the volunteer’s daily housing and food fee.  Meals are prepared in the dormitory, while drinks remain available throughout the day in the dining room’s refrigerator.

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Haiti’s vaccination requirements change yearly.  Please refer to the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for updates on outbreaks and vaccination suggestions via www.cdc.gov.

Each participant needs to have health insurance that covers travel overseas.  If present coverage does not extend to outside the country of origin, participants must purchase health insurance for the time spent in Haiti. www.insuremytrip.com provides several options for purchasing travel insurance. Please remember to bring sufficient personal medications, if needed, for the entirety of your time away from home.

US citizens can enter the country with their valid U.S. Passport. Volunteers who do not hold a US passport must check with the embassy for current regulations. Please see the embassy website and look up visa requirements.

Embassy of the Republic of Haiti
2311 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
Tel: 202.332.4090
http://www.haiti.org

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  The following are costs payable to FIMRC for a volunteer mission in Haiti:

• Program donation: $525 per week
• Housing and food: $40 per day, includes three meals daily and potable water
• In-country transportation: $229 per week

The following are additional estimated costs:

• Airfare: $300-$500 depending on travel dates & season
• Spending money: $150 (minimum recommended amount for in country for miscellaneous daily expenses during your trip)

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The Project Pignon Team

The following staff members have been dealing directly with our program in Haiti.  Feel free to contact them directly with any questions you may have:

Vikram Bakhru
Executive Director
vikram.bakhru@fimrc.org

Sara Schoenleber
VP for Volunteer Programs, Global Health Volunteer Program
(215) 605-0029
missions@fimrc.org

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