DEKABÈS Newsletter of Maison de Naissance

Delivering Healthy Mothers & Healthy

Babies in Haiti

September 2013

Dekabès, a Haitian expression, means a double win at the lottery or at dominoes. People shout “Dekabès!” to the happy winner. A double win at MN is a healthy mother and a healthy baby. “Dekabès!”

“Lespwa Fe Viv!” is a Haitian proverb that means “Hope Gives Life!” This is nowhere more true than it is in Haiti. We have witnessed this countless times in our work, and in daily Haitian life. After severe storms that flooded towns and villages, after hurricanes, and after the January 2010 earthquake, hope gave life. I have yet to see Haiti lose hope, and I doubt that I ever will. In a country where most people literally live hand to mouth, day by day, hope is a sustaining force, and every new day is a celebrated gift. Together, you and we can work to make this proverb come true, as we turn the hope of your donations into life saving services for the mothers and babies in our zone of service. Dekabès!

GlobalBirthingHomeFoundation.org

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IN THIS ISSUE

2 Aixois Benefit Dinner

2 Three Stones

3 Birthing Home Profile: Marie Alourdes Altema

Since 2004, Maison de Naissance has provided quality maternal care to mothers at zero cost to them. In 2013, 410 healthy newborns have been delivered so far through the end of August, which means that since the inception of Maison de Nais-sance we have safely delivered 4,578 babies. With continued support from our contrib-uters we will continue to provide complete-ly accessible maternal care to women and childern in need. *2004 statistics were only gathered from October, November, and December.

Maison de Naissance Year After YearNumber of Deliveries per Year

Jim GrantExecutive Director

Sincerely,

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An Evening in Provence:Celebrating the Nine Year Anniversary of Maison de Naissance

Aixois Bistro in Brookside, our celebration venue for our nine year anniversary

The Symbolism Behind Maison de Naissance’s Core Values

We hope that you are joining us in celebration of the ninth anniversary of the founding of Maison de Nais-sance! Whether you can attend the annual event at Aixois Bistro in Kansas City, or simply raise a glass in honor of MN, it is an event worth celebrating. This event is all the more remarkable because our good friends and loyal supporters, Emmanuel and Megan Langlade provide the venue, food, drinks, and their personal time at no cost to the foundation, so that

100% of the pro-ceeds go directly to benefit the birthing center in Haiti. Ev-ery year we have an

evening of fun, friendship, and exquisite French cui-sine, created and prepared by our host, while celebrat-ing the success of our mission to bring high quality maternal health care to those who could not otherwise access or afford it. Thank you for being a part of our celebration and our mission!

100% of the proceeds go directly to benefit the birthing center in Haiti

The common method of cooking in Haiti takes place over an open fire. A pot is balanced on top of three stones with wood for burning between the rocks that support the pot. This structure exists throughout Haiti as the traditional technique for preparing food for one’s family. Maison de Naissance designed their core principles to mirror the same three stone structure.

Maison de Naissance balances on top of accessibility, quality of care, and education. As a completely acces-sible birthing home, we strive to eliminate barriers of cost, transportation, and social stigma. Thus, all women and children, no matter their situation, are welcomed with a warm embrace. Maison de Naissance provides quality care by combining efficient technol-ogy, impeccable facilities and a highly skilled profes-sional staff. We commit ourselves to spreading educa-tion throughout impoverished areas in order to create an autonomous community. Furthermore, when incor-porating our three principles that address barriers to care, we whole-heartedly believe in staffing our clinic with local individuals and consulting with the commu-nity to insure that our programs meet their needs and expectations. The well-known Haitian symbol of the three stones reflects Maison de Naissance’s founding principles in order to provide proper, quality maternal care to women and children that otherwise would not be available to them.

Accessibility

EducationQuality of Care

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Dantan is a remote village in southern Haiti where Marie Alourdes Altema grew up, one of 12 children. Her mother was a homemaker, her father a minister. Against all odds, living and raising a large family in the poorest country in our hemisphere, her parents instilled the importance of family, faith and education. All but the youngest child has completed secondary school or beyond. Marie Alourdes traveled to Port-au-Prince, a city of 3 million, because it held more opportunity for education and jobs. She attended a vocational school for a secretarial certificate, got a job and continued her schooling to become an auxilliare (nurses assistant) to further her professional develop-ment and make a higher salary.

One day, her male boss offered her more money if she would be “one of his women.” Marie knew that many of the other female workers agreed to this proposi-tion in order to get more money to feed their families, pay the bills, and survive. She refused. Because of her refusal, she was mistreated, ridiculed, given less money and denied raises. She stood firm, prayed every day she

The most unlikely people usually do the most extraordinary work in the world, and Marie Alourdes is one.

would find a job where she was respected and valued as a woman. She finally graduated as an auxilliare, and set out to find a new job.

While visiting her family in Dantan, she heard about a birthing clinic called Maison de Naissance open-ing up not far from her parents’ home. Marie applied and requested an interview. During her interview, she demonstrated the qualities MN was looking for: com-passionate care for others, technical skills, and a local community member. Marie was hired and helped open MN on October 4, 2004.

This is where Marie entered my life. From its inception, I have been involved in the work of MN…first volun-teering as a nurse and mentor to our Haitian staff then to my current role as the Program Director full time.

Over the last 5 years I have had the privilege of observ-ing Marie help mothers and babies make a safe journey from pregnancy to birth and beyond at MN (Haiti has one of the highest pregnancy related mortality rates in the world). She had her first child at MN and carries her own “safe journey” with her in all her work.

She treats every mother and baby as loved and valu-able in a culture that historically has oppressed women in every way; physically, emotionally, economically and socially. She believes it is her responsibility to take care of the women in her community. She is bringing women hope. Marie is a role model for the women she cares for; one of their own is a living example that through perseverance, hard work, valuing oneself and striving to reach one’s innate potential, a better life is possible. If one of their own can do it, so can they.

The most unlikely people usually do the most extraor-dinary work in the world, and Marie Alourdes is one. That is what MN is all about, empowering women, one mother at a time.

Birthing Home Profile: Marie Alourdes Altema

The next issue of Dekabès is scheduled for March. If you would like to receive a newsletter, please e-mail us at Info@maisondenaissance.org. Additionally, news updates are published every week at GlobalBirthingHomeFoundation.org/News.

By Cindy Obenhaus (2009), Former Program Director

Marie Alourdes Altema (right) performing neo-natal instruction at Maison de Naissance.