Help Haitian Midwives STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN!

Thank you for your generous donations during GlobalGiving’s August Little by Little Matching Campaign and beyond. “Ti pil ti pil fe chaj” is a Haitian proverb which means a little plus a little makes a load. Every bit helps FAHM enable Haitian midwives to stop gender-based violence in Haiti. 

FAHM  continues to prepare for its 2nd Gender-Based Violence (GBV) intensive training for Haitian midwives living and working in Haiti. We are also continuing to work closely with the midwives who attended our initial four-day intensive training in 2018. Focus groups have been held with these midwives which encourage and continue to provide support to them as they implement what they have learned at that conference. The focus groups will also allow FAHM to evaluate the impact the training has had on the midwives and the communities that they serve. These trainings aim to  improve clinical knowledge, make resources and services more readily available and accessible, and increase community awareness of GBV as a public health problem and violation of human rights. 

Presenters from our 2018 conference included physicians from SHOG (Société Haïtienne d’Obstétrique et de Gynécologie), which is equivalent to the USA’s ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists). Pre- and post-tests were given to the midwives during the training. Afterwards SHOG shared some of their thoughts on the training:

• The workshops and “real life” examples taken from everyday clinical  practice helped engage the participants.

• Participants gained a better understanding of the concepts of gender and bias within the context of Haitian culture.

• Thinking was provoked and participants began to reflect on how to implement not only psychological but clinically supportive measures to sexual assault victims. 

FAHM’s utmost goal is to provide Haitian midwives with the knowledge and tools to stop gender-based violence in Haiti as well as to be able to track the impact of this model of training. 

On behalf of Haitian women and midwives, FAHM thanks you for taking this journey with us. We hope that we can count on your continued support and your spreading the word about this important work.

Mesi anpil (Thank you so much)

Links:

• http://www.fahminc.org
• Facebook
• Follow us on Instagram

Thanks to your generous donations during GlobalGiving’s March 2019 Accelerator program and beyond, FAHM  continues to prepare for our 2nd Gender-Based Violence (GBV) intensive training for Haitian midwives living and working in Haiti.

Our first GBV conference held in 2018 amplified the dire need not only for continued training but for the follow-up and support needed by Haitian midwives to implement what they’ve learned.  As you know, midwives are in the optimal position to provide culturally sensitive evidence based care to Haitian victims and survivors. In order to improve quality of care for those affected by GBV within the health units and communities where midwives practice and live, FAHM is in the process of following the midwives who attended the training in 2018, not only to provide support to them in their work, but also to evaluate the impact that this training is having in their workplaces and communities. Our goal is to improve clinical knowledge, make resources and services more readily available and accessible, and increase community awareness of GBV as a public health problem and violation of human rights.

Here are some quotes taken from some of the midwives right after having attended our 2018 conference:

Myriam:

“The training that I received in this conference has allowed me to increase and deepen my knowledge on the rights, duties, laws and care protocols for victims of violence. As a midwife, I am now equipped and prepared with the right tools to accompany and care for my patients who are victims of sexual violence from a medical, social and psychological aspect. I am also now better able to orient and refer my patient to an appropriate specialist.”

Altamise:

“As a woman and a midwife, I will carry on the knowledge acquired from this conference to the service of my community. I will take the opportunity to teach my community to be aware of what rape is and what their rights are as well as their duties in case of sexual abuse and violence.”

Naomie:

“As a midwife with this training, I can put more emphasis on my duty to accompany and support  a victim of sexual violence during a very difficult and humiliating moment in her life that harms the soul so that she can become a survivor.”

On behalf of the Haitian midwives, FAHM thanks you for taking this journey with us. We hope that we can count on your continued support and spreading the word about this important work.

Mesi anpil (Thank you so much)

Links:

• Foundation for Advancement of Haitian Midwives (website)
• Facebook