Haitian Women Level Mountains to Advance Healthcare and Careers
Dominique is anxious as she walks in the doorway of a simple concrete building and sits down at a u-shaped table. This is a big day for her. She quietly introduces herself to fellow students and finds that she is surrounded by women with various career levels - from volunteers to employees. She's proud to be one of a small number of Haitian women who are being trained to advance health care in the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti (HAS) service area.
Over the next several months, Dominique will be learning new skills that will improve medical care for the valley's under-served people - how to bring infants to a health center for immunizations, and how to identify cases of malaria, TB or other infectious diseases.
She's eager to be on a path toward paid employment that will support her family.
This program gives skills to volunteer health workers, preparing them for employment in a health setting and, more importantly, a real career path.
With the assistance of a grant from a small private foundation, HAS has initiated a Women's Empowerment program that enables women, like Dominique, to enter the workforce, especially those in the mountain regions where the population is most vulnerable. This program educates women to serve as community outreach volunteers. With greater experience, and literacy training if necessary, these women are considered for part-time jobs as managers of nutrition rehabilitation centers, or as aides in the health centers. By advancing from volunteers up to Health Agents and then to professional positions in health centers and hospitals, women start to progress up the career ladder to positions requiring greater skills and responsibility.
Dominique meets women who started out as community volunteers - as she is now - and were then offered part-time and later full-time jobs with the hospital as health agents and auxiliaries.
HAS appreciates the critical role of Haitian women who serve as advocates for good health care in their communities. As the region's largest employer, we recognize that there are few employment opportunities for women within the rural areas of Haiti, and have taken steps to mitigate this problem.
Employed women have more resources to invest into their families' health and well being by ensuring that they are well fed, have pure water and can grow food to eat and sell. Currently at HAS, more than half of our employees are such women.
Community health workers pose with their instructor during the first of 12 classes
to extend their clinical capabilities
We can only succeed in this important advancement of Haitian women with your help. Please make a difference by donating now at: http://www.hashaiti.org/C1a_w1.html
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