WHY CHI
Prior to the 2010 earthquake, it was estimated that there were over 10,000 nonprofits or NGOs operating in Haiti - roughly one organization for every 1,000 Haitians. So what makes CHI different?
CHI believes health is not simply the absence of disease, but the ability to fulfill human potential. We partner with sister organizations and isolated rural Haitian communities. By returning to the same villages every 3 months, we help these communities by providing continuous primary healthcare for their population while also addressing the biological, social, and environmental causes of disease. We follow-up on patients and refill medications. We also train Community Health Workers that live in these communities, so that there is always someone available to attend to an ill person.
We engage in community development, where we meet with key community members to determine some of the problems in the community, elucidate their root causes, and come up with plans to address them. We do not believe that what works in the US will necessarily work in Haiti. We interview, learn, and gain investment from the locals before we proceed with any form of aid. We support the community in whatever way they require as they begin to enact solutions. CHI is culturally-invested.
We are flexible. We will engage in whatever aid is necessary, wherever necessary, even if it was not the aid we originally intended to provide. A community may need a clean water program rather than doctors treating diarrhea. So, we adapt.
We demand evidence that our aid works. We demand evidence that your donations are well spent. We demand evidence that our patients are better off. We demand evidence that our sanitation, clean water, and public health projects are successful. We have a medical record system to monitor improvement in blood pressure, children's' growth, and the resolution of illness. We investigate conditions on the ground and measure the results of our interventions. We want to know not only our areas of success but need for improvement.
CHI is different from 9,999 organizations because we hold ourselves to the highest of standards for care, community investment, and evidence.
We engage in community development, where we meet with key community members to determine some of the problems in the community, elucidate their root causes, and come up with plans to address them. We do not believe that what works in the US will necessarily work in Haiti. We interview, learn, and gain investment from the locals before we proceed with any form of aid. We support the community in whatever way they require as they begin to enact solutions. CHI is culturally-invested.
We are flexible. We will engage in whatever aid is necessary, wherever necessary, even if it was not the aid we originally intended to provide. A community may need a clean water program rather than doctors treating diarrhea. So, we adapt.
We demand evidence that our aid works. We demand evidence that your donations are well spent. We demand evidence that our patients are better off. We demand evidence that our sanitation, clean water, and public health projects are successful. We have a medical record system to monitor improvement in blood pressure, children's' growth, and the resolution of illness. We investigate conditions on the ground and measure the results of our interventions. We want to know not only our areas of success but need for improvement.
CHI is different from 9,999 organizations because we hold ourselves to the highest of standards for care, community investment, and evidence.