Forward in Health

CONTACT:

192 Lawrence St.
Gardner, MA 01440
978-632-7846
www.forwardinhealth.org

John Mulqueen, M.D., President

DESCRIPTION:

In 2001, John and Paula Mulqueen, a doctor and a nurse, founded Forward in Health to provide medical care for residents of the Fon Frede area in Haiti. In the years that followed, Massachusetts volunteers from FIH have travelled to Fonde Fred for 7-10 day periods to provide crucial medical care, especially to children. In seven years they have treated over 3500 patients suffering from malaria, pneumonia, malnutrition, anemia, intestinal parasites, and other conditions. In 2006, FIH decided to construct a permanent clinic, the need for which cannot be overstated—the nearest hospital is in Les Cayes, an hour away over rough roads, and the 15,000 people who live in the area go there only in direst emergencies. Women therefore have no prenatal care, and a child with an earache or pneumonia just has to suffer through it. FIH has been running on a budget of $12,000 a year; volunteers pay their own expenses. Their only major overhead item has been the $7500 annual salary paid to the program’s director in Haiti. Isn’t it about time that someone helped them get this clinic running?

(2008: INTERNATIONAL: Human Services)