Returning to Haiti always fills me with mixed emotions. The opportunity to make a difference and positively impact the health and lives of individuals that have so few opportunities to access medical care is an exhilarating feeling for a doctor. The chance to reunite with old team mates, to see the experience through the eyes […]

The Hands Up for Haiti family is deeply saddened to announce the passing of Judy Rhineschmidt McAvoy, our dear friend and a founding member of HUFH. Judy served on the Hands Up for Haiti Board of Directors since its inception and was an active trip leader and program director. Judy was a registered nurse whose […]

A young woman lies on the examining table, anxious and unsure. She tested positive for pregnancy, but after being seen at a local clinic, she was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy, a potentially life-threatening situation when an embryo implants in the fallopian tubes rather than the uterus. She sought help at Justinian University Hospital and […]

Children in orange and plaid school uniforms with hair neatly parted in matching bows shout “blanc, blanc,” and wave at our rickety van as we pass. Palm trees grow at the road side along with banana trees and rows of cactus bushes displaying that afternoon’s clean laundry. Locals push wheelbarrows full of coconuts or steer […]

Yesterday was a really wonderful day for Hands up for Haiti. It was a day that saw dreams, vision and hard work bear fruit and become reality on the ground. Yesterday, our Haitian staff taught the life-saving skills of Helping Babies Breathe to 24 Haitian nurse practitioner students, who will in turn teach these skills […]

Andrea Feddes is a registered nurse from Canada, a HUFH volunteer and medical mission leader, who just returned from 9 weeks on the ground in Haiti with HUFH. Among her projects: a sexual health class for young women. “What if we don’t learn about sexual health in school and our parents don’t teach us. How […]

Heal – Teach – Support. These are the words that guide all that we do at Hands Up for Haiti. But how are we able to do what we do? Only with the generous support of our donors and volunteers. Your help truly makes a difference in the lives of the people that we help.  […]

A young mother brought her 5 month old infant to the Open Door clinic where our medical team was working that day. She told us that the baby was vomiting and having trouble eating. One look at the baby and we knew this was serious. An average 5 month old weighs about 15 pounds. This […]

Women in Haiti are the backbone of the country, strong and resilient, but they face multiple health challenges and risks throughout their lives, especially in the child bearing years.  HUFH remains dedicated to the support of our programs that help to improve the health of women throughout their lives.  To celebrate International Women’s Day, a […]

As volunteers with Hands Up for Haiti, Lynn Perton and I have made three trips to Haiti on pediatric missions. On each trip we visit the local tourist market in Cap Haitien, looking for things to buy to support the local economy. But beyond a few trinkets, we don’t usually find much. Then in January […]