The Importance of Leaning In

Right now, we are in Haiti on a medical mission to Cap-Haitien. While we are here Hurricane Matthew is expected to make landfall in part of Haiti. Now, our part is not threatened according to the weather forecast, but all the same, it is not a comfortable place for us to be in.

And we are accustomed to seek comfort in our lives, aren’t we? In all seasons, we like our thermostats to be set between 68 and 72. We crave soft sheets, pleasant smells, a comfy couch. There is nothing wrong with any of that, but everyone is going to face situations in this life when things get uncomfortable. Many times in order to get what we need or to do the right thing, we have to intentionally get a little uncomfortable.  When faced with uncomfortable situations, it’s normal to seek to minimize discomfort, to shy away from that which troubles us.

That is why it can be so difficult, during troubling times, to lean in. Lean into the discomfort, lean into the fear, lean into the danger.  It can be as small as a few kind words to a stranger who seems troubled or as big as a firefighter running toward an inferno that everyone else is fleeing. As physicians and nurses, our daily lives are filled with uncomfortable conversations, uncomfortable procedures, uncomfortable hours, but all that is done for a greater good: the health and longevity of the people we serve. As real people of all stripes, we face discomfort on a daily basis because it is the right and just thing to do.

It is hard, but life should be hard. It is uncomfortable, but life should be uncomfortable.  A life that is always easy and comfortable is boring and useless.  We believe that life is about trying to make a difference, leaning into the discomfort , and ultimately saying to God ‘Here I am, use me for your purpose.’

And our purpose is here, in Haiti, even under the threat of a storm. Here we stand, ready to serve our brothers and sisters who here in what small ways we can. Leaning in.

-Doug

Support The October 2016 Team

Mission trips like ours can cost anywhere from $16,000 to $20,000 depending on the number of participants and the goal of the mission. Our trips are 100% supported by donations from generous donors like you! If you have ever thought about joining us or perhaps have joined us in the past; would you be willing to donate $25, $50 or $100 in support of our October Team? Joining us this October will be: Doug Boudreau, Jeanne Boudreau, Dawn & Ryan Pharr, Angela Castaneda, Ashley Zingarelli, Nicole LeBlond, Kendra Carlton, Beth Swaim and Sandra Beldor. The following post is from Ashley, one of our new team members. She is so excited to join us and serve the people of Latennerie, Haiti. As Always thank you for your love and support of our mission!

"I have exciting news to share! I have decided to volunteer on a medical mission trip to Haiti in October. I will be traveling with Ke Nou Haiti, a non-profit mission team serving the village of Latennerie, which is a small village about 30 minutes from Cap Haitien. Our trip will be focusing on the school and the 120 children who go there. Local physician Dr. Pharr, his wife Dawn, and Nurse Practitioner Angela Castaneda are attending the trip as well. All trips are funded by donations and I need your help! The cost of the mission trip is $1500.00. Would you be willing to donate 100, 50, 25 or any amount to support me?

Ke Nou is a registered 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization and all donations are tax-deductible. Please visit the Ke Nou trip blog at http://kenouhaiti.blogspot.com/ to learn more about their past missions and work. You can support my mission trip by donating through the secure PayPal donation button on the blog or use the Donate Now tab on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kenou.haiti In the purpose/note line please note: Supporting Ashley Zingarelli. Thank you so much for your love and support of our mission.

Upcoming Mission Trip

We are hosting Medical Missions Trip to Cap Haitien, Haiti this year. This will be a medical/back to school trip September 30-October 9, 2016. Some details about the trip: This trip will be our second trip to Cap Hatien. Cap Hatien is a beautiful little town on the north coast of Haiti. During our last trip, we established a relationship with the village of Latennerie, which is a small village about 30 minutes from Cap Hatien. There are no nearby hospitals. It has a clinic which was closed in 2010 due to a lack of funds. We re-opened the clinic on our last trip. Our goal is to help this community maintain the clinic year round with visits from local doctors as well as our mission trips. We will also be looking for some construction expertise to advise us on how to get the clinic in good condition. This time we will also be focusing on the school and the children who go there. The school has about 120 students. We are going to examine each of them, create a medical chart, make sure they have vitamins for the year (to be given at school, treat them for worms and scabies (both are endemic), and address any other medical issues that come up. We would very much like an optometrist and a dentist for this trip, and we will be needing nurses, for sure. Also, depending on what our construction advisers recommend from our April trip, we may need a construction team to oversee repairs to the clinic.We are excited by the opportunity to facilitate a lasting improvement in this community.We will plan on being in clinic 4 1/2 days as well as taking a trip up to see the Citadelle Laferriere. Team members will apply for specific roles (usually more than 1 team member per role), and you may apply for more than one role, if applicable. All roles assigned will be within the team member's s usual scope of practice. Team Leader: Medical Team: Physician Nurse Practitioner Head Nurse RN: Primary nurse RN/EMT: Floater RN/EMT/LPN/MA: triage/pharmacy Non-Medical Pharmacist Bio-Medical Engineer Dentist Optometrist Construction Team: Cost for the trip is $1600, which includes: Airfare, lodging, food, ground transportation, baggage fees, t-shirts, and food and medicine for our patients, and travel insurance. All donations for the trip are tax-deductible. All donors will get a receipt for tax purposes.We encourage you to raise more the required amount if possible so we can purchase additional supplies for the trip. We also accept donations of medical supplies such as gauze dressings, adult, children's and infant's ibuprofen/tylenol, infant/children's multivitamins, adult multivitamins, neosporin/triple antibiotic ointment. Infant/children's clothing (gently used) are also needed. Feel free to hold a fundraiser or if you want to have a fundraiser please let us know and we can give you suggestions and assistance. Donations through PayPal are preferred, but if you need to mail a check you may send the donations to: P.O. Box 2, Jefferson City MO, 65102. Please be sure to include an email address so we can email the tax receipt

2016 Mission Trips

We are hosting two Medical Missions Trip to Cap Haitien, Haiti this year.

 

Trip 1 will be a medical trip April 15-24th, 2016. This will be the 13th trip that we have sponsored since January 2010.

Some details about the trip:  This trip will be our second trip to Cap Hatien. Cap Hatien is a beautiful little town on the north coast of Haiti. During our last trip, we established a relationship with the village of Latennerie, which is a small village about 30 minutes from Cap Hatien. There are no nearby hospitals. It has a clinic which was closed in 2010 due to a lack of funds. We re-opened the clinic on our last trip. Our goal is to help this community maintain the clinic year round with visits from local doctors as well as our mission trips. We will also be looking for some construction expertise to advise us on how to get the clinic in good condition. We will plan on being in clinic 4 1/2 days as well as taking a trip up to see the Citadelle Laferriere. 

 

Trip 2 will be a medical/back to school trip September 30-October 9, 2016. We will again be returning to Cap Haitien and Latennerie. We will again have clinic there, but this time we will also be focusing on the school and the children who go there. The school has about 120 students. We are going to examine each of them, create a medical chart, make sure they have vitamins for the year (to be given at school, treat them for worms and scabies (both are endemic), and address any other medical issues that come up. We would very much like an optometrist and a dentist for this trip, and we will be needing nurses, for sure. Also, depending on what our construction advisers recommend from our April trip, we may need a construction team to oversee repairs to the clinic. We will plan on a beach visit to cap off the week.

We are excited by the opportunity to facilitate a lasting improvement in this community.

 

Team members will apply for specific roles (usually more than 1 team member per role), and you may apply for more than one role, if applicable.  All roles assigned will be within the team member's s usual scope of practice.

 

 

Team Leader:

 

Medical Team:

Physician

Nurse Practitioner

Head Nurse

RN: Primary nurse

RN/EMT: Floater

RN/EMT/LPN/MA: triage/pharmacy

Non-Medical

Pharmacist

Bio-Medical Engineer

Dentist

Optometrist

Construction Team:

 

Cost for the trip is $1600, which includes: Airfare, lodging, food, ground transportation, baggage fees, t-shirts, and food and medicine for our patients, and travel insurance.  All donations for the trip are tax-deductible.  All donors will get a receipt for tax purposes.We encourage you to raise more the required amount if possible so we can purchase additional supplies for the trip. We also accept donations of medical supplies such as gauze dressings, adult, children's and infant's ibuprofen/tylenol, infant/children's multivitamins, adult multivitamins, neosporin/triple antibiotic ointment. Infant/children's clothing (gently used) are also needed. Feel free to hold a fundraiser or if you want to have a fundraiser please let us know and we can give you suggestions and assistance. Donations through PayPal are preferred, but if you need to mail a check you may send the donations to: P.O. Box 2, Jefferson City MO, 65102.  Please be sure to include an email address so we can email the tax receipt.

Interested in  either or both of these trips? email us at mission@ke-nou.org