NOVA’s bi-annual Medical Missions are where our mission started and they continue to be the backbone of our outreach in Haiti while we build our permanent Medical facility.
Since 2002, once or twice per year, NOVA has brought down teams of volunteer doctors, nurses, translators, pharmacists and helpers to provide free medical care in and around Cavaillon, Haiti to people who have no other access to care.
The Catholic church in Cavaillon let’s NOVA borrow their community center which we transform into a full blown medical clinic with check in, charts, a station for taking vital signs, examining rooms colorfully made of sheets hung from ropes, a procedures area, and a fully stocked pharmacy with medicines to treat both adults and children for the most common ailments we have seen over the past 10 years.
In June of 2002 when we held our first medical mission, our team consisted of only 3 doctors, 4 translators and 3 nurses. The May 2011 team was made up of 26 people! This mission has grown so that during a typical week long mission we are able to treat over 1000 patients who come through our doors.
It has been our tradition since the beginning that individual volunteers pay for their airfare to Haiti, while the rest of the mission expenses are covered by private donations. A typical medical mission with a team of about 24 volunteers costs approximately $20,000.00 not including airfare. About half of that is for medicines and medical supplies, while the remained is for ground travel expenses, room and board.
If you would like to help us with the cost of our next medical mission, please DONATE now. We cannot provide this medical care without your help!
For more information:
- CLICK HERE to see images of a typical medical mission in Cavaillon, Haiti
- CLICK HERE to read an account of a typical week in a NOVA medical mission
- CLICK HERE if you are interested in possibly volunteering on a Medical Mission
