(Rivista Internazionale - December 1998: CRUDEM Project - 1/2)

Health

CRUDEM Project

Milot. Haiti. The Nutritional Centre. About 100 malnourished pre-school children receive two free meals every day. The project provides also educational programmes.

This is a brief history of the CRUDEM Project, a mission in Milot, northern Haiti. CRUDEM began in 1968 when the people of Milot went to the brothers of the Sacred Heart and asked for help in improving conditions in their village. Brother Yves Beausejour, s.c., then aged 34 with already ten years of service in Haiti, was sent as director along with two other brothers. They named the project CRUDEM (Center for the Rural Development of Milot). Milot and the neighbouring centres have a population of 25,000. They are twelve miles from Cap-Haitien, the second largest city in Haiti. Milot was the capital of Haiti shortly after it gained independence in the early nineteenth century and the remnants of the palace are still visible there. A fortress, the Citadel, was built at the same time to defend against the return of French troops. It has been restored and can be seen on the mountain top above Milot. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere with a per capita annual income of about $350. It also has the highest maternal and infant mortality, and almost 20% of children die before age two. No one has access to electricity or potable water and less then half can read. Brother Yves enlisted the help of the local population and rapidly went to work.

Milot. Haiti. The surgical team led by Dr. A. Thomas Pezzella of the U.Mass. Health Centre (second from left) who also participates in the CRUDEM Project.

He brought electricity to Milot by installing a hydroelectric generator at a large spring in the mountains. The water was piped out into the village, giving them clean water for the first time. He built 75km of roads and constructed bridges over streams previously impassable after rains. He built eleven primary schools, a technical high-school and a teachers’ junior college. Four dispensaries were provided, one in Milot and the others in surrounding communities. Co-operatives were established with various local groups to raise pigs, chickens, dairy cattle and produce chocolate and bakery goods. In 1983 a young Haitian internist, Dr. Herve Thelusmond, came to work at the dispensary in Milot. All the dispensaries had previously been staffed by nurses. The Milot dispensary become a referral centre and it soon became obvious that a larger facility was needed. A hospital was completed in early 1986, containing twenty beds, a pharmacy, laboratory, x-rays, delivery and operating rooms. A Nutrition Center was built adjacent to the hospital.

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