New donations increase safety, comfort at Mirebalais Hospital

As construction moves along and our team navigates through the inherent challenges of building in resource-constrained Haiti, there has been no decline in donor interest and very generous in-kind donations of materials continue to come in. These donations include Organogensis, Inc. of Canton, MA, who has generously donated 133 wood doors, frames and hardware that will be used in the staff housing, adjacent to the main Hospital. Additionally, Honeywell International’s Fire Systems Group and the J & M Brown Company of Boston teamed up to donate engineering services and all the materials for a much needed fire alarm detection and notification system for the hospital. Although there is no fire department to respond to an alarm, this is still an important donation, as the size of the hospital complex would make it difficult to notify all staff and patients of an emergency. 

Also on a special note, we would like to recognize and thank David Wilson of the Boston law firm Corwin & Corwin, for donating countless hours of his time over the past six months to give PIH construction legal advice and draft many different contracts with suppliers and contractors in four different countries, and in three languages. Assisting David and doing much of the English to Spanish translation is a very dedicated volunteer, Maria Concha Hein, who has also made five trips to the DR and Haiti over the past year to help nail down many of the details of these contracts. Their help has been invaluable to the building of the hospital. 

We’d also like to thank the Massachusetts Laborer’s District Council for their generous contribution towards the hospital. Furthermore, a special thanks goes out to Joseph Bonfiglio, the business manager of the laborers, and Martin Walsh of the MA Building Trades Council for their time and energy in recruiting construction volunteers.

If you are or know anyone who is skilled and experienced in the building trades and is interested in volunteering to help with the construction of the New National Teaching Hospital at Mirebalais, Haiti, we want to hear from you! You can learn more at www.pih.org/mirebalais or contact our Volunteer Coordinator at hburgess@pih.org.