It sometimes difficult to explain the dramatic and encouraging results of the behavior change communication activities we developed for youth under our health program, says Sister Scatolin, head nun at the Croix des Bouquets clinic. Within the Croix-des-Bouquets suburb located northeast of Port-au-Prince, the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul run a clinic in Sibert with USAID funding through the Santé pour le Développement et la Stabilité d’Haiti (SDSH) health project.
Many young people living in Croix des Bouquets risk falling into delinquency, drug and alcohol abuse, and violence. In response to this crisis and in addition to providing health care in this deprived locality, the nuns and clinic staff run a series of outreach activities through the clinic to encourage young people in the community to seek clinic services and make positive changes in their behaviors and lives.
Serving a population of more than 40,000 during the 2009-2010 period, the Sibert clinic has potentially reached half of its catchment area residents with health education program on hygiene, environment, maternal and child health, reproductive health and infectious diseases including tuberculosis and HIV and AIDS. In the challenging times faced since the January 2010 earthquake, the program has also trained 13 staff to help manage gender-based violence.