As you all likely realize, our late May team was grounded weeks ago due to the current pandemic, and we are very saddened that we are unable to deliver needed healthcare services to our friends and residents of Ile a Vache. What you may not be aware of is that these same people are working from dawn ’til dusk to complete the Peter Y Whitehead Memorial Clinic, so that some day they will no longer need to rely on our medical teams to deliver these same basic services!
It is truly amazing how far they have come in less than 2 years and under their circumstances – minimal machinery / 99% manual labor, the heat and humidity of a tropical island, unpredictable weather patterns, including tropical storms and hurricanes, and the dangerous sea crossings in heavily weighted boats.
The following photos will provide a progression from the start to the current state of the project. I hope you enjoy the show and are as amazed as I am!!
The Foundation – dug by hand with shovels and pick axes.
Rebar bent with manual tools and plumbing lines being laid out.
Cement block being transported to the island by any boat available…and riding low on the passage across.
Once the supplies are unloaded on the island, mules are needed for transport to the construction site.
Additional foundation walls built to be filled in with earth and rock to level the building before cement floor is poured.
First floor poured and walls going up!!
…and up…
…and up!!
Really taking shape, with rebar extending thru to the 2nd story.
Framing for the 1st floor ceiling / 2nd floor floor.
What a sight as all hands assisting to pour the floor…all manual labor from the mixing, to the lifting, to the pouring and finally the leveling/smoothing!!
2nd floor walls going up!
…and up…
…and all the way up!
The lid on…again with the help of all hands…a bucket brigade like none other – there is a great video on facebook showing just how impressive the process was!!
1st floor interior finishing and detail work – NO machines here!!
Check out the cement railing!
My favorite location…the rooftop…we have arrived.
Interior really coming along…
Tile going down…and up, and windows going in on the first floor!!
…and that brings us up to date!!
Again, we are so sad we are unable to travel next week and see our friends and patients…and see first hand the progress being made on what will certainly become a focal point on this island…a location to seek assistance when basic healthcare services are needed.
With our New York and Michigan partners, we have raised nearly $350,000 to date to reach this state, but we have now exhausted our building funds and are in need of another funding push, as we enter the “home stretch”. We are SO close to seeing this Project reach completion.
Please help us realize this dream for these hard working and very deserving people and please help us honor the memory of a man who was just as committed to this goal as those of us still able to carry the torch in his name. We need your help NOW and so appreciate all the assistance we have already received.
Many Thanks and Love to You All…past, present and ALWAYS!!
Adam