A little over a decade ago, Dr. Michael Taylor, his wife, Wendy, and a few friends gathered around a kitchen table at their Portland home to brainstorm ways they could bring their expertise and energy to bear on a poverty-stricken country in need of improving its health care system.

Michael Taylor, now a retired 73-year-old dermatologist, said the group investigated several possibilities that included communities in Africa and South America. Then in November 2001, the Taylors decided to form a partnership with Cap-Haitien, a city in the northern section of Haiti, and the city’s 250-bed Justinian Hospital.

Additional Photos

Dr. Ann Lemire of Portland, left, volunteer chair of Konbit Sante’s pediatric team, checks on a small patient with her colleague, Dr. Rony St. Fleur, during one of the group’s trips to Haiti. Photos courtesy of Wendy Taylor

Hugh Tozer, left, a wastewater engineer from South Portland and volunteer chair of Konbit Sante’s infrastructure improvement team, works with Haitian colleague Bon Jacques to install piping for a second well at Justinian Hospital in Cap-Haitien during one of the group’s trips there.

That’s how Konbit Sante Cap-Haitien Health Partnership got its start. The Falmouth-based nonprofit founded by the Taylors continues to provide support to the people of Haiti through a network of about 60 active volunteers, who live not only in Maine but across the country.

“We started with the belief that it is human nature to want to help one another,” Michael Taylor said.

The Taylors, Konbit Sante Executive Director Nathan M. Nickerson and a few of the organization’s volunteers plan to gather next Saturday in Cap-Haitien for an event planned by their Haitian partners.

Nickerson says it’s important for Konbit Sante to let the people it works with in Haiti express their gratitude.

Though Konbit Sante’s 10th anniversary would have been last November, “It just wasn’t the right time to be celebrating,” said Wendy Taylor, referring to the cholera epidemic there.

The last two years have put Konbit Sante’s commitment to this impoverished country to the test.

In church services across the country, Haitians recently marked the second anniversary of the devastating Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake, which was centered around the country’s capital city of Port-au-Prince.

The Haitian government has said the disaster killed 316,000 people and displaced 1.5 million. More than 500,000 Haitians are still in temporary settlement camps.

Konbit Sante responded to the earthquake by sending volunteers, supplies and equipment to support the country’s fragile health care system. The organization’s 2010 annual report says Konbit Sante spent nearly a $500,000 in its response to the earthquake.

The group purchased fuel to help transport victims from Port-au-Prince. It provided hot meals for medical staff at Justinian Hospital as well as food for families with children, who came north to escape the damage. And Konbit Sante volunteers provided help in pediatric, psychiatric, orthopedic trauma, surgical, nursing triage and wound care during the crisis.

“It’s still a very critical situation in Haiti,” Nickerson said. “The earthquake was devastating.”

But that was not the end of the country’s problems. In late 2010, just a few months after the earthquake, one of the country’s worst outbreaks of cholera swept through the nation. Nickerson said more than 7,000 people died.

Cholera is caused by drinking water contaminated by fecal bacteria. It can cause severe diarrhea and vomiting. People have died because they were unable to receive proper medical care.

“It’s still a reality there,” Nickerson said.

VOLUNTEERS KEY TO ASSISTANCE

Hugh Tozer, a wastewater engineer from South Portland, serves as president of Konbit Sante’s board of directors. He is senior vice president of Woodard & Curran in Portland.

Tozer has been an active volunteer, focusing his efforts on improving the infrastructure that supports Justinian Hospital, as well as teaching Haitians how to sanitize their drinking water and testing water for contamination.

Tozer said conditions in Haiti might shock an average American. He said it is common for people to defecate on the ground because in many areas there are no toilet facilities. That practice has exacerbated the cholera epidemic.

“We take for granted that if we turn on our water it is going to be potable or if we turn on a light switch there will be power,” Tozer said. “That’s not the case in Haiti. It’s one of the reasons it has been so hard to break the cycle of poverty there.”

Tozer, whose father was a minister and mother a social worker, said he volunteers in Haiti because he enjoys helping others.

“I think it’s important to do things that are sometimes outside your comfort zone,” he said.

Ann Lemire, a Portland pediatrician and internist who currently works at a city of Portland health clinic, is a Konbit Sante volunteer. In 2004, she was invited to evaluate Justinian Hospital’s pediatric unit by Michael Taylor, who was a close friend.

“I knew I would get hooked, but it was the least I could do (for the Taylors),” said Lemire, who plans to participate in Saturday’s 10th anniversary celebration. “The Taylors have poured their hearts into this.”

At first, Lemire said, she remembers telling herself that improvements could take years. And while that has been partially true, she has seen progress.

Ten years ago, Justinian Hospital’s pediatric department had no oxygen supply, no baby warmers and no electricity at night. Since then, Konbit Sante helped build a neonatal facility and a teaching/conference room, renovated a kitchen, installed an oxygen system and created a backup system that provides nighttime electricity.

“Ann is a giant,” Michael Taylor said. “She has completely revamped the pediatrics unit.”

SUPPORT FROM THE PORTLAND AREA

Nickerson said the Taylors wanted to develop a sustainable organization that would build up the local health care system. He believes they have achieved their goal.

“Haiti has a reputation for not getting things done, but we’ve shown that building on the strength of the people there, things can get done,” Nickerson said.

In 2003, Konbit Sante also helped facilitate a sister-city relationship between the city of Portland and Cap-Haitien. Support from the residents and businesses in Portland has helped advance Konbit Sante’s humanitarian efforts.

Konbit Sante’s work has not gone unnoticed by the people of Cap-Haitien, which is why the community insisted on holding an anniversary celebration.

Dr. Jean Gracia Coq, medical director at Justinian University Hospital, talked about the people’s appreciation in comments featured in Konbit Sante’s 2010 annual report.

“We will never forget the help of Konbit Sante,” he said. “After the earthquake, there was no one to help us, but Konbit Sante was there. We were out of everything. It was an historic moment, unforgettable, full of emotion.”

Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com

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