Ecole Saint Vincent

Telephone: [011-509] 22-0120

• Programs
  
• Special Needs
  
• Support

Ecole Saint Vincent is a large school and clinic for children with visual, hearing, mental, and orthopedic problems, affiliated with the Episcopal Church of Haiti. It occupies a complex of buildings in downtown Port-au-Prince, not far from the National Palace.

The school was founded in 1944 by Sister Joan-Margaret of the Sisters of Saint Margaret (Boston, MA), and was directed by her until 1993. Dr. David F. McNeeley, an Episcopal priest and pediatrician then became director until succeeded in 1996 by Pere Franz Casseus, an Episcopal priest of the Diocese of Haiti.

Programs

ESV was founded especially as a "school", but for its multiply-handicapped children, it is impossible to separate education and health. From the start, ESV has operated clinics for primary care and developmental evaluation. Currently, there are about 1000 pediatric visits monthly. Common orthopedic problems include scoliosis, polio, cerebral palsy, rickets, and Pott's Disease (spinal tuberculosis).

The school has a small operating suite and recovery/observation area, to serve its corrective eye, plastic, and orthopedic surgical programs, which rely on volunteer Haitian and visiting physicians. ESV has the country's only brace and prosthesis shop, which also serves graduates, even as adults.

The school has about 200 boarding students and 100 day students. Of these 300, 90 are deaf, 93 blind, and 117 have other physical handicaps. The girls dormitory is on site; the boys dormitory is in a separate building one half block away. There is also a nursery where from 15-30 toddlers live short-term, during pre- or post-op evaluation.

In addition to its normal curricula adapted to the specific needs of its children, there is a Special School, established in 1976, for mentally handicapped children, with a workshop for young adults.

Current Special Needs

These are some of the urgent special needs at ESV:

• The Brace Shop: The Episcopal Church Women of East Tennessee, have recently accepted a CMMH challenge to match funds up to $15,000, to replace the equipment in the Brace Shop (Total budget $ 30,000). This special project is designated The Lame Shall Walk. Karl Fillauer, a prosthetics manufacturer in Chattanooga has agreed to retrain and refresh the skills of the staff. (His father George helped to start the clinic at ESV many years ago.) Additional funding will be needed for transportation and other expenses during that phase of the project. Your help is needed !!

• The Physical Therapy department needs revamping including the retraining of its staff in the newest techniques. Especially, a long- term volunteer to direct this work is needed.

• Surgical services. The Haitian surgeon who has been doing the orthopedic surgery is retiring soon. ESV would like to increase its program of visiting specialists.

• Foyer. The boys dormitory urgently needs roof repair.

Support

Ecole Saint Vincent is supported by direct contributions, and by designated gifts through the Episcopal Church of Haiti and by Children's Medical Missions of Haiti, Inc., an agency of the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee.

The Christoph Blinden Mission of Germany provides significant special grant support. The school also benefits from the partnership program of the Presbyterian Church (USA) with the Episcopal Church of Haiti.

For more information:

Children's Medical Missions of Haiti Knoxville TN