Where is NOVA Today?
NOVA is 22 years old, and it feels like NOVA has grown up. We started our medical missions in 2002 at the Church of the Presentation, in Upper Saddle River, NJ, with a few doctors, nurses, translators and volunteers packing medical supplies in bins and suitcases to provide medical care for a week. Those were rough and tumble days. Our teams lived rough, drove through rivers and up mountains on dirt roads, and worked hard. That hard work and sacrifice, combined with the support of the folks back home, led to what we have today: a clinic with a full-time staff running year round with a fully-stocked pharmacy and a lab that provides a wide array of medical tests.
We have come a long way!
However, we have also faced growing pains. Managing a business from abroad presents normal challenges that have become far more complex due to political unrest and violence and their impact on the people of Haiti. Additionally, we had to oversee construction twice in ten years: first when we built the original clinic in 2013 and again over the past two years after the 2021 earthquake. Alongside these challenges, we faced a powerful hurricane that devastated Cavaillon, the 2010 earthquake, and ongoing anarchy in the capital.
Despite all of this, we are thriving. NOVA’s clinic is doing fantastically well under the leadership of Dr. Anthonika Titus. Patient numbers have gone up dramatically. Dr. Titus has increased efficiency, which has also led to an increase in clinic revenues. These numbers reflect something I am deeply proud of: NOVA is not just a medical clinic; we are an important part of the fabric of society in Cavaillon. Our facility is a place where people feel safe, where children come to play, where teens and adults play soccer, where neighbors meet and chat, and of course where essential medical care is provided.
Growing up comes at a cost.
Our clinic used to cost less than $200,000 per year to operate. Today our budget is projected to exceed $375,000.
This increase is due to several factors: inflation, increased costs caused by the unrest, and the need for a larger staff. Even so, this remains an incredibly low cost to provide medical care year-round. In the early 2000s, our medical missions, depending on the size of the team, would cost upwards of $40,000 for one week of medical care. This included our airfare, ground expenses, room and board, as well as medications and supplies. Clearly our model today is much more efficient and cost-effective.
But we must still raise the money we need to keep NOVA running.
I am asking all our supporters to grow with us. Your financial support is what makes all this possible. If there is room in your charitable giving budget, please consider increasing your gift to NOVA. Your contribution is life-changing to the people who come to our clinic.
Please help us continue to offer the care we have been bringing to the people of Haiti for over 20 years.
Thank you,
Joe Nuzzi
