“The Incredible Power of Hope” – President’s Letter, Dec. 2022

HOPE. If I had to chose one word to describe NOVA’s mission over the past year, it would be HOPE. Despite all of the incredible challenges that the people of Haiti have had to face over the past year-and-a-half, NOVA has continued to provide primary medical care to our patients and to be an abiding presence in Cavaillon and the surrounding area. Sixteen months ago, NOVA’s main clinic building was in ruins. Major hospitals and clinics throughout Haiti were forced to temporarily close because of their inability to obtain fuel for their generators or because it was deemed unsafe for their staff to come to work.

But not NOVA. During this entire time, we kept our doors open. Our staff came to work. We were able to replenish our pharmacy’s stock of medication and our patients kept coming for medical care. We were even able to host a major soccer tournament on our soccer field! All of this provides HOPE to the community because they know that NOVA is not leaving them.

But for our patients, the most significant sign that NOVA is staying committed to our mission is the completion of Phase I of our construction project. With Phase I complete, we have moved our pharmacy and lab back to their original locations, and our doctors are now seeing patients in a private room. Patients no longer have to wait out in the open. Completion of Phase I is a big step in not only recovering what NOVA was before the August 2021 earthquake, but in helping us build greatly-improved facilities for our clinic going forward.

Phase II is scheduled to begin early in 2023. Phase II is the major part of our reconstruction project when we will build a brand new clinic to properly provide quality medical care for the community. The new clinic will be larger, have a better layout for patient flow, a more spacious lab, improved storage and sanitation and will allow us the ability to expand in the future. All of this renews HOPE… and that’s what our name means NOVA (new) Hope for Haiti.

What makes all of this possible is the remarkable support of our volunteers and donors. NOVA is blessed to have incredible people who volunteer on our Board and our Executive Committee. We also have a community of dedicated volunteers who provide their time and expertise in medical care, construction, human resources, fundraising, and business administration. Our medical mission volunteers – even though they have not been able to travel to Haiti since 2019 – continue to be the backbone of support for everything that NOVA does.

But of course, none of this would be possible without your financial support. We need ongoing support to
fund the construction project while also covering our annual operating costs. The cost of running NOVA’s clinic operations has risen over the past few years, so I’m asking you to remember NOVA in your year-end giving. Your generosity is what makes it possible to build our new clinic and enable NOVA to continue to provide HOPE and medical care to our community in Haiti.

Thank you for being part of the NOVA Hope for Haiti family.

Thank you,
Joseph Nuzzi
President, NOVA Hope for Haiti
www.novahope.org