Where we work

Country spotlight

IYCN’s Rose Mireille Exumé has hope for Haiti’s mothers and children

Supporting mothers to breastfeed and nourish their children is helping Rose Mireille Exumé, IYCN’s Haiti Country Coordinator, cope with the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake. She finds comfort in knowing that families can improve nutrition for their children despite the adverse conditions they face.

Rose Mireille Exumé, IYCN Haiti Country Coordinator, leads an infant feeding training workshop for baby tent counselors from Project Concern on March 10, 2010.

“I am grateful that I can continue to assist mothers and babies with good nutrition under these difficult circumstances. I have hope that we can prevent malnutrition for many children,” said Rose Mireille.

Together with UNICEF and other partners, Rose Mireille is training emergency health workers to provide vital infant feeding counseling for new mothers as they strive to keep their babies healthy after the earthquake. The trained counselors offer support for mothers in baby tents located in refugee camps across the country, where more than a million people reside in makeshift living spaces made of sheet steel, plastic, or tarps. The baby tents are a safe and welcoming place for mothers to escape the stress of the camps and receive psychosocial support, health care, and infant and young child feeding counselling.

IYCN's Rose Mireille Exumé leads three counselors in a role play activity to discuss good attachment.

By helping to facilitate training workshops for nurses and other health workers from organizations like Save the Children, Action Against Hunger, and Project Concern International, Rose Mireille ensures that counsellors in the baby tents have the knowledge and skills they need to overcome barriers and challenges to good infant feeding after an emergency. Dispelling harmful misconceptions about breastfeeding is one of the greatest challenges for health workers, according to Rose Mireille. Although exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life protects against illness and improves survival during emergencies, many mothers believe that their milk is tainted or limited as a result of the stress they have endured, she said.  

During training workshops, Rose Mireille skilfully leads participants, like Solange Pierre and Edwine Charles, in practicing counselling skills, facilitating small group discussions, and demonstrating good breastfeeding techniques to help mothers overcome misconceptions and gain confidence in their ability to feed their children. Solange and Edwine—both nurses who have already received nutrition training—said the training from IYCN has increased their knowledge of infant feeding during emergency situations and improved their counselling skills.  

“With this training, I am better able to counsel mothers,” said Solange.

In this roleplay, a father doesn't want his wife to breastfeed and a community health worker shares the benefits of breastfeeding.

Rose Mireille has already trained more than 200 health workers in Port au Prince, Leogane, and Jacmel to meet the demand for more skilled counselors in baby tents, mobile clinics, and other locations. She is continuing to respond to requests for technical assistance to help a wide range of organizations offer appropriate infant feeding training for their workers.

As she continues to lead IYCN’s efforts to prevent malnutrition in Haiti, Rose Mireille also tends to the safety and well-being of her own family. She is thankful that her entire family, including her seven children, survived the disaster. Although their house has some cracks, they were able to stay in their home—sharing tents in their front yard with friends in need of shelter. While most of her children still wait for schools to re-open, she has encouraged them to volunteer in the camps to help other families who are not as fortunate.

“Focusing on helping others is helping us get through this,” said Rose Mireille.

Learn more about IYCN activities in Haiti. 

Solange’s story

Mothers review a poster on food groups, provided by the IYCN Project, during a nutrition discussion at a baby tent in the Place Boyer Refugee Camp in Pétion-Ville, Haiti.

At the Place Boyer Refugee Camp in Pétion-Ville, a suburb of Port au Prince, Solange Pierre, 35, welcomes four mothers-to-be into the baby tent. Inside, the safe, calm atmosphere is a welcome relief for Ketly, 21; Cherline, 24; Spina, 16; and Immacula, 18, who live among the 3,000 temporary residents at the camp, where life can be stressful and uncertain. On this hot, March day, Solange leads a discussion about good nutrition during pregnancy. She asks the expecting mothers to share their experiences feeding their babies and shows them a poster of food groups as they sit on the floor.

“The baby tent is a place for mothers to come when life is simply too much to handle. They meet other mothers who have lost important parts of their lives with the earthquake. They sit and talk, they share, and they encourage each other,” said Solange.

At a baby tent in the Place St. Pierre Refugee Camp in Pétion-Ville, Haiti, counselors regularly assist mother Mona to weigh her baby Jonalson, 3 months, to check his growth.

Shortly after the January 12 earthquake, Solange started working as a counselor and baby tent coordinator for Project Concern International. With more than ten years of experience as a nurse, she wanted to make a difference by supporting mothers and children in the camps. In a typical day, she leads discussion groups on different nutrition topics, weighs children to monitor their growth, offers counseling on infant feeding, and walks around the camp encouraging mothers to visit the baby tent.

In late January, she participated in an IYCN training workshop for emergency workers from Project Concern International to improve nutrition knowledge and counseling skills in light of the emergency. The training has helped her offer accurate nutrition information and effective counseling for mothers.

A mother and child at a baby tent in Port St. Marie I Refugee Camp in Port-au-Prince.

After the IYCN training, encouraging mothers to relactate (the practice of starting to breastfeed again after stopping) is a priority for her and other counselors. She has seen many mothers who have stopped breastfeeding after the earthquake in response to a widespread cultural belief that breastmilk goes bad after a mother suffers an emotional shock. She now spreads the word about relactation: it is beneficial for babies and it is possible to begin breastfeeding again even after stopping for a few months.

A counselor discusses breastfeeding experiences with mothers at the baby tent in Port St. Marie I. .

“There are several things I had not understood well that I now understand [after the IYCN training], she said. “Relactation is one of them. I did not know it could be done, and since the baby tent has started we have had four mothers who are now breastfeeding again.”

Solange says that overcoming the misconceptions and barriers to good nutrition in the camps can be challenging, but her goal is to prevent malnutrition for all children.

"It can be done,” she asserts.  

Learn more about IYCN activities in Haiti. 

Nadine’s story

When she visits the baby tent at Place Boyer Refugee Camp in Pétion-Ville, Nadine Boucher, 32, feels uplifted and hopeful about her baby’s future.

Nadine Boucher’s daughter, Jerika, 7 months old, is growing well, thanks to support from Solange Pierre and other counselors at the baby tent located in the Place Boyer Refugee Camp.

"I have less stress when I come to the tent; that’s good for my baby. I come to weigh her once a week. I like to see that she gains weight. It shows me the baby is healthy. That encourages me to keep up,” Nadine said.

Since the January 12 earthquake, life has been difficult. Nadine and her baby Jerika, a 7-month old girl, live with Nadine’s sister in one of the camp’s many makeshift spaces made of tarps. The two women can’t leave their temporary home at the same time because they fear their belongings will be stolen. Finding food has been difficult because tickets for donated food often run out too quickly. Nadine has been losing weight and sometimes fears that Jerika will also lose weight and become malnourished.

Nadine Boucher (center) takes refuge with other mothers in the baby tent at Place Boyer Refugee Camp.

Yet despite the challenges, Jerika has continued to gain weight and thrive, with the help of Solange Pierre and two other counselors at the baby tent. During frequent visits for counseling, Nadine learns about practicing good hygiene to prevent illness and how to make sure Jerika gets the most nutritious meals from what little food is available. After practicing exclusive breastfeeding for six months, Nadine has successfully continued to breastfeed while adding complementary foods once Jerika turned 6 months old in February.

Solange and her colleagues are continuing to give Nadine the encouragement she needs to nourish her baby and keep her healthy. Now, Nadine shares what she learned from the counselors with her family members and other mothers in the camp.

"As long as I live in this camp I will return [to the baby tent]. I stop by every day. I love to come here to talk to the counselors and the other mothers. Coming to the tent makes me feel better," said Nadine.  

Learn more about IYCN activities in Haiti. 

Photos: Aurelio Ayala III, Richard Lord, Nicole Raccine