About
Following the devastating Haitian earthquake of 2010, our founder, and current president, Michele Sidney, herself a Haitian American nurse, went to Haiti to assist in the recovery efforts as a volunteer. While there, Michele was made aware of the medical needs of a group of communities near the mouth of the Artibonite River and was asked if she could organize a clinic for their residents; impoverished even by Haitian standards. After returning from her trip she met Linda McGurn. Through their collaboration, a single clinic emerged; which in turn gave rise to regular medical services to run consecutively since 2011. Unlike many NGOs working in Haiti, the Good Shepherd Foundation relies exclusively on qualified Haitian professionals and purchases nearly all of their required goods and services locally; thereby infusing needed hard currency into the Haitian economy and increasing the stability and sustainability of the foundations efforts.
Based on what they have learned from their clinics, the foundation has come to understand the critical importance of clean water and sanitation on community health. TGSF is now embarking on a program to build properly constructed wells and latrines in the communities they serve.
Vision Statement
The ultimate goal of the Good Shepherd Foundation of Haiti is to provide a range of basic human health services for people in need; provide clean water and community sanitation, improved nutrition, and provide health education in an integrated way. We hope to allow people to overcome health obstacles to create a better future for themselves and their children.
Mission Statement
It is our mission at the Good Shepherd Foundation of Haiti to provide health care services and humanitarian assistance programs to people suffering from preventable and treatable medical conditions.These programs integrate basic medical services, and disease prevention through proactive medical care, clean water, sanitation, and health education. Our goal is to improve the overall physical wellbeing of the residents of Chevreau du Lombard and the environmental conditions in which they live in order to promote a more stable resilient community.
Where we are located
Haiti is located in the Caribbean Sea on the western part of the island of Hispaniola. An island nation that was once considered the Jewel of the Caribbean blessed with rich soils but now changed due to a long history of political turmoil and poor economic policies.
Haiti has a population of around 10 million people with 25 percent of them living in extreme poverty. Every day Haitians must struggle to overcome barriers to progress created by the crippling effects of poor nutrition, diseases caused by the lack of clean drinking water, and proper sanitation and limited access to healthcare services. These conditions contribute to making Haiti the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. The aim of the Good Shepherd Foundation is to reduce these barriers and assist the residents of the communities along the lower Artibonite River to help themselves become more resilient and sustainable.
