Maine nonprofit Konbit Sante provides medical support to Haiti

FALMOUTH, Maine —

Konbit Sante, a nonprofit based in Falmouth, Maine, is marking 25 years of providing health care resources to Haiti, focusing its efforts on Cap-Haitien, the country’s second-largest city, amid ongoing political unrest and gang violence.

“I love the people. It’s chaotic,” said Perry Newman, executive director of Konbit Sante. Newman visits Haiti four times a year and returned from his most recent trip in June.

“This time around it was more crowded. This time around, things were more expensive. This time around, there was a heightened sense of concern. I will say that through it all, the Haitians are remarkably resilient,” Newman said.

Since 2001, Konbit Sante has partnered with officials in Haiti to improve health care, maintaining year-round staff in Cap-Haitien to support hospital and clinic leadership teams.

“We work with four partner hospitals and clinics to advance Haitian solutions for Haitian health care challenges, and sometimes that means equipping a hospital. Sometimes that means providing training for medical professionals. Sometimes that means working with hospital administrators to improve systems,” Newman said.

Konbit Sante is also raising concerns about the potential end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian migrants in the U.S., including hundreds in Maine. A Supreme Court ruling in June cleared the way for the administration to end TPS for migrants from several countries, including Haiti.

TPS for Haitian migrants was initially designated following a devastating earthquake in 2010. Newman argues the country remains unsafe today.

“So on a humanitarian level, it’s just wrong to send people back to a place that is extremely dangerous. It’s so dangerous, in fact, that the U.S. government has advised Americans not just not to travel to Haiti, but if they must travel to Haiti to leave their dental records and medical records with their health care providers as well as their families. So it’s almost as if you’re being warned not to go to a war situation where your body could conceivably need identification. But that’s perfectly okay, apparently, if you’re a Haitian and can be sent back there,” Newman said.

The Department of Homeland Security’s general counsel celebrated the Supreme Court ruling earlier this summer, stating, “The T in TPS stands for temporary, yet many of these designations became de facto amnesty. This is a win for the rule of law and common sense.”

Newman is urging Congress to pass a bill that would extend TPS for Haitian migrants in the U.S. until 2029. He recently met with Senator Susan Collins, calling on Maine’s senior senator to co-sponsor the legislation. Collins has not yet indicated whether she will support the bill.