Second Mile Ministries is a faith-based not-for-profit organization that exists to provide for the physical needs of some of Haiti’s most fragile children while empowering their mothers through health education and small business opportunities.
Second Mile Ministries is a 501(C)(3) non-profit. We operate out of Tucson, Arizona and are located in Northern Haiti, near Cap Haitian.
Second Mile Ministries exists to…
Meet An Immediate Need
Many families in Northern Haiti lack the resources to meet some of life’s most basic needs: food and water, shelter and security, and health care. In a place where hygiene and sanitation are luxuries rather than the norm, preventable and treatable illnesses become deadly. Many families in the Cap Haitien area are unable to take their children to the hospital when ill or to purchase medication. When families see no other chance of survival, sick and disabled children are often surrendered at orphanages or abandoned near hospitals. SMM will offer life-saving medication and treatment for infants and young children who require extended inpatient care for malnutrition and other related illnesses.
Why focus on young children?
According to Unicef only 1 in 4 Haitian infants reach the age of one and more children between the ages of 1 and 5 die in Haiti than in any other country.
Provide A Long-Term Answer
Surrendering a child to an orphanage is not a long term answer for families and causes heartache for both parent and child. SMM desires to use healthcare training to empower mothers to become leaders in their community and to share their knowledge with others. Through participation in a jewelry-making project our mothers will be able to generate for themselves the initial revenue needed to begin local commerce. Every mom hopes for the chance to feed her family, send her children to school, and to buy medicine when her children are sick. Every mom will leave Second Mile with the tools to make these dreams a reality.
Keep Families Together
SMM believes that a mother can be a child’s most important nurse. The presence of one’s mother provides an element of healing that is irreplaceable. It can take as many as three months for a child to fully recover from malnutrition and related illnesses. Instead of removing a child from his mother’s arms and the security and emotional connectedness found there, SMM will come alongside the mother. Both will be invited to live in the House of Hope when inpatient care is the only option. SMM desires to foster confidence in young and older mothers alike by teaching them about their child’s illness and what actions can be taken in the community to prevent recurrence and the spread of disease.
Build Strong Communities
SMM will invest in a staff of Haitian leaders that convey a sense of hope and responsibility to the women who leave Second Mile and to others who participate in Second Mile programs.
Create Hope For A Future
We desire to see mothers and fathers have the ability to send not just one or two but all of their children to school. We desire to see individuals experience less episodes of illness each year. We desire to see successful local businesses and all people living fully in the hope of Jesus Christ.
