Haiti: Running Child-AIDS Nonprofit a Challenge

Nuella Beneche and her brother, Hugues Joseph, started the Benjo Foundation to help children afflicted with or orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Haiti and Belle Glade, Fla. The fledgling Boca Raton-based nonprofit has formed partnerships with Haitian doctors to treat poor children in Port-Au-Prince at a discount.

Every other weekend, Dr. Jean Joseph Regis and his partner Dr. Lyonel Allen set up a makeshift clinic in a neighborhood school in Port-au-Prince and offer treatment and prescription drugs for approximately 50 cents. Normally, a doctor visit costs about $12, said Regis. Although the Benjo Foundation is currently about $4,000 in the red, Beneche hopes that as people become aware of its mission, support will grow. "This is just the start, you know," said the part-time nurse. "I really want to get a clinic set up."

Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, has more than 250,000 people -- 11,800 of them children -- infected with HIV. According to the Haitian Embassy in Washington, Haiti's population is slightly more than 7 million. Regis said he saw a lot of children with AIDS as well as other infections such as pneumonia, gastroenteritis, diarrhea, TB, upper respiratory problems and malnutrition.

"The need is very great," Beneche said. "There are other organizations to help children, but the misery in Haiti is so awful there still isn't enough."

Back to other news for August 14, 2003