Story

A Steady Hand for Haiti: Living in Rural Communities

Community health worker Tamarra Joseph leaves the yard of one of the families she visits in the village of Lot Bo Ladig. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

Workers from the village of Lot Bo Ladig move freshly dumped gravel, provided by Community Health Initiative, to make a road along a deeply rutted path. CHI made plans to build a road wide enough to bring heavy trucks to the region. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

Community Health Initiative plans to dig a well and bring clean drinking water to the village which is vital to good health. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

Clouds create a dramatic view from the Mission Matana clinic site at the end of the day. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

Interpreter Santho Cherley walks to the village of Lot Bo Ladig. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

Community health worker tamarra Joseph stands between latrines in the village of Lot Bo Ladig. When the current latrine is full, the building can be easily moved to the next base. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

Community health worker Tamarra Joseph visits the family of Mackely Alexandre, right, who reports that everyone is healthy and feeling fine in his house. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

A malnourished child named Jieline was brought to the clinic last winter and weighed only 15 pounds. She is doing better today after finding a new home. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

Dieulifet Oscar shows a bleak reaction while being told she has very high blood pressure by community health worker Tamarra Joseph. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

A young girl waits for her family in her pirate dress, likely a donated piece of clothing from another country. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

Yve John Gabin was born to Community Health Initiative employee John Gabin, 28 and his girlfriend Guerda Pierre, 32, who rushed to Mission Matana on the day that the visiting medical team was setting up its clinic. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

Shari Peters meets up with residents on the mountain road between the Fondal clinic and the group's base clinic at Mission Matana. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

Selyta Ulysse stayed home in her village of Lot Bo Ladig to help watch the children of other families that went to the Community Health Initiative clinic. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

A man covered in brush peers out to avoid traffic along a trail in the village of Lot Bo Ladig. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

A young girl sits outside the family front door in the village of Lot Bo Ladig. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

Ulna Desrosiers, 49, describes an eye problem to community health worker Tamarra Joseph when she pays her a home visit in the village of Lot Bo Ladig. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

Eggplant seedlings are started in the village of Lot Bo Ladig and will soon be moved to a field to mature. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

Solange Desrosiers checks her lamb stew while cutting onions. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

Brigitte Stephens of North Liberty shares photos with children at the Fondal clinic. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

Plantains are a major commodity in Haiti. This tree sits just outside of Arcahaie. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

In this view of Haiti from the air it is easy to see how much of the vegetation has been cut down to make charcoal. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

A woman selling kitchen supplies walks along a busy bridge near Port-au-Prince. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

A neighborhood dog befriends Brigitte Stephens of North Liberty as clinic workers relax at the end of the day. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

A man carries water along the road near the Fondal clinic. Image by Mary Chind. Haiti, 2013.

An Iowa-based medical team has been traveling to rural Haiti for years, assisting residents with health crises while searching for long-term ways to help the people improve their own situations.Take a look at Des Moines Register photojournalist Mary Chind's images for a glimpse of life in rural Haiti.