Building Fences,Building Unity

 Over the past months, we have been working to build a fence around the clinic property. After a lot of hard work, the clinic, school, and schoolyard are fully enclosed, and divided into separate areas with connecting gates. Although this update has come with its share of challenges such as the logistics of locking and unlocking gates, or establishing and communicating protocol, the positive benefits have been amazing!
           Fencing our property means so many things for our clinic and the school. It means no trash being dumped in the yard where children play, or near the Clinic’s porch waiting area. It means a secure location for our school kids to play and learn, since anyone entering has to be admitted by someone with a key. It means a trash bin will remain on Clinic’s porch instead of “wandering off”, and after-hours visitors won’t use the porch as their weed-smoking hangout.
            These things are great, but even greater is what this fence means to our community. In Haitian culture, a fence shows you care about your property. As you walk through Jubilee, you will see that nearly every yard is fenced in some way. Many of these fences are made out of sticks or woven palm leaves- they would not be very effective against intruders. But that’s not the point. These fences say to others in the community, “This area is mine, and I take pride in it.” It shows self-respect and respect for one’s property. 
            When we began putting up the fence, community members began talking. We heard comments like, “It’s about time!” Someone else said, “[The Klinik] is more serious now.” Because there is more control of who can or cannot enter the Klink property, patients feel more secure and important. They know that their needs are the focus of this place. The community sees that we respect ourselves, our property, and our patients. Klinik Jubilee is a source of pride for this community, and with every step we take to show that we are serious about providing quality healthcare, this community comes one step closer together… uniting over a fence that shows we care.
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-Abigail Rucker, Administrative Director

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