Several years ago, I spent a week in the town of Hinche on Haiti's remote central plateau as part of a medical mission team sponsored by the Catholic Church of St. Monica in Duluth, Georgia. My job was to make a documentary film about the mission, but the things I saw and recorded with my camera affected me deeply. I had never witnessed poverty on such a level and was appalled and saddened not only by the living conditions of so many there, but also by the needless suffering from preventable and treatable diseases. At the same time, I was inspired by the spirit and culture the Haitian People. I knew I had to get more involved somehow. My first reaction was to regret dropping out as a premed student all those years ago to pursue a career in music. But when I heard the medical director of the mission, Dr. Jim Toth, talk about the lack of health education in Haiti and it's dire results, an idea began forming. My brother Michael, who had spent some years in Africa in the Peace Corps, mentioned how some volunteers had come up with a song about how to treat infantile diarrhea which was subsequently recorded by a popular singer and became a hit on the radio. At that point the idea really took shape and I realized that there was an opportunity to use my particular abilities to help. Michael and I contacted Partners in Health/Zanmi Lasante, the top American organization providing healthcare to the poor in Haiti, with our idea and it was very well received. Partners in Health has been an essential partner in the creation of the videos and much of the informational content has been determined by their experts. PIH has also provided invaluable logistical support for us in terms of transportation and lodging in Haiti. Our first video was on oral hygiene, followed by general hygiene and hand washing, high blood pressure, nutrition, cholera and Malnutrition. Upcoming topics include diabetes, HIV/AIDS and women's health. All completed videos fit on a single, easy-to -distribute DVD. Each video features an original song about the health topic. The videos are currently in use in the waiting areas of hospitals and clinics, plus schools, churches, and orphanages all across Haiti. Even the Haitian national television station in Port-au-Prince has also begun airing the videos daily. The songs have also been distributed on CDs and mp3s and are being played on many Haitian radio stations. Beginning in 2008, we began creating teams of young people in many parts of Haiti to put on health presentations at schools, churches and in public places. The recent devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince and subsequent cholera epidemic has caused us to shift gears and get involved directly in relief efforts. - Mark Coughlin

To learn more about the other participants in this project, click here.

To learn more about our Haitian Health Education Teams, click here.