Quints complete missions trip to Haiti

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COMPLETE MISSIONS TRIP — Tracy Quint, center, and her children, Clayton and Sarah completed a seven-day missions trip to Caracol, Haiti in November.
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    CARACOL, Haiti — Helping those in need is something that seems to come naturally for Hodgdon’s Tracy Quint.
    A nurse by profession, Quint, along with her children Sarah, 11, and Clayton, 13, spent seven days in Caracol, Haiti, providing medical attention to needy kids back in November, 2011. In Haiti, she had her children assist with the physicals, measuring heights and weights of school children.
    During their seven-day trip, the Quints spent four of those days examining and administering aid to 358 children. They originally thought they would have five days to do the exams, but because of a national holiday, their work was compressed into four days.
    “One of the main things was to get charts and paperwork for each child, because they had nothing,” Quint said.
    Some of the more common ailments they found were intestinal parasites and ringworm. Communication was tricky at first, but thanks to the help of a translator, the Quints were able to talk with each child and assess their needs.
    “The overall health was rather poor due to malnutrition in that area,” she said. “We had a lot of children complaining of constant stomach ache, but that was really due to the lack of food, as opposed to an actual illness.”
    It was the first time flying to a foreign country for Quint’s children. The experience was a bit intimidating at first, but the two children quickly settled into a comfortable role helping their mother.
Contributed photo
HELPING HAND — Tracy Quint, left, goes over an evaluation with a boy from Haiti during her missions trip.
    “They really did such a great job there,” Tracy said.
    The Quints drove from Maine to Miami, where they boarded a plane to Haiti. It was not the first time she has gone on a missionary trip. She has also done five medical missions over the past 20 years including trips to Bolivia, Ecuador, Jamaica, Panama and Venezuela.
    Quint home-schools Sarah and Clayton and felt the missions trip would be an excellent opportunity for them to learn of other cultures first hand.
    “One of my main concerns was how my children would fare, but they did remarkably well,” she said. “My husband, Clayton, was also very supportive. He simply said, ‘When are you leaving and what can I do to help?’”
    Quint said she learned of the need for medical attention for kids in Haiti through friends at Military Street Baptist Church. MSBC works with the Strong Tower Orphanage to help those in need in Haiti and Tracy is now a board member for the orphanage.
    The Strong Tower Orphanage, which is headquartered in Sedalia, Mo., partners with MSBC, as well as several other churches around the country and the local church in Caracol to “provide quality care in a culturally relevant facility, and moving the project toward sustainability,” according to its website.
    Its goal is to build four family-style duplex homes, each housing 16-20 children with two sets of house parents. The first home is slated for construction this spring.
    For more information, visit www.strongtowerorphanage .com.