We recently connected with Jim Grant and have shared our conversation below.

Jim, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you get your first job in the field that you practice in today?

I had resolved to leave my 20+ year IT career position, as I was disillusioned with the lack of anything truly meaningful or personally rewarding about our work or why we did it. I had met the founder of Maison de Naissance, the maternal and infant health center in rural Haiti which I work for now, at a presentation he gave about its inception. Two years later I met him again, and after asking him several questions about how it operated, he suggested I travel to Haiti and see it for myself. In July 2008, I did just that. I traveled to Torbeck, Haiti on my own, and spent two weeks helping however I could around the facility, doing building maintenance, working on their laptops, and assisting with repairs to their one vehicle, an old and worn out Geo Tracker.

The night before I was to fly home, it was extremely hot. There was no A/C anywhere, and the power was out so I did not have a fan, and the water was out since it required a pump to pull it from the well. It was impossible to sleep in the 100 degree heat and humidity, and I found myself wondering how I would convince the foundation which operated the birth center to give me a job. By the time I got home, I had written a trip report and a proposal for the foundation to hire me as their logistics director. After some negotiation I signed on as a contractor, and 2 1/2 years later, I became the Executive Director, a job I still hold today, and I have no plans to retire in the near future. It’s the most satisfying and rewarding job I’ve ever had, and after 70+ trips to Haiti, I have as many friends there as I do in the USA.

Jim, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Maison de Naissance provides pre- and post-natal care, deliveries, family planning, STD testing & treatment, reproductive health care, well baby care, HPV screening and treatment (cervical cancer prevention), and community health outreach. We provide transportation as needed for urgent cases, including those referred by traditional birth attendants who have been trained to recognize life-threatening complications for either the mother or her baby.

We have a water purification plant onsite, and distribute free purified water to all who request it. We manage relief operations for the local patient communities following disasters, and during the very difficult economic times currently affecting all of Haiti we provide monthly food distributions to those most in need.

Maison de Naissance was founded on the basis of community surveys which informed the decisions of what services were needed and wanted. The in-country staff is 100% Haitian to ensure all services are culturally appropriate, and patients are treated with respect.

There have been zero maternal mortalities with over 8,000 healthy deliveries, and care has continued non-stop, 24×7 since the day Maison de Naissance opened in October 2004. Our incredibly dedicated staff have never been deterred by disaster or civil unrest, because they know their patients have nowhere else to go for comprehensive, professional and respectful care.

Our biggest program by far is family planning, which allows women in a strictly patriarchal society to control the frequency and number of their pregnancies. This empowering choice gives them time to better care for their children, to contribute to the household income for food, medical care and education, and stop having children altogether if they so desire.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew hit SW Haiti as a category 4/boderline 5 storm. The eye went right over the Maison de Naissance campus, and it took nearly 24 hours for the slow moving storm to pass. Once cell service was restored, I spent time talking to the staff members in Haiti who I could reach, asking how they were doing, and how the center’s campus had fared. The main building was relatively unscathed, but most of the big palms and other trees on the campus had blown down, two of them on top of the generator building. All of the tin roofs of a half dozen structure had been blown away, the security wall was heavily damaged by fallen trees, and the front gate had been blown down. I asked the facilities manager about access to a chain saw, and he said there were none in the region he was aware of. Three days later I arrived on site chain saw in hand, with a solar power technician and a board member who is a pediatrician, to survey the damage. It was nearly impossible to get around on the campus with so many big trees down. I spent my time clearing the downed trees with the chainsaw, while the solar technician addressed damage to our power system, and the pediatrician helped with clinical services and a community assessment. By the time we left a week later, power was restored (Maison de Naissance is off the grid) and the center was up and running again. I went back for 10 days every month over the next year to ensure everything had been addressed, and to help prepare for future disasters.

Any advice for managing a team?

Always be ready to listen to your employees. Value their input, especially when you are working in a foreign country. Never assume your way of doings things is better, until you understand why things are done a certain way. Always treat your staff with respect. If you disagree with someone, or with how they are doing something, explain why you disagree, and again, listen to what they say. Be firm once a decision has been made, but not inflexible, remain open minded. Involve staff in problem solving, and encourage input. Take care to understand their position on matters when you don’t agree with them. Reward hard work and loyalty, but be careful to avoid showing favoritism. Empathize with staff when things don’t go well, and provide encouragement when they are struggling with an issue. Bring everyone together from time to time as a team, if possible, just to socialize and relax a bit. Celebrate accomplishments, and learn from mistakes, both your own and those of others.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.globalbirthinghomefoundation.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gbhf_haiti/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Global-Birthing-Home-Foundation-152227274851194/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/global-birthing-home-foundation/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/mnhaiti
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MNHaiti?feature=mhee

Image Credits
Kolette Bury