While at university, Surbiton's Carwyn Hill set up The Haiti Hospital Appeal in response to the country's overwhelming infant mortality rate. The country was then rocked by the catastrophic earthquake of 2010. Five years on, there's still much to be done supporting Haiti's most vulnerable
Surrey's Carwyn Hill has made providing essential medical care to impoverished and displaced Haitians a personal mission. His charity, The Haiti Hospital Appeal opened its first health care centre in the country in 2007, and since then Carwyn has worked between Haiti and the charity's headquarters near Croydon, to enable essential medical care to reach the neediest of patients. It was a lifeline that was to be pushed to its limit in the wake of the 2010 earthquake disaster and the subsequent cholera outbreak.
Since that time, the sheer poverty of the country has meant recovery has been slow, but the charity has been determined to do what it can, providing aid to those most vulnerable. It even won over the support of Downton Abbey actress Laura Carmichael (who plays Lady Edith), who visited the charity's centres in 2013.
Last December, the charity's maternity ward dealt with 65 natural deliveries and 35 caesarian sections, providing vital support to help lower Haiti's infant mortality rate from its unenviable standing as the highest in the world.
Marking the five year anniversary, the charity held a British-based remembrance service on January 11,the day that the disaster took place five years ago. It's a difficult task to keep such problems in the public eye, but vital if the charity's work is to continue.
The Haiti Hospital Appeal website has more information, including details of how you can help.
They also have a Youtube channel with videos detailing their activities and achievements.
