Ridge Mills Nurse Joins Haitian Relief Efforts

(Rome, NY) Ridge Mills school nurse Carolyn Wise is taking a four-week unpaid leave of absence to help with Haitian relief efforts following a devastating earthquake in January.

Wise plans to spend about four weeks in Cap-Haïtien, Haiti’s second-largest city. Wise’s sister-in-law is a teacher there and runs a 65-child orphanage, which is in a compound that includes a medical clinic. Wise said another sister-in-law, who is a nurse in Pennsylvania, will travel with her – they plan to drive to Florida later this month and take a missionary flight to Haiti from there.

“My pastor mentioned the idea to me, about the need for medical help in Haiti and as I thought about it and prayed about it, I realized this is something I really want to do,” she said.

Although the earthquake hit Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, Wise said about 150,000 refugees from that city are now in Cap-Haitien waiting for food and medical treatment. In addition to providing her medical services, Wise said she hopes to collect 1,000 pounds of medical supplies and food to take along and distribute.

Wise said her church, Friendship Baptist Church in Rome, will accept donations on her behalf for Haitian relief efforts. Tax-deductible donations can be sent to the church at 4964 Rome-New London Road, Rome, NY 13440 with “Haitian relief” in the memo line. Medical supplies and food can also be donated.

In addition, the Rome Teachers Association is conducting a fundraising effort to help offset Wise’s cost of travel, living expenses and shipping costs, President Gene Terenzetti said. He said he has also notified teacher’s unions in schools throughout Oneida and Herkimer counties in order to attract as many contributions as possible. Donations for Wise’s personal expenses can also be donated directly to Wise.

Ridge Mills Nurse Joins Haitian Relief Efforts

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