Thanks to a grant we received through the Ann Arbor Rotary Club, 2025 became a year of deeper care, wider reach, and lasting recoveries at our malnutrition center in Haiti.  {Ed. comment: This was a grant of $5,000 sponsored by the IHPC supplemented by a District Grant of $2,133.}

We saw a record number of children through our follow-up program. So many, in fact, that we had to complete a small renovation just to make more room that allowed us to welcome more families as we host our follow-up clinic days.

On follow-up days, a hot meal is served to every single person who came for an appointment. They’re served a plate of nourishing food and a small glass of milk. For the most vulnerable children, we’re also able to provide Plumpy Doz vitamamba packets — a life-saving nutritional supplement. About half of the children in our program receive this extra support to prevent them from slipping back into malnutrition. Thanks to the grant, we served 2,000+ meals and provided 5,000+ vitamamba packets. We were also able to distribute 15,000+ manna packs (nutrient-dense meals designed to fight malnutrition donated by partner organizations) for families to take home with them after their appointments.

Additionally, roughly 50% of the children we see in follow-up require antibiotics for infections. The grant allowed us to purchase these much needed antibiotics and administer 700+ rounds of healing medication.

The grant also provided food and hygiene kits filled with essentials to help them transition safely back home when the child graduated from the inpatient program. In 2025, 83 families went home with these vital kits in hand.

Lastly, funds from the grant covered the cost of transportation home after discharge. The grant also provided funding for phone and internet connections that allow our team to coordinate care, follow up with families, and stay connected with community advocates.

These may seem like small details—but they are the difference between short-term recovery and lasting change.
A specific family we wanted to highlight is the GUILLOME twins. They were admitted in July 2025 for severe kwashiorkor malnutrition. Upon admission, they were 4-months-old and weighed 8 lbs, 4 oz and 7 lbs, 11 oz.

They were inpatients for 48 days, and in that time, they gained over 9 collective pounds! After their inpatient graduation, they were transferred to the formula program as mom was unable to breastfeed.

Before coming to Middle Ground, the family had fled from their home due to gangs attacking their village. The twins’ young mother, Pivoina, lost her husband and several close family members during the attacks. She fled to a shelter, but was unable to access proper nutrition and basic hygiene, causing the twins and mom to become malnourished. The continued support of the follow-up program allowed the family to receive food kits, medications, formula, and a water filter. It was with great joy to see the twins graduate from the formula program last month (March 2026). They now weigh 18 lbs, 14 oz and 15 lbs, 14 oz!

There are so many more families like the GUILLOME family in our programs. The Rotary Club grant provided us with resources that were a life-line to vulnerable, displaced families. We are grateful for the recoveries made while inpatient, but we are even more grateful that those recoveries remain to be lasting due to the effort and resources provided in our follow-up programs.

Click here to see our formal report

Kayla Raymond
co-Executive Director
Middle Ground