On the busy construction grounds of the Maternal Center of Excellence (MCOE) in Koidu, Sierra Leone, a powerful story of global solidarity, collaboration, and shared purpose is unfolding. A highly skilled team of Build Health International‘s Haiti construction professionals, including Head Plumbing and HVAC Technician Barnabé Riche, Master Mason Kedlin Bernard, Medical Gas Installation Specialist Adrien Simeon, Plumbing & HVAC Technician Jean Dhonneur Volcy, and Carpenter Jean Alex Paul, has joined forces with BHI’s local Sierra Leonean workforce. 

Their addition creates a dynamic exchange of knowledge that embodies BHI’s mission to improve access to and build capacity for dignified, affordable, and high-quality healthcare infrastructure in resource-constrained settings around the world.

A Legacy of Learning and Leading

For BHI, this work is more than just a deployment of experts from one part of the world to another. It is the culmination of over a decade of experience, which began in Haiti with the construction of the Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais and established a deep level of expertise within our Haitian team. 

After the 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti, Partners In Health, led by Dr. Paul Farmer, decided to construct a hospital that would cater to the thousands of Haitians who needed affordable and dignified care. He was joined by partners and volunteers from across the world, including Jim Ansara, who later co-founded Build Health International, to lead on the construction project. 

Like many resource-constrained settings around the world, Haiti lacked expert foremen to support the work. At that point, Jim and others began training locals in masonry, carpentry, electrical work, and plumbing. 

By the time the hospital opened in March 2013, those individuals had become construction experts. They worked on many projects in Haiti before being absorbed into what is now Build Health International. 

From Mirebalais to Koidu

Those experts, trained in Haiti over ten years ago, are now teaching others in Sierra Leone. 

When BHI started building the Maternal Center of Excellence, that, as in Haiti, Sierra Leone faced similar challenges, especially with the availability of a skilled workforce in the remote district of Kono. Compared to their time in Haiti, BHI was better prepared with teams previously trained in Haiti, who could support the work.

For the Haitian team, this mission presents an opportunity to mentor, lead, and further their own professional growth on an international stage.

Kedler Bernard, a master mason with 14 years of experience with BHI, echoes this sentiment. “One of the biggest accomplishments in my life is what BHI has made possible for me today—being here in Africa. BHI has truly become part of my life. If it weren’t for BHI, I don’t think I would have ever known this place or had this kind of opportunity. It means a lot to me.”

He has been instrumental in advancing the MCOE’s birthing center, focusing on the outpatient department roof pour, curtain track installations, and ceiling track and tile installations. 

“BHI is like a school for me,” says Jean Alex Paul, a carpenter who started working with BHI in 2012 and played a key role in finishing MCOE before the ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 25th. He continues: “We help each other. The team is very advanced, and I’m learning too; it goes both ways. This is a really strong and valuable experience for me.”

This cross-continental collaboration is a powerful testament to the professionalism of our teams. As Adrien Simeon put it, 

“Haiti is going through a deep crisis…some of us choose a different path. We choose to build our lives, to grow, to become professionals. We don’t dwell on the negative; we focus on the positive.”

He, too, has been very busy recently, completing the complex medical gas installation, including the autoclave piping, and is also preparing to pipe the diesel tank to the generator. 

Jean Donel Volcy shares his view, seeing BHI as a place of continual learning. “It’s a great source of pride for me because I’ve been with BHI since 2016, and my knowledge continues to grow,” Volcy notes.

Building More Than Health Facilities

The presence of our Haitian colleagues in Sierra Leone is a living example of cooperation between people from different continents who share stories, common experiences, and realities. It demonstrates a sustainable, respectful model for development—one built on partnership. By sharing the expertise gained from Haiti, we are not just accelerating construction; we are building a lasting legacy of skill and strengthening the foundation for global health equity for years to come. To learn more about BHI’s work in Africa and around the world, check out our website and read more at buildhealthinternational.org