Today was one of my favorite days here. We made our way back to Port Au Prince for the flight tomorrow.
We
all wound down from the hard work the past couple of days by sitting by
the pool and relaxing. Then ordered pizza; which was surprisingly good
:) A lot like the pizza in the US.
After lunch we went
back to the orphanage. It was a little different of a dynamic at the
orphanage this time. Right off the bat the kids and Elysee (the man who
has been traveling with us) engaged the children in singing a variety of
songs. The afternoon was spent playing different group activities with
the kids, one of them consisting of musical chairs and another of hot
potato. While we were there, the kids had one of their meals for the
day. It was encouraging to see the amount of food they were getting
served. For lunch and dinner the children all wait until everyone is
served with their food then say a prayer together. I have been so
blessed to be part of their life here and to see what is to come for
them.
There are no good words to describe the experience
at the orphanage. I could only hope that whoever gets the opportunity to
do something like this would jump on it in a heart beat. It was so
difficult to leave the kids today but was very encouraging to know what
is in their future. I only wish that I had the privilege to be here when
the kids move to the new orphanage. They are so happy and joy filled as
it is that I know it would be a touching experience to see them playing
in the yard and the smiles on their faces.
One of the
things I have taken from this trip that I was not anticipating was the
amount of faith the Haitians have. Everywhere you drive around town
there are phrases like "Thank you Jesus" and Elysee, the children, and
many of the Haitians all share the same love for God. One day on the
work site a man from Spencer, we had been working with, went up to one
of the Haitian workers and said "you are the best Jerry!" and the man
immediately responded by saying "No God is the best." This wasn't the
first time that someone had responded in that way. They give recognition
to God for everything which in some sense surprised me because of the
environment they are living in. Everyone is so hope filled and joyous,
it truly is contagious.
I only wish that you all could
experience a fraction of what I have here. I know being back in the US
will be difficult just because of the many differences we have in
cultures but I am excited to get back and share my photos and videos
with you all.
BVU Beavers!
Friday, March 29, 2013
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Things Are Progressing!!!
Greetings to all from lovely Jacmel. This was the second day of fence construction at the new orphanage site and a lot of progress is taking place. The BVU Spring Break AWOL group is pushing the Spencer old guys group pretty hard, but I must say they are all keeping right up with the younger crowd. I think everyone who has not dug post holes by hand has truly developed an appreciation for those who have. It is hot, humid and hard work yet everyone has kept very good spirits and seems to truly be enjoying themselves. Yesterday while working, about 3 neighbor children came to watch and interact, but today there were probably 25- I think the sharing of lunch had some impact, but also just the sharing of games and laughter certainly was the main draw. The Spencer group of Dennis Philips, Tom C Howe, Ronnie Hamrick and Todd Brockshus have done a ton of work and after tomorrow we will be taking the day to go to the Family beach, to visit Hope for Children (the new orphanage being built by our contractor/architect, Dave Bird), St Michelle Hospital and CCH where I have been working and downtown Jacmel. It is a holiday here, so no work!. This will give everyone a chance to see what LaConcorde will look like very soon. The work that he and his haitian crews are accomplishing is truly amazing!! Before I forget, because Dennis did until I reminded him this am, Happy anniversary to Dianne Phillips!! Don't worry Dianne, Denny only shared the card you sent with a few of us :-). The BVU group will be heading back to PAP one day earlier to catch their flight and will see some sites arranged for them in PAP.
To give a brief overview, I think I can say that for all in our group, the highlight of PAP was visiting the children at the current LaConcorde site. It gives everyone a very keen insight into the drastic change moving to Jacmel will make in the life of these wonderful kids. We then loaded up into 2 very full vans for the trip over the mountains to Jacmel. The good part was no one got sick and the bad part was the gait of the Spencer group was certainly impaired for a while. We arrived at the Isaiah House where we were warmly greeted and then off for a quick tour of the market, downtown Jacmel, the landsite, etc. Since then it has mostly been work and fellowship among one another. To all of you at home, be proud of your loved ones, they are truly special people! They have also developed a new love of walking from one place to another!
I also am fortunate enough to have with me Christina Olsen, a 4th year med student who rotated with me on ortho her 3d year. Yesterday we worked in the Community Coalition for Haiti clinic/OR getting ready for surgery today. Dr Mukkuaka Oda, an orthopedic surgeon I have been working with here in Haiti, had gathered a group of patients for me to consider surgery on. There were many interesting cases for us to review and schedule for surgery. CCH has a brand new set of OR's that was used about 3 weeks ago by a volunteer group for 2-3 days, but otherwise is really brand new. We inventoried the equipment available with Laura Schick, the nurse director for CCH, and scheduled surgery for today which went very well. Dr Oda arranged for anesthesia from PAP for us and things actually went very well with another day of surgery scheduled for tomorrow. Christina was a huge help being my assistant and scrub tech for all of this and did a great job! (Only if she would have decided on Ortho instead of Family Practice!).
I have been able to meet with and spend a lot of time with Dave Bird who has been arranging our fencing and has bid for the entire job for us. He and his wife are wonderful people and great host/hostess. Last night I went to their home for dinner and was able to sit down with Dave to make some final plans for the project. With the blessing of our very understanding LTR Board of Directors , we were able to arrange the site and dimensions of the buildings and discuss cost estimates, etc. It was decided that we would be moving a number of the buildings and due to the elevation of the property, adjust the size of the buildings. All in all we will be building 2- 20 X 60 dorms, a 28 X 64 kitchen, eating area, common room, pharmacy(required by the government), a 28 X 64 home for the Bastien family,and a Sukup storage building. This will all get started as soon as board approval with an expected finish date of late July. The fence will be up by the end of next week. The next phase of the other 2 dorms, the school and the med/dental clinic will start as soon as funding is available. The spot gets more beautiful each time I see it.
As the week reaches its midpoint, I find myself marveling at all the success we have ALL been able to reach in such a short time. Through the continued efforts of all of us, the generous donations of MANY, this will truly in the near future be reaching completion and we will be able to see all the work paying off. Thanks to all of you and God Bless!!
Rick
To give a brief overview, I think I can say that for all in our group, the highlight of PAP was visiting the children at the current LaConcorde site. It gives everyone a very keen insight into the drastic change moving to Jacmel will make in the life of these wonderful kids. We then loaded up into 2 very full vans for the trip over the mountains to Jacmel. The good part was no one got sick and the bad part was the gait of the Spencer group was certainly impaired for a while. We arrived at the Isaiah House where we were warmly greeted and then off for a quick tour of the market, downtown Jacmel, the landsite, etc. Since then it has mostly been work and fellowship among one another. To all of you at home, be proud of your loved ones, they are truly special people! They have also developed a new love of walking from one place to another!
I also am fortunate enough to have with me Christina Olsen, a 4th year med student who rotated with me on ortho her 3d year. Yesterday we worked in the Community Coalition for Haiti clinic/OR getting ready for surgery today. Dr Mukkuaka Oda, an orthopedic surgeon I have been working with here in Haiti, had gathered a group of patients for me to consider surgery on. There were many interesting cases for us to review and schedule for surgery. CCH has a brand new set of OR's that was used about 3 weeks ago by a volunteer group for 2-3 days, but otherwise is really brand new. We inventoried the equipment available with Laura Schick, the nurse director for CCH, and scheduled surgery for today which went very well. Dr Oda arranged for anesthesia from PAP for us and things actually went very well with another day of surgery scheduled for tomorrow. Christina was a huge help being my assistant and scrub tech for all of this and did a great job! (Only if she would have decided on Ortho instead of Family Practice!).
I have been able to meet with and spend a lot of time with Dave Bird who has been arranging our fencing and has bid for the entire job for us. He and his wife are wonderful people and great host/hostess. Last night I went to their home for dinner and was able to sit down with Dave to make some final plans for the project. With the blessing of our very understanding LTR Board of Directors , we were able to arrange the site and dimensions of the buildings and discuss cost estimates, etc. It was decided that we would be moving a number of the buildings and due to the elevation of the property, adjust the size of the buildings. All in all we will be building 2- 20 X 60 dorms, a 28 X 64 kitchen, eating area, common room, pharmacy(required by the government), a 28 X 64 home for the Bastien family,and a Sukup storage building. This will all get started as soon as board approval with an expected finish date of late July. The fence will be up by the end of next week. The next phase of the other 2 dorms, the school and the med/dental clinic will start as soon as funding is available. The spot gets more beautiful each time I see it.
As the week reaches its midpoint, I find myself marveling at all the success we have ALL been able to reach in such a short time. Through the continued efforts of all of us, the generous donations of MANY, this will truly in the near future be reaching completion and we will be able to see all the work paying off. Thanks to all of you and God Bless!!
Rick
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
DSN back in Denver
Home!
We are currently on our way back to Denver. The last two days have been very busy so we weren't able to blog last night. Yesterday was spent at the nursing school Institut de Jeunes Filles. We made it there at about 10am after our van overheated and we broke down on the side of the road ( just a little water did the trick). All of us were so overwhelmed and amazed at how much the administration and students loved having us there. This visit was very significant because on April 4th of this year a student and two administrators from this school in Port-au-Prince are visiting Denver to hopefully build a connection where our schools can eventually be affiliated with each other. The visit went very well and we had the opportunity to ask the students questions as well as them asking us questions (of course through a wonderful interpreter!) We also stopped at the Haitian history museum on the way back to the hotel and we all enjoyed it vey much and thought it was very educational. The rest of the day was spent packing and preparing to leave Haiti.
We would like to say from all of us that we couldn't have had a more educational, eye-opening and wonderful experience. Our group was so very fortunate to have Barb Wilkerson lead us through our journey in Haiti. She is inspiring, enthusiastic, passionate and a genuinely nice person. All six of us feel like this trip has changed our lives and will help us in our future career in nursing.
Thank you so much Love Takes Root! This trip will be with us for the rest of our lives!
Amy, Michael, Stephanie, Erin, Kim, Dianna
So much to see!
Hey!
So far I have met so many different Haitians here. They are all so wonderful and very generous.
Yesterday we spent majority of the day walking around Jacmel. We walked through the market, had lunch, and walked by the site for the new orphanage. The kids are going to love all the room they will have to play in the yard and explore. I am very excited for them.
It is interesting how the people get around and go about their days. There are taxi's here called "tap taps", they are pretty cool!The name comes from tapping on the top of the truck to let the driver know when it is time to stop so they can get off. We spent the day traveling around in a tap tap to different places around Jacmel. Whenever we eat somewhere, each restaurant takes about 2 hours to get our food which is very different than what we are used to in the US. It definitely represents the different mindset between cultures as well as the supplies available to make a meal.
I feel this trip has already impacted me greatly. I've learned so much about their culture. The orphanage isn't what we think of an orphanage in the US. Many of the children in this orphanage know who their parents are, they are there because their parents haven't been able to give them a very good life. They are unable to provide food for them and therefore would be better off at the orphanage. The orphanage limits how often they are able to see the kids and some parents do come once a month. There is only one little girl who they don't know her history or her story. She was dropped off one day and the father said he was going to get food but never came back. It is heart wrenching to see the conditions they are living in but have so much joy to share with us, it is definitely a self-examining experience.
The more I am in Haiti, the more I am able to look at the United States in a little bit of a different light. I've examined the way I live and the dynamics of our culture. There is so much I complain about. The car I drive, the administration at BVU, my cell phone running slow. If I am complaining about the roosters crowing in the morning at 5:30 AM here, I really need to take a couple steps back and re-examine myself. I feel selfish in a lot of the ways I live my life in the US and the people here have so much less, physically, but they have so much happiness! For the most part, everyone is so so friendly. For example, we were walking down the street yesterday and there was a man that knew who Dr. Wilkerson was and came over to say hello. After greeting Dr, he worked his way down the line and gave each of us hugs and said "God Bless You."
This city is huge and has so many people in it and there have been multiple times we will be traveling down the road and our interpreter will pick someone out in the crowd they know. Even if they do not know who people are, they have conversations like they know each other. On our way through the mountains yesterday our driver slowed down (didn't stop), stuck his hand out the window to an approaching car. In the middle of driving, and the middle of the road, he gave the man a prepackaged water packet and took a key. It was pretty comical and a representation of how everyone pretty much knows each other.
Last night was very cool because there were a group of kids playing soccer outside our hotel. They played for a good three hours and it was definitely entertaining to watch! Hopefully they will be there again tonight and we can go out and kick the ball around.
Today, we spent time at a nearby hospital. Our interpreter was able to take us inside the hospital where the patients were staying. Even in the hospital they stared at us and we exchanged friendly Bonjour "good morning" blessings. It was the most uncomfortable situation I have been in so far. In the US we are so used to privacy and HIPPA violations, but there we saw many patients laying there being treated. I felt as if we were intruding and it wasn't appropriate but the Haitians didn't seem to think anything of it, other than we were "blondes" (what they call white people). I can't even explain what the Hospital was like but it definitely tugged at my heart and was very hard for me to see. We walked into the maternity ward and saw the delivery room which was very different as well. There was one small room with three beds, a waiting room of six beds where the mothers wait before they are ready to deliver, and one other room where they stay after the birth.
As we were leaving the hospital today we were walking around outside and heard Justin Beiber "baby" being played. We all started laughing and tried to figure out where it was coming from. It was an older man's cell phone ring tone! Ha :) Every once in a while we will hear a lot of American songs being played and it's really fun.
After the first hospital, we took a tap tap to the next hospital where Dr. Wilkerson was seeing a patient. We had the opportunity to sit in on the appointment. There were 6 of us from our group there and probably 4 other people in the room as well. There really aren't any rules when it comes to their health care system. There was a little boy who was getting his full length leg casts off and did not like it one bit. He was extremely scared of the saw. Nothing that was said could calm him down. It was difficult to communicate with him to ease his fears but later calmed down after reapply the cast. He was 6 years old and had cleft feet that were surgically repaired and had wounds underneath the cast that needed to be cleaned before an infection spread.
After the appointment, we took a trip down the hall to the physical therapy clinic. It was actually very similar to what is in the US because the people volunteering there are from schools in the US, they are natives of Haiti who have studied PTA in the US and have moved back to Haiti to help the people. They said they are very very busy and see many people each day. The man I was talking with actually invited me to stay and help him and his staff. Our site leaders said that we have that option on Thursday to go and help at the physical therapy clinic. I would absolutely LOVE that! We will see if a couple of us are able to go help. When I was talking to him today, he said that his vision is to go back to his home town and develop another clinic because the one we saw today was the only one in this entire area. Physical therapy here is free for everyone and majority of the time they seek stroke patients and motorcycle accident patients.
~BVU Student
So far I have met so many different Haitians here. They are all so wonderful and very generous.
Yesterday we spent majority of the day walking around Jacmel. We walked through the market, had lunch, and walked by the site for the new orphanage. The kids are going to love all the room they will have to play in the yard and explore. I am very excited for them.
It is interesting how the people get around and go about their days. There are taxi's here called "tap taps", they are pretty cool!The name comes from tapping on the top of the truck to let the driver know when it is time to stop so they can get off. We spent the day traveling around in a tap tap to different places around Jacmel. Whenever we eat somewhere, each restaurant takes about 2 hours to get our food which is very different than what we are used to in the US. It definitely represents the different mindset between cultures as well as the supplies available to make a meal.
I feel this trip has already impacted me greatly. I've learned so much about their culture. The orphanage isn't what we think of an orphanage in the US. Many of the children in this orphanage know who their parents are, they are there because their parents haven't been able to give them a very good life. They are unable to provide food for them and therefore would be better off at the orphanage. The orphanage limits how often they are able to see the kids and some parents do come once a month. There is only one little girl who they don't know her history or her story. She was dropped off one day and the father said he was going to get food but never came back. It is heart wrenching to see the conditions they are living in but have so much joy to share with us, it is definitely a self-examining experience.
The more I am in Haiti, the more I am able to look at the United States in a little bit of a different light. I've examined the way I live and the dynamics of our culture. There is so much I complain about. The car I drive, the administration at BVU, my cell phone running slow. If I am complaining about the roosters crowing in the morning at 5:30 AM here, I really need to take a couple steps back and re-examine myself. I feel selfish in a lot of the ways I live my life in the US and the people here have so much less, physically, but they have so much happiness! For the most part, everyone is so so friendly. For example, we were walking down the street yesterday and there was a man that knew who Dr. Wilkerson was and came over to say hello. After greeting Dr, he worked his way down the line and gave each of us hugs and said "God Bless You."
This city is huge and has so many people in it and there have been multiple times we will be traveling down the road and our interpreter will pick someone out in the crowd they know. Even if they do not know who people are, they have conversations like they know each other. On our way through the mountains yesterday our driver slowed down (didn't stop), stuck his hand out the window to an approaching car. In the middle of driving, and the middle of the road, he gave the man a prepackaged water packet and took a key. It was pretty comical and a representation of how everyone pretty much knows each other.
Last night was very cool because there were a group of kids playing soccer outside our hotel. They played for a good three hours and it was definitely entertaining to watch! Hopefully they will be there again tonight and we can go out and kick the ball around.
Today, we spent time at a nearby hospital. Our interpreter was able to take us inside the hospital where the patients were staying. Even in the hospital they stared at us and we exchanged friendly Bonjour "good morning" blessings. It was the most uncomfortable situation I have been in so far. In the US we are so used to privacy and HIPPA violations, but there we saw many patients laying there being treated. I felt as if we were intruding and it wasn't appropriate but the Haitians didn't seem to think anything of it, other than we were "blondes" (what they call white people). I can't even explain what the Hospital was like but it definitely tugged at my heart and was very hard for me to see. We walked into the maternity ward and saw the delivery room which was very different as well. There was one small room with three beds, a waiting room of six beds where the mothers wait before they are ready to deliver, and one other room where they stay after the birth.
As we were leaving the hospital today we were walking around outside and heard Justin Beiber "baby" being played. We all started laughing and tried to figure out where it was coming from. It was an older man's cell phone ring tone! Ha :) Every once in a while we will hear a lot of American songs being played and it's really fun.
After the first hospital, we took a tap tap to the next hospital where Dr. Wilkerson was seeing a patient. We had the opportunity to sit in on the appointment. There were 6 of us from our group there and probably 4 other people in the room as well. There really aren't any rules when it comes to their health care system. There was a little boy who was getting his full length leg casts off and did not like it one bit. He was extremely scared of the saw. Nothing that was said could calm him down. It was difficult to communicate with him to ease his fears but later calmed down after reapply the cast. He was 6 years old and had cleft feet that were surgically repaired and had wounds underneath the cast that needed to be cleaned before an infection spread.
After the appointment, we took a trip down the hall to the physical therapy clinic. It was actually very similar to what is in the US because the people volunteering there are from schools in the US, they are natives of Haiti who have studied PTA in the US and have moved back to Haiti to help the people. They said they are very very busy and see many people each day. The man I was talking with actually invited me to stay and help him and his staff. Our site leaders said that we have that option on Thursday to go and help at the physical therapy clinic. I would absolutely LOVE that! We will see if a couple of us are able to go help. When I was talking to him today, he said that his vision is to go back to his home town and develop another clinic because the one we saw today was the only one in this entire area. Physical therapy here is free for everyone and majority of the time they seek stroke patients and motorcycle accident patients.
~BVU Student
Monday, March 25, 2013
Cock-a-doodle-do
The rooster crowing at 5am came a little early this morning after our exciting, busy first day yesterday in Port-au-Prince. We arrived after lunch from New York to the Port-au-Prince airport and successfully snaked through the crowds in our group to find Franz and our transportation. We quickly traveled through the capital to our housing for the night. We expected to see a very impoverished place, but the amount of need and plethora of damage still present was astonishing. We were excited to get started.
After dropping off our bags, we gathered our supplies and toys for the orphanage and were on our way! We packed Similac (baby formula), toy cars, bubbles, barrettes, books, kickballs, and lotion for the children and adults at the orphanage. Seeing the orphanage was absolutely inspiring! God is at work in Haiti and in this orphanage. Once entering the orphanage, we were overwhelmed with ambition to serve the children and Love Takes Root during our time here. The children loved our toys and the adults were very grateful for the other supplies. We experienced so much LOVE in the orphanage. We instantly loved the children and visually saw how much love the adults have for the children. The children and adults were grateful that we were there, but we were grateful that they were sharing their stories, space, and time with us! All of the kids were happy to play with us. We played with the balls, painted fingernails, took pictures and read books together. Most of the children didn't speak English, but it didn't matter. We could still communicate. One of the most interesting things was observing that the Haitian children had the same emotions that we see children in the USA possessing. In the end, people in all corners of the world are still PEOPLE.
The Haitian culture has been wonderful. The people are very eager to communicate with us, even if our languages are different. We catch some stairs because of our physical differences, but after a simple wave, all of the nervousness goes away and we all share smiles or a simple head nod. We are happy to be in Haiti and we feel that Haiti is happy to have us.
Today we are traveling from the capital to Jacmel, the new orphanage site. We are ecstatic to see the hopeful place of the children's future. We have so much motivation now after seeing the children and their current living situation. We have our bags packed and are ready to see what else Haiti has to offer. We are eager to make our mark on Haiti.
We are a group of 10 Buena Vista University students and 2 BVU faculty members. We are participating in BVU's AWOL (alternative week of offsite learning) as a spring break program.
GO BEAVERS!!
After dropping off our bags, we gathered our supplies and toys for the orphanage and were on our way! We packed Similac (baby formula), toy cars, bubbles, barrettes, books, kickballs, and lotion for the children and adults at the orphanage. Seeing the orphanage was absolutely inspiring! God is at work in Haiti and in this orphanage. Once entering the orphanage, we were overwhelmed with ambition to serve the children and Love Takes Root during our time here. The children loved our toys and the adults were very grateful for the other supplies. We experienced so much LOVE in the orphanage. We instantly loved the children and visually saw how much love the adults have for the children. The children and adults were grateful that we were there, but we were grateful that they were sharing their stories, space, and time with us! All of the kids were happy to play with us. We played with the balls, painted fingernails, took pictures and read books together. Most of the children didn't speak English, but it didn't matter. We could still communicate. One of the most interesting things was observing that the Haitian children had the same emotions that we see children in the USA possessing. In the end, people in all corners of the world are still PEOPLE.
The Haitian culture has been wonderful. The people are very eager to communicate with us, even if our languages are different. We catch some stairs because of our physical differences, but after a simple wave, all of the nervousness goes away and we all share smiles or a simple head nod. We are happy to be in Haiti and we feel that Haiti is happy to have us.
Today we are traveling from the capital to Jacmel, the new orphanage site. We are ecstatic to see the hopeful place of the children's future. We have so much motivation now after seeing the children and their current living situation. We have our bags packed and are ready to see what else Haiti has to offer. We are eager to make our mark on Haiti.
We are a group of 10 Buena Vista University students and 2 BVU faculty members. We are participating in BVU's AWOL (alternative week of offsite learning) as a spring break program.
GO BEAVERS!!
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Back to the PAP!
Yesterday (Sat) we were not able to blog due to excessive internet use in the Isaiah House. Yesterday was a nice relaxing day spent shopping, swimming in the ocean, and touring the same type of buildings that will be built at the new Jacmel location. Shopping was great, Fatima had a great variety of Haitian gifts. We are all coming back with tons of Haitian souvenirs. We were then taken to a beautiful beach where we were able to relax, swim, and have some cold "sodas". After our relaxing afternoon, we headed to a newly built orphanage with the contractor, Dave, who built their buildings, and will be building Love Takes Root's buildings. They were amazing and the kids will be so happy with them. Overall it was a calm, relaxing day!
Today, we woke up early to drive back up to Port-au-Prince. We went straight to the orphanage where we spent all day with the kids. We started with eye tests and played with the children. Nail polish and temporary tattoos were a huge hit. We will all be coming home with nice pedicures, including Michael. We returned to our hotel and met with Barb's husband, Dr. Rick, and the students from Buena Vista University. We also had a meeting with the administrators from the Port-au-Prince nursing school. They will be visiting the Denver School of Nursing April 3rd through the 9th. They are interested in building a relationship and becoming our sister school. Tomorrow we will be spending the day touring their school, and hopefully visiting the hospital with them. It is a great way to spend our last day here in Haiti!
-Kim, Michael, Erin, Amy, Stephanie, Dianna
Today, we woke up early to drive back up to Port-au-Prince. We went straight to the orphanage where we spent all day with the kids. We started with eye tests and played with the children. Nail polish and temporary tattoos were a huge hit. We will all be coming home with nice pedicures, including Michael. We returned to our hotel and met with Barb's husband, Dr. Rick, and the students from Buena Vista University. We also had a meeting with the administrators from the Port-au-Prince nursing school. They will be visiting the Denver School of Nursing April 3rd through the 9th. They are interested in building a relationship and becoming our sister school. Tomorrow we will be spending the day touring their school, and hopefully visiting the hospital with them. It is a great way to spend our last day here in Haiti!
-Kim, Michael, Erin, Amy, Stephanie, Dianna
Friday, March 22, 2013
A Day of Nature and Hiking
We said goodbye to Frank, Kristen and Julie as they flew back to the US today. The rest of the group got up early to walk from Jacmel up into the mountains to Bisson Bleu. It is a large waterfall with 3 basins of deep blue water. It took about 2 hours to get up to the spot where you hike another 30 minutes to see this beautiful place. We stopped for some coconut and then finished the hike. After spending that time in the sun we were ready to jump in! The water was cool and we were thankful for the relief from the heat. Mike and Erin climbed the water fall and jumped. Most of us jumped from the large rock, only because in going to the next basin the choice was climb the rocks with a rope or jump to the deep pool of water. For me the jump seemed most energy conserving! We had carried up our lunch of some peanut butter on bread and fresh mangos. Lunch was welcome. We then started back for our hike back to Jacmel. The views were breathtaking. We passed many villages and stopped to talk to many Haitians along our journey. The most difficult part of the trip is crossing the river that runs into Jacmel. It sounds silly but with bare feet the rocks really hurt! On the way up when we came to crossing a pick up truck had been behind us with a ladder in the back said climb in the back. We did and got a ride across. At least in coming back we gave all the Haitians at the river who were washing their motos, bodies and clothes something to laugh about. They were cheering us on.
Tonight we are all very tired and content with our experience. The students are a little sunburned, I used plenty of sunscreen, been there done that. I am sure everyone will sleep very well.
We have learned so much about the culture and the views about health and well being during this experience. The students are a very talented, capable, passionate and compassionate individuals I am so impressed.
Grateful, Barb
Tonight we are all very tired and content with our experience. The students are a little sunburned, I used plenty of sunscreen, been there done that. I am sure everyone will sleep very well.
We have learned so much about the culture and the views about health and well being during this experience. The students are a very talented, capable, passionate and compassionate individuals I am so impressed.
Grateful, Barb
Thursday, March 21, 2013
A Little tour a Little Beach
Today was a very eventful day. We kicked it off by meeting a man with a wheel barrow full of sugar cane who used a machete to cut us each a piece. Then we started our trek to CCH, the new clinic in Jacmel. On our way Michael was offered to buy a real live eagle! Sadly he declined. CCH was amazing! Such a nice facility with air conditioned OR rooms, new equipment, and a huge rehab room. We were all very impressed.
For the second part of our tour, we walked to St. Michel, the hospital here in Jacmel. There are no words to describe how devastating the hospital conditions are. We toured the grounds and saw the ER, OR, maternity, pediatric and internal medicine buildings. It was so sad to see how the patients were living. It was interesting that the family took care of the patients and brought them food, not the nurses or hospital staff. It really made us all appreciate all we have in the US and be thankful for our quality healthcare and caregivers.
We continued our tour on a more relaxed note. We took a "tap tap" to the local family beach. A tap tap is like a taxi service here in Haiti which entails a pick-up truck with a roof on the back and benches to sit on. To get the driver to stop for you, you have to bang on the roof making a "tapping" noise. The beach was beautiful! We spent the afternoon in the sun drinking coconut milk out of a real coconut and searching for sand dollars and sea glass on the beach. It was very well-deserved after a busy couple of days at the clinic.
We are all having such an amazing time and miss everyone back home.
Love,
Kim, Amy, Erin, Stephanie, Dianna, and Micheal
For the second part of our tour, we walked to St. Michel, the hospital here in Jacmel. There are no words to describe how devastating the hospital conditions are. We toured the grounds and saw the ER, OR, maternity, pediatric and internal medicine buildings. It was so sad to see how the patients were living. It was interesting that the family took care of the patients and brought them food, not the nurses or hospital staff. It really made us all appreciate all we have in the US and be thankful for our quality healthcare and caregivers.
We continued our tour on a more relaxed note. We took a "tap tap" to the local family beach. A tap tap is like a taxi service here in Haiti which entails a pick-up truck with a roof on the back and benches to sit on. To get the driver to stop for you, you have to bang on the roof making a "tapping" noise. The beach was beautiful! We spent the afternoon in the sun drinking coconut milk out of a real coconut and searching for sand dollars and sea glass on the beach. It was very well-deserved after a busy couple of days at the clinic.
We are all having such an amazing time and miss everyone back home.
Love,
Kim, Amy, Erin, Stephanie, Dianna, and Micheal
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Yet Another Day in Clinic
Today we woke up to pouring rain and no running water. We went to clinic were the skies started to clear. It was a very busy day. We had 245 Haitians enroll in the study we were assisting with. That is a lot of data and a lot of blood sticks. We do not have any more supplies with us so done for now. We also had a personal screening of the documentary Haiti Redux. It included the story of the orphanage and the positive future they have with new building.
After dinner we all went downtown Jacmel and enjoyed some time together. The water is back on can not wait to take a shower! Oh the simple joys in life!
God Bless and Grateful, Barb
Cold showers never felt so good! After the rain storm last night everything has gotten real muggy and the showers are a great way to cool off before bed. We were all very happy to be able to sneak away from the hotel tonight and go get some "sodas" at an old hotel in downtown Jacmel. The hotel was a rustic building built in 1884 and we had a good time exploring it and the local artwork on the walls. Today was another long day in the mobile clinic but we were happy to help so many of the locals. Hard to treat people though who you know you cant follow up with and have no real diagnostic tests to confirm an illness. We did our best though and the people were very grateful to have us come to their town. At the end of the day at the clinic we got to play with the local children. They really loved taking pictures with us. Back at the hotel we watched a documentary about the redevelopment and new construction in Haiti. It was very interesting and included footage from the LTR orphange. Tomorrow we are going to tour the CCH clinic, a local hospital, and the nursing school in Jacmel. Should be an interesting day and we will update you all tomorrow night. Thanks for the continued thoughts and prayers. We are having a great time.
Mike, Kim, Dianna, Stephanie, Erin, and Amy
After dinner we all went downtown Jacmel and enjoyed some time together. The water is back on can not wait to take a shower! Oh the simple joys in life!
God Bless and Grateful, Barb
Cold showers never felt so good! After the rain storm last night everything has gotten real muggy and the showers are a great way to cool off before bed. We were all very happy to be able to sneak away from the hotel tonight and go get some "sodas" at an old hotel in downtown Jacmel. The hotel was a rustic building built in 1884 and we had a good time exploring it and the local artwork on the walls. Today was another long day in the mobile clinic but we were happy to help so many of the locals. Hard to treat people though who you know you cant follow up with and have no real diagnostic tests to confirm an illness. We did our best though and the people were very grateful to have us come to their town. At the end of the day at the clinic we got to play with the local children. They really loved taking pictures with us. Back at the hotel we watched a documentary about the redevelopment and new construction in Haiti. It was very interesting and included footage from the LTR orphange. Tomorrow we are going to tour the CCH clinic, a local hospital, and the nursing school in Jacmel. Should be an interesting day and we will update you all tomorrow night. Thanks for the continued thoughts and prayers. We are having a great time.
Mike, Kim, Dianna, Stephanie, Erin, and Amy
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Another Day in the Clinic
Hello Friends,
Today we spent another full and hot day at the mobile clinic. Some students did vitals, others admitted patients and the rest helped with the Malaria study. We were able to get through about 100 patients today which took 7 hours. Once again we saw many different Haitian health concerns that helped us understand the health care needs of this country. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the land that Love Takes Root is building the new orphanage on. It is filled with baby goats, baby chickens and skinny cows! There is so much open land for the kids to run around on and it is going to change the lives of Mama and her orphans. We decided to imitate the Haitians and stand in the bed of the truck while we drove back to the hotel. We are all so tired and have to wake up early in the morning to return to our last day at the travel clinic.
Bonsoir!
Michael, Stephanie, Amy, Kim, Erin, Dianna
Greetings From the rest of the Gang,
Kristen, Julie, Frank and Barb are doing well. Kristen taught classes to the Haitians today about the importance of hand washing and brushing teeth. Julie stuck many people and Frank our none medical assistant filled and placed correct labels on all the vials of blood! Barb recorded all the data for the Malaria study. Long day and much accomplished.
Last night Frank and Barb went to the land with Dave Bird and his wife. We then went to the orphanage he is presently building ready for the children to move in on Friday. This is the orphanage that was next to our land but displaced by the new airport project. The orphanage that Dave is finishing is amazing. It brought tears to my eyes. The buildings are utilitarian but nice looking, Windows with screens everywhere for cross ventilation. The inside has wonderful finishing work. It is Haitian built with much learning of skills for future building. Dave and his wife are a delightful couple who are living out there calling from God. I am thankful that LOVE Takes Root has the opportunity to work with them.
We all spend our nights on the roof of the Isaiah House discussing and processing. Tired, hot and content. We have quickly forgotten our first world, fast paced, Facebook lives back home.
Many blessings, God Bless. Grateful, Barb
Today we spent another full and hot day at the mobile clinic. Some students did vitals, others admitted patients and the rest helped with the Malaria study. We were able to get through about 100 patients today which took 7 hours. Once again we saw many different Haitian health concerns that helped us understand the health care needs of this country. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the land that Love Takes Root is building the new orphanage on. It is filled with baby goats, baby chickens and skinny cows! There is so much open land for the kids to run around on and it is going to change the lives of Mama and her orphans. We decided to imitate the Haitians and stand in the bed of the truck while we drove back to the hotel. We are all so tired and have to wake up early in the morning to return to our last day at the travel clinic.
Bonsoir!
Michael, Stephanie, Amy, Kim, Erin, Dianna
Greetings From the rest of the Gang,
Kristen, Julie, Frank and Barb are doing well. Kristen taught classes to the Haitians today about the importance of hand washing and brushing teeth. Julie stuck many people and Frank our none medical assistant filled and placed correct labels on all the vials of blood! Barb recorded all the data for the Malaria study. Long day and much accomplished.
Last night Frank and Barb went to the land with Dave Bird and his wife. We then went to the orphanage he is presently building ready for the children to move in on Friday. This is the orphanage that was next to our land but displaced by the new airport project. The orphanage that Dave is finishing is amazing. It brought tears to my eyes. The buildings are utilitarian but nice looking, Windows with screens everywhere for cross ventilation. The inside has wonderful finishing work. It is Haitian built with much learning of skills for future building. Dave and his wife are a delightful couple who are living out there calling from God. I am thankful that LOVE Takes Root has the opportunity to work with them.
We all spend our nights on the roof of the Isaiah House discussing and processing. Tired, hot and content. We have quickly forgotten our first world, fast paced, Facebook lives back home.
Many blessings, God Bless. Grateful, Barb
Monday, March 18, 2013
Day 4
Today we went to a travel clinic in a small rural town in the mountains above Jacmel. We assisted with a Malaria study from the University of Florida as well as collecting vitals and providing care with pharmacist and physicians from the University of Minnesota. Forty six Haitians consented to participate in an experiment testing rapid malaria, hemoglobin, G6PD deficiency and sickle cell anemia. Currently we have not found positive results for malaria but the test will look back three months once they get the blood back to the lab.
It's so amazing working with the Haitian's. They are so stoic, patient, and easy to communicate with despite the language barrier. Not even one child cried during blood draws which is so different from what you see in American children.
On the way back we had to stop because the guy behind us was honking like crazy only to find that we were about to lose our wheel and they had to hammer it back on. Long day but it was a great experience with an even more amazing view at the top of the mountains.
From Haiti
Erin, Mike, Amy, Stephanie, Kim, Dianna
It's so amazing working with the Haitian's. They are so stoic, patient, and easy to communicate with despite the language barrier. Not even one child cried during blood draws which is so different from what you see in American children.
On the way back we had to stop because the guy behind us was honking like crazy only to find that we were about to lose our wheel and they had to hammer it back on. Long day but it was a great experience with an even more amazing view at the top of the mountains.
From Haiti
Erin, Mike, Amy, Stephanie, Kim, Dianna
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Haiti Day Three
Today we woke up early had breakfast and packed up to head to Jacmel. Before our trip though, we stopped at the orphanage again to drop off supplies for the kids and Mama. We left lots of vitamins, antibacterial ointments, and what seemed like a million toothbrushes and pairs of eyeglasses collected in Colorado. Thanks to everyone who donated for our trip. Mama was almost to tears with joy when she saw what we had brought. After visiting the orphans, we crammed into a little van and started the 2 hour drive across the mountains to Jacmel. Jacmel is a beautiful coastal town. Lots more trees, lots less traffic, and feels much safer then port-au-prince. We spent the day just walking around the city getting a feel for the culture and lifestyle in Jacmel. Tomorrow we will head into the mountains to run a research study on the prevalence of malaria in Haiti that is sponsored by the University of Florida. Should be another long day, but we are all well and having a good time. Miss you all back home!
Mike, Dianna, Kim, Stephanie, Amy, and Erin
Message from the rest of the gang. Beautiful day in Haiti, sunshine and a little breeze. Thanks to Katie Gibson from Sioux Center High School all the children loved their notebooks and pens! We received many hand written Haitian notes of thanks from the children. We also handed each of them their sponsor letters which they proudly cared around and had Mama read them over and over. Gretchen and Mark they loved the dog picture a big hit!
I will say 13 people and all our luggage in a small van was an interesting trip to Jacmel. GOOD news no one was car sick this time.
Jacmel feels like home. The town is quiet and has a peaceful feel. We went on a walking tour after checking into the Issiah House. And we had an afternoon soda pop at Hotel De La Place. We will have a early start on long day tomorrow. We will also stop by the land on our way out of town tomorrow. Barb, Julie, Frank and Kristen are going strong. God Bless.
Mike, Dianna, Kim, Stephanie, Amy, and Erin
Message from the rest of the gang. Beautiful day in Haiti, sunshine and a little breeze. Thanks to Katie Gibson from Sioux Center High School all the children loved their notebooks and pens! We received many hand written Haitian notes of thanks from the children. We also handed each of them their sponsor letters which they proudly cared around and had Mama read them over and over. Gretchen and Mark they loved the dog picture a big hit!
I will say 13 people and all our luggage in a small van was an interesting trip to Jacmel. GOOD news no one was car sick this time.
Jacmel feels like home. The town is quiet and has a peaceful feel. We went on a walking tour after checking into the Issiah House. And we had an afternoon soda pop at Hotel De La Place. We will have a early start on long day tomorrow. We will also stop by the land on our way out of town tomorrow. Barb, Julie, Frank and Kristen are going strong. God Bless.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Thoughts from the second group arrival
Barb Wilkerson, Frank Brooks, Kristen Potts and Julie Buettner arrived late on thier Miami flight to arrive in PAP a little after 5 pm. We were picked up in the infamous no door van from the Sept DSN trip! We then had a 3 1/2 hour ride to the Hotel in stand still traffic. The sun set the streets were full and it was hot. But after a few hours it started to rain. The streets quieted down the traffic slowly moved past the flooded pot hole and we arrived at the Hotel. We took our 60 minutes to check in and 2 hours to get our food and hit the pillows hard. It was a drive to study the culture and as Frank said it gives him perspective on the 405. God Bless
A DAY IN THE ORPHANGE
We arrived to the wonderful yellow shirts from LOVE Takes Root worn by the children singing songs of welcome. We quickly went to greet each special spirit. They were thrilled to do the sponsor activity of Wreaths that tell the Easter Story. Jamie Billings good job it was a hit. Also to all sponsors they sang a wonderful thank you song to you. The wreaths will hang in the orphanage until Easter. They also loved the bracelets from Girl Scouts Troop 5640 Daisy and Troop 8226 Brownies in Davenport Iowa. Everyone has a bracelet on their wrists! We gave out art supplies from Art For The Nations.We colored, made cut dolls and hugged a lot. We were able to stay until time for the children to get ready for bed. Walking back to the hotel with our hearts full and our souls content and the hand made hearts from the children in our pockets. Frank is shocked out of his senses. Sleep well.
First two days in Haiti
Hey everyone! It's the DSN students. We arrived at the hotel yesterday at about 1:00 pm after a long four hour bus ride through Port au Prince. It was very surreal and hard to put into words the poverty that we saw. Franz took us on a tour to the Adventist Hospital here in Port au Prince. It's been re-built and expanded since the earthquake, however it still doesn't have near the technology and capacity that American hospitals have. Today, we walked to the orphanage and we are exhausted! The kids LOVED having us there and we LOVED them (pictures coming soon)! We all felt heartbroken for them, but we were amazed by their spirits. The kids are so loved my Mama (the lady that takes care of them). It's dinner time, but we will blog tomorrow after we arrive in Jacmel!
Love from Haiti,
Amy, Michael, Dianna, Erin, Kim, Stephanie
Love from Haiti,
Amy, Michael, Dianna, Erin, Kim, Stephanie
Friday, March 15, 2013
Almost to Haiti
About to board the plane in Ft. Lauderdale to port-au-prince. Everyone is very tired from the red eye here but excitef to get to Haiti. We will be spending the rest of the day visiting a hospital in port-au-prince and will blog more about that tomorrow.
Mike, Dianna, Kim, Erin, Amy and Stephanie
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