Tuesday Night

This is my second attempt to post to this blog tonight. I'll save frequently this time!

Tuesday night is one of my favorite times in Haiti. We have completed 2 days of clinics (340 and 296 patients) and do not have to pack up when we leave Jasmin (and don't have to haul bags down the stairs and up into the trucks in the morning.) We have little meds to pack because most everything is already up the mountain. So, everyone is relaxed.

The acupunture clinic opened tonight courtesy of Cynthia, and both Bob and Brenda took advantage of Cynthia's expertise. Both are now very relaxed, having capped off their acupuncture sessions with a few rousing rounds of Bananagrams.

In the past, I have written about the sounds and smells of Haiti. The sounds of Haiti have increased in  volume. HSC, the hospital where we stay, is now the center of maternity health in Leogane as MSF no longer delivers babies. We met the on-call OB-GYN Saturday night, and the next morning he told us he delivered three babies. Judging by the sounds, there have been at least that many babies born each night we have been here.

It must be the season. We saw several new babies in clinic both days. They were very cute, but a couple were also quite sick.

This is my second Presidential Election in Haiti. It is quite interesting. This time, there are more than three candidates, with the front runners being one supported by the current President and former rock star, Martelly; one supported by former President Aristide; and one supported by former President Preval. Apparently, the wife of a former President is waiting for there to be a provisional government with her appointed as President. The election was 10 days ago, but no results have been announced. They were to be announced tomorrow night, and now will not be announced until Thursday night, the last we heard.

We have had a grand time getting to know our new priest, Sonley Joseph. He is very nice and seems to be getting along well with the congregations and schools which are now under his care.

 I met with him and the principal of our school tonight, so they could fill Sandra and me in on the expansion of the school to include 10th grade, the plan to build 2 new classrooms to accommodate this and additional class expansion, and the great news that all of our students passed the national exam for 9th grade. Our school is the highest quality of the 3 in our community, and it received a commendation from the government. Everyone is excited and very proud of the students!

Sandra and I gave 4 computers to the principal today. He was thrilled when he discovered that the cases contained computers! He has a room set up for a computer lab and they plan to add internet via a Natcom "stick" and wireless router. A computer lab is a 10th grade requirement, so the timing could not have been better. Our school has come a long way in a few short years.

We reacquainted ourselves with people at both locations.

Today, I was excited to see Sofini, her mom, and her brother at the clinics. They just came for a visit today and will return tomorrow for treatment.

Marie, the woman who made the crocheted skirts for me in the spring, brought another 15 skirts today, and Elise made 3 for older girls. So, if you need a baby gift, contact me! These skirts are a way for these women to earn money to help support their families and for us to earn money for the clinics.

I'm pleased that I finally got an update on the blog tonight. Now, I will leave Cynthia to finish her homework and go to bed like the rest of the team. Until tomorrow. Terry