Back home

It is early evening on Saturday and I'm sitting on the deck enjoying a beautiful cool Atlanta night and reflecting on this trip and our Diocese Global Mission Conference which was today. I presented about our Haiti partnership as part of a panel. That elicited at least one volunteer for the next trip, a doctor from Columbus, GA. As I will explain, however, future trips may be different than those in the past.

First, let me recap a couple unfortunate events this week. When we arrived at Jasmin for Wednesday's clinic, we quickly realized that some drugs that we had left in the pharmacy were missing. Ace detective Darrell discovered footprints on the top of a bench inside the church where the drugs were kept overnight. We surmised that the thief had climbed the pipe outside, hoisted him or herself through the high opening above the wall, and then landed on the bench. As the day progressed, we discovered more and more was missing - glucometers and test strips from the lab, almost all the Provit and STD Packs, all the creams, all the Travatan, all the Metformin, etc, etc. It was very disheartening and unfortunately, adversely impacted our patient care.

This happened after we had discovered earlier in the week that three of the bags of medicine we had left at the guesthouse from the fall trip had been taken. We were able to replace some of those drugs before the start of the clinics. Of course, that was an unexpected added expense. Because I did not go with the group, I was able to bring additional cash with me for these purchases.

These two events highlighted the fact that those living in desperate poverty will commit crimes even when those crimes adversely impact those in their own communities. These crimes can take place in Haiti, as well as in the US. We had a naive view that because our team travels to Haiti to help, we are immune from crime. Now we know differently.

Ironically, when I met with the lay leader and principal at St Joseph's School before clinics started on Wednesday and before we discovered the theft, they renewed their request for help funding a security wall around the school property. They had requested this when the school buildings were built after the earthquake, but we have not raised the needed funds for this project. We now feel the urgency to fulfill this need. If you are moved to give to this project, you may do so on the Haiti Companions website, or send donations to Christ Church, 400 Holcomb Bridge Road, Norcross, GA 30071. Please note "Haiti fence" as the purpose of your donation.

Thursday morning, Dianne, TR, and I met with Frantz to discuss how we might take the clinics to the next level. Frantz proposed a monthly clinic staffed by Haitian doctors and nurses at each site. He also described the process by which Haiti Companions can register as a non-governmental organization in Haiti. We will discuss this with the Haiti Companions Board and hopefully will move in this direction soon. This may impact our planned fall trip, so that it is something other than a week long clinic trip. Stay tuned. God is working.

Terry

Tuesday and all is well

Today was a special day - Jane's birthday! Stevie arranged for Jeanine to bake a cake and we celebrated in Haitian fashion tonight with Rudy and Myrline serenading us while we enjoyed the cake. Of course, we bought Jane a Prestige to celebrate, as well.

We are relaxing now after a fun day in Jasmin - 360 people of fun. It actually really was fun. We were very busy, obviously, but it was great to see everyone. I particularly love the older people. It is amazing how many old people in their late 70's and 80's, and supported by canes made of tree limbs, walk long distances to get to us. When I am able to post pictures, I will post a photo of a group from today. They call me "Cherie" and kiss both my cheeks in greeting. One very old woman talked on and on, but much too quickly for me to have any idea what she said. Of course, it was clear that she was glad to see our team. Many people told us that they pray for our team everyday.

The dental team set up in the new 10th grade class room, which the community has built to accommodate the expanding school. Of course, they may never get to use that classroom again, but they loved it this time!

The rest of us were in our usual spots, with 3 doctors outside and 1 inside.

Our optometrist, Guerino Laguerre, was set up in the vestibule of the church just before triage. (Laguerre Guerry was not able to come again and we think that Guerino is our "regular" optometrist now.) That seems to work well.He has good light there.

 Pharmacy, lab, and triage were in the church as in the past.

Yesterday at St. Phillippe and St. Jacques seemed a little slow, but we saw 260 patients. We were set up as in the spring with triage in the church and the rest of us in the school.It is a nice set up, but I prefer the roominess, slightly lower temperature, and light in Jasmin.

Dianne commented tonight that people seem to be less concerned this time about having every problem that they experience treated. They are much more specific about their complaint. As in the past, the people up the mountain in Jasmin are relatively sicker and more malnourished. If the past is any lesson, then the patients  from Nicholas that we will see tomorrow will be even less healthy. Nicholas is about a 4 hour walk one way up the mountain from Jasmin. When Pere Sonley goes there for church, he rides a donkey 2 hours from Jasmin!

I now have two ladies making skirts for Jasmin Creations. Between the two of them, I received 32 new crocheted skirts today. So, it is imperative that I try to figure out marketing on the Internet through Etsy, FaceBook, etc. I will post pictures here, also. These women are so excited when I pay them for the skirts. This is a great way for them to earn money to support their families. If you'd like to buy one or more, just contact me!

It seems that each time that we come here, there is something new and this time is no different. The guesthouse has a new landrover, which had no trouble getting up the mountain today. That was wonderful! Also, today a man sat outside the church carving statues. Unfortunately, there was no time to watch him other than from afar.

I visited briefly with my little friend Sofini and her mom today. Again, there was not much time, but it was wonderful to see them both.

I am giving out, so I will sign off now. Terry

Terry

Trip dedicated to Steve Steinberg

I am very sad to report that Steve Steinberg, who was a member of our team for three trips, passed away last fall. Steve was a wonderful person whose quick wit, remarkable intelligence, and expansive world view enriched us all. On his last trip with us, Steve celebrated his 80th birthday. My last visit with Steve was in January 2015, when I had a business trip to New Orleans, Steve's adopted home town. Steve invited me to lunch at Antoine's where we enjoyed a delicious lunch and 25 cent martinis. Steve told me endless stories of his travels around the world and his exploits as a journalist. I will miss Steve greatly, and will cherish his memory. I am sure he is watching over us on this trip.

This trip is a little different than those in the past. Little by little we are trickling into Haiti. Our medical director, Dr. Dianne Pizey, traveled to Port au Prince on Wednesday, April 8, to attend the bi-annual Haiti Connection Conference. I will write more about that when I catch up with Dianne. The northern members of the team, including our dental director, Dr. Terry Shively, his wife Stevie, Jane Weist, Dick Anderson, nurse Darrell Martin, and Rev. Ward Bauman arrived on Friday, April 10, and successfully traveled to Leogane where Dianne was waiting for them. The southern team members, my husband Steve and I, will arrive tomorrow. I am flying from Montreal where I have been for business, and meeting Steve in Miami, then we fly to Port au Prince together. Wow! It will be nice for all the Americans to finally be together again.

As in the past, we have many Haitian team members, including a new member Sony Baziel, who will help in the pharmacy. Our other Haitian members include nurses Evens Joicin and Myrline Richeme, doctors Rudolph Richeme, Frantz Codio, and his wife Charenne, dentist Emmanuel Bastien and his wife, optometrist Laguerre Guerry, five nursing students, four translators, two drivers, and our priest Pere Sonley. Of course, we could not be successful without the great care of the guesthouse manager, Jeanine, and her staff. Lastly, we always appreciate the help of the US guesthouse liaisons, David Paige and Bob Sloane.

We expect our week to be much the same as in the past, with clinics on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, followed by clean up and organization on Thursday. (Of course, nothing is ever the same in Haiti!) Steve and I have to leave on Friday to get back for the Diocese of Atlanta's Annual Global Mission Conference,which I chair. The northerners will return to their colder climate on Saturday.

Please keep those we serve and our team in your prayers.

Terry

Giving Thanks

It is Friday night after Thanksgiving and I finally have some time to add photos to the blog and to add a few reflections of the trip.

Things were quiet after the election, which resulted in a run off in the presidential election which will be held in December. Jude Celestin is expected to win, so we shall see.

Since all was quiet, we were able to travel to Jacmel and enjoy a relaxing day at the Hotel Cyvadier before returning home the next day.

The Atlantans had an early flight home, but the Minnesotans were able to visit with Pere Kerwin and his family while awaiting their flight. 

Going to Haiti makes us thankful for those whom we now call our friends - our Haitian team mates, our patients, our priests, those who staff and take care of us at the guesthouse, our drivers, the staff and teachers at our schools, the lay leaders and their families, and all the families at St. Phillippe and St. Jacques and at St. Joseph's. We are thankful for those who live in Haiti and serve at Hopital Ste. Croix and at FSIL, the Episcopal Nursing School, and who provide care for our communities. 

We are thankful for the opportunity to go to Haiti ourselves and for the small part which we play in improving our communities. We are thankful to all of you who support us by your prayers and donations so that we can continue to improve the lives of those we serve, one small step at a time. 

Thursday Night

It's after 10 and only the night owls are still up - Sandra, Bob, and me. We had a long day of organizing and getting prepared for the next trip. In the late afternoon, Dianne spent some time up at her partner, St. Phillippe and St. Jacques, learning about their plans to add a 10th grade (Secondary 1) in the 2016-2017 school year.

Yesterday was another eventful day in Jasmin. It seems that at each clinic there is at least one patient who is gravely ill. This day, it was a 17 month old boy, who had pulled a pot of boiling water over onto himself that morning. Luckily, our clinic was operating and Dianne was there. The young mother was understandably upset, and the little boy was in a great deal of pain. After giving the boy some Tylenol, Dianne had to abrade some of the burns, and then cleaned, treated, and wrapped the burns and blisters. The Mom told us that she lived close to the church, and lived in a house with a dirt floor. Dianne was concerned about dirt and the risk of infection, but unfortunately, this is the situation.  Although we gave her medicine and more dressings, the dressings needed to be changed daily, and Dianne told the Mom to take the boy to the hospital for this. We hope and pray that she is able to do so, but the closest hospital is where we stay which is about 1 to 1 1/2 hours away by 4 wheel drive vehicle. This mom was barefoot when she came to our clinic carrying her son. It is so difficult to describe the conditions in this mountanous community if you have not seen it. Her best hope of getting to the hospital is by moto. So, just try imagine what it would be like to carry your 17 month old toddler who has sustained second degree burns to his torso, arm, and back, down an extremely steep and  bumpy road, on the back of a moto, before reaching the main highway to get to the hospital. Then, think how easy it is for us to access medical care in the US.

Today has been an interesting day. The results of the Presidential election were announced in the late afternoon. There will be a runoff in December. There was concern about unrest after the announcement. Pere Sonley had been in Port au Prince, and said that there were some demonstrations, but things in Leogane are calm. We enjoyed a walk around town before the announcement and hope to be able to go to Jacmel tomorrow. We shall see how things are in the morning.

Everyone has now deserted me, so I am heading to bed, also.

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