Haiti Companions: First Two Days of Clinics

The dolls are a hit!

I was too tired to write last night after a full day at St. P and St. J and then preparation for today (yes, more pill cutting and pouring!) So, I will recap the last two days, as best I can.

First, let me thank everyone who contriburted to our trip, with your prayers, and your donations of dolls, eye glasses, soap, shampoo, tooth brushes, tooth paste, medicine bags, plastic baggies for packaging, and various medicines. I'm sure that I am leaving out something, but just know that we are using everything that you sent and that the people in both comunities are very grateful for what we have brought to make their lives just a little better.

Monday, we spent the day in Gressier at St. P and St. J. We saw about 180 patients, many of whom we had seen before, and some of whom even returned with their patient record! As in the past, we found the people of Gressier to be in generally better health than those in Jasmin, where we saw about 210 patients today. The difference in the health of the two communities is remarkable, despite the relatively short distance between the two. The biggest difference is that Jasmin is more remote (further up the mountain from Gressier) and the people there have no access to other medical care. Those in Gressier are closer to the main road leading to Leogane where Hopital St. Croix is located or to the Doctors without Borders facility on the main road in Gressier. In addition, there are other teams who serve the Gressier community.

The complaints in both communities included respiratory and gastric issues, high blood pressure, and parasites. In Gressier, we saw several cases of diabetes, but none in Jasmin. We saw much more high blood pressure, with more severe cases in Jasmin. The kids are generally more malnourished in Jasmin (again due to the remoteness and relatively less income) and there are many more cases of scabies and worms in Jasmin than in Gressier. Another distinct difference between the two populations is the greater number of older people we saw in Jasmin, as compared to Gressier.

The schools were both in session when we arrived. St. P and St. J (Gressier) meets in a new "temporary" building which replaced the bulding destroyed in the quake. St. Joseph's (Jasmin) continues to meet in the church building and in the yard as it did not have a school building for the quake to destroy. Both churches were heavily damaged and the St. P and St. J bulidng has been demolished, while the St. J church building is standig precariously, while we all pray that another quake or aftershock does not totally destroy it.

Both schools have the opportunity for a permanent bulding to be constructed by a foundation related to the Finnish Lutheran Church. These projects are dependent upon the purchase of the land for the buildings. In each case, we have been told that the owner (different people) will sell for $5500. I examined the land proposed for St. Joseph's today. It is quite a large piece of land behind the church (currently occupied by a banana orchard). The plan is to build the school at the back of the property and then have a playground for the kids between the church and the school. This would be an amazing improvement over the kids learning under a tarp and croweded into the church building. The school serves 300 children from pre-K through 6th grades and is the only school in the community. When we explored the possibility of building a school building before the quake, we were quoted $20,000 -$25,000 for the contruction only, so to have that bulding donated would be an amazing gift. If you are moved to donate to the fund to purchase the land, you may do so by donating to Christ Episcopal Church, Norcross, GA, for Jasmin, or St. John's Episcopal Church, Minneapolis, MN for Gressier. Please indicate Haiti School Land Purchase in your donation. Please know that your funds will be put to the use you specify.

We unexpectantly had the opportunity for a Haitian dentist to travel to both communities with us. Of course, we said, "yes!". Despite the lack of publicity, he saw 8 patients on Monday and 17 today. His presence is now expected in Jasmin, so we anticipate an even bigger demand for his help tomorrow.

Everyone agreed that today was an easier day than yesterday, despite the higher number of patients. We had more space and more experience! Tomorrow should be even better when we return to Jasmin for another day of clinic.