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