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

Saturday Night in Haiti

After a long day of travel yesterday, and a long day of counting and packaging pills today, we are enjoying a relaxing evening. Some of us are agonizing about the GA-FL game and others could not care less!

Our travel from Miami to Port au Prince via American Airlines was a disaster. The two hour trip morphed into a more than 12 hour ordeal due to mechanical problems with first one plane and then, another. The first plane had a cracked windshield. After trying to fix it all afternoon, the airline found another plane for us, but by then we had lost the crew. After the crew finally arrived, we loaded onto the plane, only to be told we could not  take off because someone had not gotten onto the plane, but their luggage had. So, all the luggage had to be removed from the plane, the errant bags found, and the remaining bags reloaded. Finally we were ready to go. By now it was after 7:30 pm. (Our flight was scheduled for 1:00 pm.) When we arrived in Port au Prince, we had a bumpy landing, and came to a stop. The pilot then announced that we had lost the nose steering gear and that we would have to be towed to the gate. After waiting for that to occur, we arrived at a gate, to be told that the hydraulic fluid had leaked out of the plane, so we would exit from the rear of the plane. Those of us in the back were happy about that! When we finally arrived at baggage claim, the bags did not arrive for a really long time because they could not open the baggage compartment of the plane.

Happily, Vundla at the Diocese of Haiti had arranged for someone to meet us to expedite our travel through customs and our drivers were patiently waiting for us. We were a little nervous traveling through Port au Prince at night, but no traffic made the trip much faster than normal. When we arrived at the hospital guesthouse, the usual porters were there to haul the14 large bags upstairs, and amazingly Janine had dinner waiting for us at midnight!

Today, we spent the day packaging meds. Throughout the day, various members of our Haitian team, including Frantz, Emmanuel, and Evens came to greet us. It was wonderful to see everyone.

Tomorrow morning, we will go to church for All Saints Day at St. Phillippe and St. Jacques, and then finish up the meds with the ever popular pouring of the liquid meds and creation of the STD and Prev Packs.

Now, some of us will play Bananagrams, before hitting bed early.

Another Halloween in Haiti

We are getting ready to spend another Halloween/All Saints/Gide Day in Haiti. The Americans leave on Friday, October 30, and will travel that day to the guesthouse in Leogane. Our American team has already suffered one casualty, as Steve Franzen will not be able to go with us as planned due to injuries he suffered in a recent car accident.

Our remaining healthy American team includes Dr. Dianne Pizey; Dr. Bob Rosenthal; Cynthia Miller, RN; Brenda Ziebel, LPN; Sandra Durbin; and me, Terry Franzen. Brenda is our only "newbie" this trip. We look forward to welcoming her to Haiti and hope she loves it as much as the rest of us do. Our American team comes from Minnesota, Georgia, and Maryland, and includes members of Christ Church, Norcross, GA and St. John's, Minneapolis, MN as well as non-member friends. We welcome all to join us!

Our Haitian team continues to grow, and we expect all will be veterans this trip, except for our new priest. (Of course, we thought that was the case last trip, but we had some last minute substitutions. Travel to Haiti requires flexibility!) Our Haitian team members include Frantz Codio, MD; Charenne Codio, MD; Rudolph Richeme, MD; Emmanuel Bastien, Dentist; Marie Lourdes Bastien, Dental Assistant; Evens Joicin, RN; Myrline Richeme, RN; Laguerre Gerry, Optometrist; and our new priest, Pere Sonley Joseph.

Our lay leaders at each location, Maxo Louis and his wife Elise at Jasmin and Joseph LaBorde and his wife who we know as Madame LaBorde at Collin assist with the organization and set up of the clinics. We will have 5 translators and 5 nursing students with us. We will not know who they are until we see them on Monday morning before the first clinic. Our skillful drivers are also very important members of our team, and Janine and her guesthouse staff keep us well fed and happy.

We are sad that Pere Kerwin will no longer be with us. He has been with us since the beginning in 2007, but has now been moved to a new position as Dean of the Cathedral in Port au Prince. This is an important position in the Diocese, so we are pleased for him, but we will miss him.

We are so looking forward to meeting and getting to know our new priest Pere Sonley Joseph and his wife, who live in Leogane.

I will try to update the blog daily while we are in Haiti. That is very much dependent upon the state of the electricity and internet, and my fatigue. So, no news is good news! We hope you will stay tuned and consider coming along with us sometime. Terry

Haiti Reflections

I have not had time to add photos to this blog or to tell "the rest of the story" as has been my practice on past trips. Today, however, I gave the sermon at church about our Haiti experience in April and then showed a slide show of photos from the trip. I thought I would add my sermon to this blog. I think it tells the story. I will add photos to illustrate it. I tried to add the video slide show, but the file is too big to upload. Check out the Haiti page on the Christ Church website to view it there. www.ccnorcross.org. Terry

HAITI REFLECTIONS

June 7, 2015

And Jesus replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 3:33-35

As some of you know, it is very difficult for me to talk about Haiti from my heart. It is easy for me to tell you “just the facts”. Our team included folks from Minneapolis, our Iowa dental team, and me from Christ Church. We treated 800 patients over 3 days.

 

 

We had a wonderful team including many new people. When our usual translators took jobs for 5 days with another team because we had only 3 days of work for us, we had new translators – Richardson, Casimir, and Gerard.

When our usual optometrist LaGuerre was “stuck in the Dominican Republic (whatever that means), his friend Giermo traveled from Mirabelais where he works with Partners in Health to work with our team.

 When our dentist Emmanuel traveled with the other team, our American dentist Terry and his team worked extra hard to see patients, and then Emmanuel stepped in on Saturday to see those Terry could not see during the week.

 

 When Doctor Rudy could only be with us 2 days, he enlisted the help of one of his friends, who traveled high into the mountains with us to see patients on Wednesday.

And then there are the strengthened connections. Doctor Frantz Codio joined us for the second time, and brought his doctor wife Shareen to work with us.

 

 

Nurse Evens Joicin brought his nursing students to work with us

and his wife and two children visited with us.

Then, there are always surprises in Haiti. Frantz and Shareen’s daughter Shaneka was born at Gwinnett Medical Center because Shareen’s brother lives in Lawrenceville. Opthamologist Frantz Large finally was able to come with us on Monday and saw patients who need eye surgery, which he will perform at no charge in his clinic in Port au Prince.

When I realized that the reason my usual wad of money was light because I had forgotten the money to pay the Haitian staff, our translator Marcos and Pere Kerwin swung into action to help me get the money which Steve transferred to me out of the clutches of Western Union.

Participating in the celebration of the feast day at St. Marc’s on Sunday and rocking to the music of many choirs, including our friends at St. Phillippe and St. Jacques.

Waking to no water in the morning in my room, and late in the week realizing that it was my room only, and I could use other’s water first thing in the morning before it was fixed.

And then there are the gifts, seeing our translator Peterson’s face when I presented him with his computer repaired by Ed Fair,

admiring the new book shelves for the library at St. Joseph’s paid for by the SPCK donation,

seeing the joy on the sick children’s faces when they got their comfort dolls or bears knitted by friends across the US,

 

 

watching our patients carefully pack their meds into the cloth bags made by our friends in Iowa and Minnesota, seeing Sofini’s excitement when I gave her a photo of us together, feeling Sofini’s arms around my neck as she whispered, “Mesi anpil”,

 

and discovering I can buy solar powered lights for $15.00 at the Western Union, bringing light to those who live in darkness high up in the mountains.

One of the funniest moments was seeing Casimir’s puzzlement when he told me that there was a lady in the yard who said she had some skirts for me. I, of course, had completely forgotten about the cute crocheted skirts I had seen in the fall and my request that the mom make 10 for me to buy in the spring. So, here they are! I have sold one and the proceeds will be used to help pay for our clinics. So, buy one today! It’s our new micro-enterprise to help support the community and our clinics. (Unfortunately, the photo of the craftswoman did not turn out.)

So, these are our brothers and sisters in Haiti. They are the people who walk up to 4 hours to see a doctor at our clinic. They are very young and very old.

 They are the teachers and students at the school.

 

 

 

 

 

 They are the children who are not in uniforms, a sign that they do not go to school because they cannot afford to attend.

They are the families who live in darkness once the sun goes down. They are the young girls who walk down the mountain to the river to collect water for their families, and then carry it back up the steep mountain road in large buckets balanced on their heads. They are the mom with her two little children who roasts corn in the school yard for those attending our clinics.

They are the young men on the motos ferrying people up and down the mountain. They are the moms cooking in the yard over an open charcoal fire. They are the old men leading their donkeys laden with rice up the mountain to sell at the market. They are Jeanine and her staff who take such good care of us at the guesthouse.

They are the kids dressed in their finest, putting the Americans to shame on Sunday morning.

They are the musicians and choirs that bring the spirit of God into church. They are the people and the country that I have grown to love. They are the people whose lives have been changed forever because of your care, concern, prayer, and, yes, your money.

Of all these things, however, it is the relationship we have built over time with the people of Jasmin that is the most important. When I talked with the Bishop of Haiti many years ago about establishing a partnership with a church in Haiti, Bishop Duracin told me, “If you have $1000, and your choice is to come or to send the money, then come. It is the relationship and that the people who know that you care which is most important. “

 

So, we go twice per year. Join me in October for another visit with our Haitian brothers and sisters. 

 

 

It's Tuesday night and I'm finally able to update this blog, at least a little. The internet has been "spotty", as has the water, the a/c and the electricity. It's one of those things that you hate to complain about when those we serve have no water other than from the river, and no electricity, except from what the sun provides.

In my first post, I described how our American team members were all Haiti veterans. We all looked forward to reconnecting with our usual translators, and other Haitian team members. We knew that Dr. Emmanuel Bastien, our Haitian dentist was working with another team. It never dawned on us, however, that this might mean that other Haitian "regulars" were not working with us either. One by one on Saturday, we had three of  our usual translators come to tell us that they were working with this other team, which  I won't name here. We did not blame them, however, as  the other team needed them for five days, and we only needed  them for three.

Then, our nurse Evens told us he could only work one-half day one day, and our doctor Rudi told us he could only work one-half day on one day, and not at all tomorrow. Good grief! Then,  Sunday night we  discovered from  Rudi that Laguerre was "stuck  in the DR": and could not be with us our our optometrist. So, we have had Guerino,  someone Laguerre knows,  as our optometrist and  one of Rudy's classmates is coming to work with us tomorrow. It  has been fun getting to know the  other translators  and the other new staff, including Dr. Frantz Codio's wife Shareen, another new team member. We even had Dr. Frantz Large, an opthomologist,  join us for clinic on Monday at Collin. We are the epitome of flexibility!

Unfortunately, the father of one of our team members, Ward, passed away and Ward left yesterday to go back to Minneapolis, before flying to California, where the funeral will be held. Please hold Ward and his family in your prayers.

We had a successful day at Collin yesterday. It was very hot, more than 100 in the clinic area according to one of team members' thermometer. Today it was somewhat cooler up in Jasmin. It always seems better up there to me as there is more space, more air, and the pharmacy is not isolated from the rest of the team.

I love to reconnect with everyone at Collin and at Jasmin. The LaBordes are always so gracious, serving us lunch in Collin, and we have decided that Elise, the wife of the lay leader, is the best clinic organizer in Jasmin. She runs a tight ship, which keeps everyone moving.

A couple hilarious things have happened. Today, our new young optometrist came to me and told me that many patients don't like the  Lions Club glasses we have to offer, as they are too big. Then, later he brought an older woman to me. He said "this old lady does not want the glasses I have. She says she is young and wants cutie glasses like you have!" I told her I had to keep my glasses, so I could read in the clinic. She seemed disappointed that I would not give up my cutie glasses, but seemed to be understanding.

Then, today, another older woman at the very end of the day insisted that she had given us her patient record in the pharmacy. There was no point in arguing with  her, so I suggested  that we take her to the same doctor that had seen her.  I asked if the doctor was a man  or a woman. She said, "He is black!". Well, that eliminated one out of four. So, I tried again, and she told me that he was a big black man. The led us to Rudy, and we were right. Rudy had a good laugh about this tonight.

My little friend Sofini came to clinic today. I  gave her a photo I  had taken last year of us together. She and her mom were so excited! Then, she helped me in the pharmacy for awhile. Then, the woman whom I talked  with last fall about the crocheted skirts came. She made 10 of them for me. They are so cute! I hope I am able to sell them. If you'd like one for a little girl, contact me!

The internet is too slow and I am too impatient to post photos tonight. I'll do that when I have a faster connection.

It's Friday night and we are relaxing after dinner. Dianne keeps wanting us to work,  but so far  we are just sitting. The trip here was amazing. My Delta flight was incredible - direct  from Atlanta in 2.5 hours. What a difference from fighting through the Miami airport. Unfortunately, the Minnesota and Iowa contingent had to  leave at 5:30 and slog through the Miami airport.

We arrived in Port  au Prince within minutes of each  other and were met by Sikhumbuzo  Vundla, the COO of the Diocese and my hero. He arranged for us to wait in  the VIP Lounge in the air conditioning while someone found our bags. Then we were transported to Leogane in the pickup and in the Land Cruiser. The bags went in the Dihatsu. What luxury!

Dinner was fabulous; the fans and the a/c are working. All is right in  the world.

Sample room 

VIP Lounge

Dianne has guilted  people into unpacking the meds. So, off I go!

I am writing this as I am flying back from my business trip to California. It's time to start thinking about the week ahead, including leaving for Haiti on Friday. I  had the opportunity to visit Grace Cathedral while in San Francisco. For me, Grace is one of God's thin places. Walking the labyrinth is a sacred exercise. Going to Haiti is a  similar sacred journey for me.

I have been reflecting on the name we chose many years ago for our group, this blog, and now our non-profit in the making. Haiti Companions. I just looked at the dictionary for the definition of "companion". A companion is one who walks with or partners with another. A companion is a friend. We hope that we are establishing a relationship and a friendship with those that we serve and those with whom we work in Haiti. Because of the economic inequalities, the extreme differences in our life experiences,  and the language barriers, I sometimes wonder about this.

I am  confident, however, that the Americans on our team are companions for  one another. We are there to support each other as we prepare for our journey, during our trip, and then after as we  re-enter the excesses in the US. This trip, everyone on our American team has traveled to Haiti at  least once with us, and some have been with us many times. As in the past, we come from  around  the US, with various backgrounds, reasons for the journey, and goals for ourselves and our team. So, let me introduce the American members of our team to you:
Dr. Dianne Pizey, medical director and pediatrician extraordinaire - St. John's, Minneapolis
Dick Anderson, ace photographer and fabulous pharmacy worker - St. John's, Minneapolis
Rev. Ward Bauman, another fabulous pharmacy worker and director of the House of Prayer, MN
Cynthia Miller, RN, nurse,  pain therapist, acupuncturist, public health student, recorder of our patients' stories, pharmacy worker in a pinch - Minneapolis, MN
Darrell Martin, RN, nurse and Cynthia's companion in life, aka her husband
Terry Shively, DDS, dental director and  restorer of teeth and dental health - Spencer, Iowa
Stevie Shively, Terry's dental assistant and life companion, retired teacher - Spencer, Iowa
Jane Weist, Terry's other dental assistant - Spencer, Iowa
and me
Terry Franzen, lawyer, blogger,  and pharmacy worker - Christ Church, Norcross, GA

I hope that the Haitian members of our team view us as friends and colleagues. We certainly think of them in this way. We have worked with many of the Haitians for several years now. We have heard about and, in some cases, have met their children and spouses or girlfriends.   In a small way, we try to share their stories, and ask that they share ours. So, let me introduce them to you.
Pere Kerwin Delicat, our priest who serves 7 churches, Arch Deacon for the western and southern provinces of the  Episcopal Diocese of Haiti - Leogane and Port au Prince, Haiti
Rudolph Richeme, MD, orthopedic surgeon, Port au Prince
Myrline Richeme, RN, nurse and Rudolph's life companion, Port au Prince
Frantz Codio, MD, internist, Gressier
Charenne Codio, MD, internist (I think), our newest team member, Frantz's life companion, Gressier
Evens Joicin, RN, nurse, clinical director for FSIL (the  Episcopal Nursing School) provider of monthly follow up care for our patients, Leogane
Laguerre Guerry, optometrist, somewhere close to the border of the Dominican Republic
Valery and his team of translators (we won't know the team until we arrive), Leogane
FSIL Nursing Students whom we won't know until we arrive, Leogane
Maxo, lay leader at St. Joseph's, Jasmin
Elise, Maxo's life companion, clinic organizer, Jasmin
Joseph  LaBorde, lay leader at St. Phillippe and St. Jacques, Colin
Madame LaBorde, Joseph's life companion and amazing cook, Colin
Janine and her team at the guesthouse, cooks, housekeepers, shoppers, mousers, porters, and drivers  Leogane
Zo Cherie, driver to Jacmel, Port au Prince

And finally,
David Paige and Dr. Bob Sloane, the US guesthouse and team managers who facilitate our trips from afar.

I am sure there are some I have left out which I will try to make up for in later posts.

We could not make this trip without the donations of money for drugs, supplies and Haitian salaries, vitamins and other supplies, knitted and stitched dolls and bears, cloth bags for our patients' drugs, eye glasses, the hard work of so many who participate in fundraising for Haiti  Companions, and your prayers. Thanks to all of you who have contributed.

And to the One who makes all things possible.


Terry