Floods

Hey guys, thanks again for your patience!! 

Please continue to pray...

Leogane has been fortunate in all of this, but the north island of Haiti is in utter turmoil. They need your prayers and they need the rain to stop. I have heard that Haiti has been on the television a lot in the states and it has been nice to have updates from everyone because my access, as you all know, to the internet is not frequent. Therefore, most of you guys at home probably know more about the situation then I do.

As for Leogane and what I do know, the city is beginning to dry out and most of the roads are passable. Everyday since yesterday has seemed to gone on as normal. Businesses have been open and people have been strolling the streets as if the worst has past and we all hope that is true!! It has been nice to see the blue skies and to actually be reminded how hot it gets here in the direct sunlight again!! I think I even got a little sun burned today... that is the Haiti I know!!

As far as the programs and our ability to do work...

We have been slowed a little and most of the mothers in our programs have been limited in the transportation methods because of the high levels of water. As we see them subside we have seen more mothers bringing in their children in the past few days. Right now Kara and I are just trying to figure out where we can help. With all of the unclean water running around we are still waiting to see how we can use our resources here to help the people of Leogane. We know that there are many without water and we hope to help them really soon with some of our solution from our water program. So, things have definitely been slow but fortunately I have had to continue to enter the information from the survey we conducted in July to occupy my time. Thanks, as always, for the continued support and I look forward to seeing most of you really soon!! I hope to have more updates soon...

ps. above is a picture of the recent floods in Leogane, if you couldn't tell...haha!!

pss. ok, this is the main road next to the hospital, about 3.5 to 4 feet of water in places...

Gustav

To all those that have been praying for us, Thank You...

Gustav was tangled in the mountains before it reached us, therefore, the winds had dwindled to gusts of 40+ mph. On the other hand, the rain has been unrelenting and I can only begin to imagine the damage He has left in his wake. 

Please continue to pray for the people of Haiti...with no waste management or sanitation services you can only imagine what rising water levels must mean!! Please pray for manageable sized epidemics, or better yet, none at all!!

Briefly, on our ride over in the landcruiser I witnessed what you would only imagine seeing in a magazine or the movies. The roads, or what use to be roads, where all rushing rivers!! For those of you that have visited Leogane, all the roads running from the main highway into the city have transformed into funnels for the outpouring of water from the mountains. In some places the water levels exceeded 4 feet!! We have heard from CNP staff in Darbonne that the water levels could be higher and they are experience some difficulties. All in all, the CNP staff, that we know, is safe and sound. But, I have a feeling that the work is just about to begin. 

I didn't have an opportunity on the way over to capture any photos, therefore, I leave you with one of my favorite areas of Leogane (the banks of the Grand Rivye). Thanks again for all your prayers and I will do my best, as always, to keep everyone posted!!

Update

Sorry and thanks for your patience...

The Internet situation down here has not gotten any better, in fact, it may be a little worse!! Hopefully some ideas are on the table and they will come to fruition soon!!

As far as what has been going on, there is a a lot!!! I will try to summarize the week with the mobile clinic from Chattanooga and a update of Guerline...

The team arrived two weeks ago from today and let me tell you, it was so good to see some familiar faces and hug the necks of those that have supported me so faithfully!! It wasn't a homemade apple pie, but they brought a little bit of home with them and I sapped it up like a biscuit does with gravy!!

All in all the week was a huge success! The Hospital here is going through some trying times and in order to support them here we began the week hosting a clinic for the city of Leogane right there at St. Croix. The turn out was impressive and actually we had to limit our services to, i believe, 260 patients. The setup was quite comfortable and as always the dental team, Deb Watlington and Alan Crisman, were inspiring!! For those of you that have participated in a mobile clinic you know how hard the dental team always works, and for those of you that haven't I am not doing it justice by briefly describing their efforts. But, let me tell you, at the end of everyday they are the last ones to finish working whether that is because of the lack of lighting, the approaching thunderstorm (which many times they work right through the rain), or because they successfully treated every patient. They are the last ones standing and deserve every bit of recognition for their valiant work!! 

The rest of the week was filled with a lot of hope and a lot of heartache, as most clinics are, but as Mitch always reminds everyone "you can only do as much as you can do and you have to let yourself be OK with what hope you gave." If you focus your thoughts and efforts on the negatives, which it is so easy to do in Haiti because you are surrounded by them, it's easy to lose sight of all the help you gave. I think that it is safe to say that most individuals when they leave Haiti after a clinic week feel pretty beat up emotionally, spiritually, and physically. The weather and other elements takes its' toll on the body and then the situation of the Haitian people and the images you see seem to ring your heart out dry. But there again, when all is said and done you must dwell on the fact that without your work think of where the Haitian people would be and with strength from above you press on seeking to give HOPE!!

It truly was a great week, and of course, it was filled with what Haiti always offers: salsa dancing (Deb stole the show one night), french fries and beer, roads that never seem to be remotely passable but somehow you do, walks through riverbeds, tropical fruit and a wonderful week of Haitian cuisine, sunsets that will leave you feeling enchanted, and most importantly humbly spending time with your Haitian brothers and sisters in their world and at their level. All these things are truly a blessing!!

Thanks to ALL that participated and I look forward to the next time we can serve together!!

As for my girl, Guerline, her story is truly amazing and the book gets better with each passing page. I know I mentioned to some of you that I was heading back to the mountains if we didn't see her and/or her mother back at the hospital after her supplies of medicine had been depleted. Of course, they didn't come because they have no money and couldn't afford the transportation to the hospital, therefore, myself, Louis, and Guesly took to the mountains to take her more medicine and to check her progression as her body continues to re cooperate from the lack of nutrients that she went for so long without. 

Once again, there are not enough words to describe to everyone the feeling you get when you round the corner to her house and in that instant that she sees you her eyes light up like the brightest stars in the sky. Her smile was larger than I had ever seen and her embrace was worth any 2 hour hike ten times over!! It is amazing to witness a miracle with your own eyes!! I feel blessed beyond imagination and can only hope that everyone grasps, if only a smidgen, these emotions I am attempting to describe...

We spent an hour at her house playing and feeding her and taking necessary measurements for our records to track her continued progression. She sat in my lap, unfortunately I don't have these specific pictures, and I fed her her medicine. The picture above is right before she crawled up into my lap. Although I still don't speak the language great, the gratitude could be seen from miles away on the mother and fathers face!! Honestly, right now, I am at a loss of words and I know I will never completely describe my emotions of this experience. All I know is I am extremely blessed and thank the good Lord for showering my life with experiences such as these...they are truly life changing.

 

Safe Water

I know that I have mentioned to most of you being involved in CNP's launching of their safe water program, and with the help of CDC and other programs it officially launched a couple of months ago. As of now we are still learning and developing ideas, but currently our Monitrices from the nutritional program are being supplied with special buckets and a diluted chlorine solution called "gadyen dlo" to sell at a subsidized cost to families in their villages. Of course, in order to control quality of the water and to make sure the solution is being used properly we are training our Monitrices first at our monthly meetings, therein, allowing them to host training classes in their respective villages before anyone can purchase the bucket, top, and solution package.

The two full time employees of CNP that are working with the water program are Evans and Albert (who is in the picture above). Just after I arrived in Leogane, Evans took off for vacation so I have spent most of my time working with Albert. We have been going out approximately 2 times a week to supervise these class/meetings the Monitrices host in their villages in order to educate and answer any questions the locals may have. These meetings are a treat for me. Not only do I get to practice hearing/learning Kreyol from the locals during the meetings, I also get to hear personal stories, threw a translator, about how excited/thankful they are about this program and how the water in the past has made them or their children really sick. 

These meetings are sometimes held in churches and before each meeting they like to sing a hymn and pray before they begin. These times are extremely peaceful for me and although I can't understand the words of the hymn I sometimes recognize the tune and hum along. To be in these mountain villages among these mountain people singing/humming hymns and praying is very invigorating!! 

Usually the meetings last about an hour or so and without fail, no matter their living situation, they always offer some sort of "gift" before we begin our descent of the mountain. On this particular day they sent a child of the village up into the coconut trees to knock down several for us to drink. I have never had fresh coconut juice from the fruit before so it was truly a treat for me to have my first experience with my Haitian brothers and sisters!!

The preparation of the coconut fruit is quite a talent and I was mesmerized by the hatchet skills of the elder of the village who prepared the coconuts to drink. From an outsiders perspective it looked as though he swung aimlessly at these nuts sending the shell, like shrapnel, flying left and right, sometimes catching you in the face!! But it never failed, when he set his hatchet aside and rose to hand you the coconut there was a perfect size drinking whole ready for you to turn it up...and turn it up we did!!

As always I am humbled by the generous spirit of the Haitian people... 

Guerline

For those of you that didn't know, the Internet at the hospital has been out for over a week and I do apologize for the delay. With that said so much has happened that once again it is going to be impossible to catch everyone up on everything.

I have told some of you through email and maybe a phone conversation or two about the little girl I found in the mountains. It was in the middle of the survey and because of strict protocol in selecting houses it was a miracle that we stumbled upon sweet little Guerline. All the guys from the team were exhausted and were reluctant to stick to the protocol because of the distances you tend to travel in the mountains between houses. We climbed up and down the hillsides and threw the river beds until we reached this structure, Guerline's home, that looked as if one swift wind could send it to the ocean.

Guerline was inside the house and we didn't actually get a look at her until the mother had begun the survey answering basic questions about their location and home. I wondered over to the door of the house and peered in to find little Guerline there lifeless on a piece of cloth as her bed. It had to have been close to 90 degrees inside the house and she looked as if her lips hadn't felt the cool touch of water in days. She was lifeless and struggled to even maneuver her eyes to see who this stranger was in her house!! Of course, I immediately knew that we would be taking her with us to the hospital in the morning to begin protocol to hopefully bring her back to life.

When we found Guerline she was a little over a year and a half old but weighed less than some newborn babies in the states. At a little over 8 pounds there was hardly anything to her but skin and bones. Needless to say, it broke my heart!! The mother of Guerline new that she was sick but didn't have the money or means to seek help. Like I said before, it was a miracle that we found sweet little Guerline that day.

Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of her state when she was first brought into the hospital, but, honestly, I would want to spare most of you guys the heartache!! Thankfully the best thing about my story is the ending. 

The following morning after we had discussed logistics with the mother and father that we would pay for transportation, treatment, and etc. They pack their belongings put on their nicest clothes and carried Guerline 3 hours over three mountains to rendezvous with our driver where we hand another hour and a half drive back to the hospital. 

We just sent Guerline and her mother back home last week because she has made so much progress!! The mother is suppose to return to the hospital tomorrow to pick up more food, but if we see nothing of her by Friday I am headed back up to take supplies!! I think it is safe to say the Guerline stole my heart and I already told Kara, the program manager, that if her parents don't live through the time I spend here I am bringing here home...haha!!

The more she ate the more her personality began to reveal itself!! Everyday for about 10 days we would check on her progress multiple times a day and saw with our own eyes her growth and what was basically a "rebirth" of a beautiful Haitian girl full of personality and life!! The last day she held my fingers in the palms of here little hands and wanted to walk all over the hospital room laughing and smiling from ear to ear!! It was incredible...there is really no other way to describe it!!

Thanks for the prayers and be encouraged...

Burn So Good

With the survey coming to an end and Evan, one of the interns for the survey, leaving on Tuesday of this week a group of friends decided to celebrate by taking a day trip to Jacmel. For those of you that don't know, Jacmel is only 40 kilometers away from Leogane but you have to cross some of the highest mountains in Haiti. The road is quite curvy and reminds me of that piece of spaghetti that gets tangled around your fork!! On top of that, because of Haiti's enormous deforestation problem landslides are a constant problem, and the roads in the mountains are usually the first to go. Fortunately, rain has been absent this past week and there wasn't a whole lot of eroding road obstacles, but the back of a landcruiser is not the most desired place to be while traveling this highway!! 

Thankfully the anticipation of a day at the beach kept every one's bad attitudes aside while Jean Claude, our driver, gracefully maneuvered the landcruiser twisting and turning sometimes snapping our necks side to side like a rag doll. We knew that once we were on the beach and sipping a cold glass of Haitian punch "every little thing was gonna be alright", you know, like Bob Marley!! And it was...

The day was great!! We enjoyed a leisurely Haitian lunch, and I mean leisurely. The Haitians don't move at the speed of light let me tell you, but fortunately the rhum was a little quicker than the food. We ate a little of everything from conch (lambi in creole) to polenta and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it!! But rushed from lunch quickly to the beach...

We drove a little further east to find a cozy little beach that Kara had visited once and before Jean Claude had a chance to park the car everyone had plunged into the cool Caribbean sea tackling the waves like kids, well at least I did!! It was awesome. We threw the football, laid around a little bit, had a round of prestige and did it all over again for the rest of the afternoon. I am not going to lie, I had been dreaming about my body being submerged in water from the moment I stepped off the plane and the heat smacked me upside my head. Once again, it was awesome!!

Of course, the sun took it out of everyone and as the day came to an end the realization of the ride back home was looming. Thankfully the sun wore me out so much that I slept the second half of the hour and a half ride home! You would think that a day like this would end there from exhaustion, but Saturday night is salsa night!! 

So we showered and headed out... 

More Rice Please

After 2 hours in the car, trekking across some rather rugged terrain in the mountains just to the south of Leogane, we set foot on the trail to Bouca Lion. We set out at 9am where we had to hike 3 hours through several communities to reach the children for the day. The hike was beautiful!! In the ride leading up to the hike we had climbed ridge after ridge until we were at what had to be close to the highest point in Haiti. Therefore, needless to say, our journey began by descending rather steeply into a valley filled with corn fields and farmers tilling their land. It was wonderful break from the life of the city. The air was cleaner the people seemed to be a little friendlier and best of all the temperature was below triple digits!! 

Up and down, up and down we climbed ridge after ridge, and it was then and there I realized how appropriate the Haitian saying and famous book title "beyond the mountains, there are more mountains" or "mountains beyond mountains!" 

We arrived at Bouca Lion and went directly to our resting place for that evening. We rested in the shade of avocado and mango trees while picking kernels from the grilled corn ("Haitian Style") attempting to refuel from our journey. It would have been easy to drift to sleep in the shade. It felt sooo good to take a load off and relish in that cool breeze sweeping from atop the mountains gently brushing our cheeks. Unfortunately, we knew if we didn't get to work it meant more work for us tomorrow.

We embarked on our search for children, which, as I explained in a previous post this search is completely random and beyond our control. Therefore, sometimes this process can be completed rather quickly while other times drag like that last day of school. Fortunately for us God smiled upon us and granted a rather easy day. We found all children rather quickly and didn't have to venture to far from our home base, but we did make our way to the riverbed where we found children playing in the water, women washing clothes, others bathing, and a few men digging irrigation trenches with handcrafted hoes and pick axes. It was quite the sight!! At that moment it made me think about the rest of the world and what everybody else was doing? I find it amazing how experiences trigger thoughts...and how sometimes the thoughts aren't that relative to the experience...

I thought of all the women and children around the world that were washing clothes in a river and the farmers and how hard they work to survive...it was surreal.

We finished the survey around 4 o'clock and climbed out of the riverbed where the women of the house we were staying for the night had prepared a feast! In the time that I shed my pack and took a seat in the hand woven chair there was a plate in my lap with fried plantains, grilled chicken leg, avocado slices, tomatoes, and peklis (my favorite!!). Peklis (not sure how to spell it) is a spicy vinegar based "coleslaw" that blends so well with all other Haitian flavors. I don't think I have had a meal yet where peklis wasn't served along side. 

After dinner, oh yeah I forgot, of course we had rice and beans too, we played Haitian card games and sat around attempting to communicate and listening to the sounds of the mountains. I ventured off by myself to go to the bathroom and stood in the light of the moon gazing in amazement of the number of stars!! It was beautiful. The nights in Haiti end rather early, the sun sets around 6:30 and most people are in bed by 8 or 9 at the latest, especially in the mountains. There is no real entertainment other than what you provide yourself and plus most people are farmers and are up with the sun at 5am. Therefore, we decided to hit it around 9ish cause we knew the hike we had if front of us and plus we hoped to beat the unforgiving heat of the midday sun.  

In the picture above you see the house and all those that are shown, plus me, slept here!! For those that can't count, all 10 of us slept in what couldn't have been more than 250 square feet!! I can't say that I got a whole lot of sleep but I will never forget the experience. You know you always read stories or hear stories about living situation such as these but most never get the chance to experience it. I will say it again, "it is mind boggling how these people live!!!" They honestly know no other way...truly amazing!! 

I was humbled by the whole experience and the generosity shared! Sorry this post got a bit wordy but I hope that you can take a little bit away from my experience. I prayed that night while lying restlessly in bed that the good Lord would never let me forget this, and that it would change me forever!! There are so many "simple" things I take for granted and I never want to complain about them again. I will always remember my Haitian brothers and sisters in the mountains...