Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Reflection

I arrived home last night from my trip in Haiti. I'm usually not one to be open with my thoughts, but after coming home I had a flood of emotions piling on top of eachother, leaving me overwhelmed and thought I would give this a try..

I have always been interested in traveling and giving back, and saw this as a way to get my feet wet. I got involved in this trip through my mom who had gone a previous time (which I was mad she didn't invite me) so I made sure the next time she went I was right there with her. I knew little about Haiti before this, the only connection being a friend who's family passed in the earthquake. I tried to prepare myself for what I was getting myself into and what kind of conditions I would witness. No news report, story, picture, or video could ever portray the type of life the Haitains live.

When I think about the kids I met, I find it amazing that they smile because the only things they have and depond on are relationships and faith. At home we are so focused on materialistic, nonimportant things that we lose focus on what life is really about. Yes, I am blessed to have a roof over my head, opportunities, and a car to get me places, but is that really wealth? Haiti changed my opinion of what defines a good life. My life may be easier than theirs, but my life is not as near as rich as their faith in family and God. What kind of life would you rather live?

After being there I feel a sense of duty to give back to the less fortunate. I was never able to wrap my mind around what I had done to deserve a "privlaged" life, and some of the best people I've met have been down the roughest path. Through this experience, I've learned that everything has a reason and I have the tools to help the ones who can't help themselves.

My overall experience was touching, and I definetly plan on returning to Haiti to continue giving back. I'm so happy that we were lucky enough to have a great group, everyone really got along perfectly. I find it frustrating that even though I tell stories of what i saw to my friends, they will never fully understand the emotional experience, but the people i went with will and for that I am so grateful for.


- Kelsi

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Chris again from Port au Prince

So we are nearing the end of our Haiti trip…and what an experience, accomplishment, and blast it has been. Since we left Petit Goave and came back to Port au Prince, we have seen and done so much more. Upon our arrival back to Port au Prince, we found out that a visiting Christian mission team from Savannah, Georgia was also staying in the Department of Environmental Health, where we are staying. There are about 10 women in the visiting mission team, each of them with a specific job to do at the mobile clinics we have been setting up. Some work the pharmacy, some work the “in-take” (where people are greeted), and some work in the Prayer/Group Therapy area. Every area They are all great people to work with, each of them with their own sense of humor. We met them on Friday of last week, which was the same date as my last post. That night we sorted through endless amounts of medications, some brought, some found in the nearby warehouse, and some brought by the Georgia mission. The next day, we held a clinic for all the Pastors that had attended a conference run by the leading Pastor of the mission team, Pastor Freddie. Pastor Freddie is the man, he is a great guy, willing to do anything for anyone, and is always upbeat and ready to help you. All the while, he was running a conference for over 1000 pastors of churches in Haiti. We saw about 280 pastors in about 4 hours, each one of them with a different complaint, but most of them in need of the vitamins and the medications we had sorted the night before. The team did a great job moving people through, it was run in an almost a gymnasium style building, with a stage in the front (serving as the intake area), a medical evaluation center right off to the side, then the pharmacy across the hall. The mission ladies also set up a prayer station in the middle of the gym for those people and pastors who just wanted someone to talk to.

The next day was Sunday, and so we joined the ladies of the mission and Pastor Freddie at the local church (rows of wooden benches with chairs on the sides) for their service. Little did we know, the service would be 3 hours long, including things such as 15 minute songs, long speeches in Creole, and finally a talk by Pastor Freddie himself. The people there all come to service every Sunday, so Pastor Freddie was introduced as a guest speaker. He is originally from Savannah, Georgia, and he talked about American churches at home, and what he has to do to get the people to come to church. If the A/C breaks, the people go to another church. If there aren’t donuts after service, no one comes. If someone’s car breaks down, they will not be able to go to church. After he said each of these things, I watched the Haitian people. Instead of shaking their heads in disgust at the luxuries that we have to have, they were laughing. They laughed at us. They think it is absolutely hilarious. Even though we have legs, we never walk anywhere. Even when the weather is a little hot, the A/C has to be on. It was amazing to see their reactions. Early Monday morning we had to say goodbye to Michelle…she was a great worker, she kept the kids busy with games when we needed to do clinic work meanwhile she was also organizing our clinic and keeping us in line. We really missed her in the pharmacy this week, she did a great job on Saturday.

Yesterday the group, along with the visiting mission team from Savannah, Georgia, went out to Cite Soliel. Cite Soliel is a section of Port au Prince originally designed to house day workers for the local factories. As John told us earlier in the trip, the section has been named “the least desirable place to be in the world” due to its appearance (mainly shacks with metal roofs) and the appearance and rise of gang politics in the last few years. Due to its nature, we found out that much of it was neglected when the original aid came through after the earthquake. We got on a bus (a big yellow one, like the ones that take kids to school) and drove into Cite Soliel. It really was neglected. A lot of the buildings are still in pieces, no one really cleaned anything up, and people are everywhere. We were driven to a school, and set up the clinic under big tents in what seemed to be the schoolyard. After we set up the clinic in the 4 sections (the intake, the evaluations, the pharmacy, and the prayer corner), we saw the entire school in a little more than 4 hours. It was a big change of pace (a whole day of pediatrics) but it was a lot of fun to play with all the kids. Sandy had all the kids coloring with crayons in the intake area, and then Kelsi worked to funnel them over to the evaluation area. After the kids were seen, Lindsay would shuffle them to the pharmacy and make sure they got the right drugs and vitamins they needed. We would never have been able to do everything without their help, I am so thankful they were there. After the clinic, we all came back and ate dinner, then packed up for the next day.

Unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to Kelsi, Lindsay, and Sandy early this morning. We could have really used them today, but they all had to be home. I know they were excited to go home, but Randy, Bruce, Shelly, and I agree, we definitely miss having them and Michelle here. They were so much fun to be around, and balanced out the ratio for Shelly haha. We made it today without them, but their presence was definitely missed. Today we set up another clinic in northern Port au Prince. This clinic was in, what I think, was the worst area yet. Buildings were leaning over, some without foundations. Pieces of windows and floors were hanging by a few wires. They had cleanup crews, but all they were doing were trying to clear the road (which the bus couldn’t get down because there was so much rubble, so we just walked.) Today we saw people in a small area, but we still saw over 300 people. Some of them were the ones working on the road, others were just people who lived nearby. While we were working, one of the ladies from the mission team fell ill due to heat exhaustion, so I took her back to where we were staying. After I got her back, my ride back to the clinic was a Ford Ranger, and Pastor Freddie’s wife was already in the front, so I got to ride in the back. And by back, I mean I sat on the tailgate of the truck while it drove through Port au Prince. There are two main modes of transportation in Haiti. There is the “motortaxi” which is a motorcycle that allows you to sit behind the driver. This is hard when you have a lot of luggage. So, the other way to go is the classic pickup truck, except no one ever sits in the seats in the front, it’s all about that back bed. So today the back bed was filled with water, so I was literally hanging on to the back tailgate by my legs and that’s it. On the way back to the clinic, we were going up a steep hill, and suddenly, the radiator started smoking. So we pulled over. In the middle of Port au Prince. To fix the radiator. I was not in the car, I was in the middle of Port au Prince, trying to fix a radiator. And I did not feel unsafe for one second.

I decided there are two types of first interactions with people in Haiti. There are those that ask you for money, and there are those that shake your hand and thank you for being there. But so far, this whole trip, not one person has shown any kind of violent tendency or any kind of anger or hate towards us. Contrary to what most people think of Haiti, the people here want you to be here. They know you are there to help. I think they know you aren’t in Haiti to vacation, you are there to help them in some way. So most people smile, give you a thumbs up, or wave. Or all three.

In both Petit Goave and Port au Prince, a big part of our lives has been the roof. The roof wherever we are staying has played out to be where we spend most of our nights. We all go up to the roof and sit and talk about life, about philosophy, about our day, or about our favorite color. In both places, you could see the whole city all lit up, or most of the time lit up when the electricity was working. It gave us a place to unwind from the day and get to know each other a little better. I am so thankful for each of the people who came with us on this trip. Each one of us adds something to the group, and it is really cool to see at the clinics how we all mesh together. Our team is strong, strong enough to be in Haiti, setting up clinics, making kids smile, and working together to make a better life for the people around us. I am so proud to be a part of it, I will never forget this experience or the people who made it happen. I can’t write anymore, if you read that whole thing thanks for caring so much. I’ll be home Thursday night, and Shelly, Bruce, and Randy will be back on Monday.

All the best for now, Chris

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Well it's about time I reflect

So this is my first time using the blog...I have completely under utilized something that can help me connect with my family and friends. To be honest I am not so sure what to write and put what I have seen in words. This trip has opened my eyes so much to what I have and how fortunate I am. I have seen kids without clothes, people so dehydrated they can hardly walk, hunger and starvation so severe I couldve swore I was looking at a skelaton and the list can go on and on. My eyes have truely been opened. 

Although we have seen a lot of upsetting, depressing and heart wrenching things we are making a large impact on the country and I am extremely thrilled to have been invited.

Today we held a clinic for priests and their families. We saw all but 300 patients in just over 4 hours. Patients were "checked in," then moved on to see the doctors. Doctors evaluated patients and then prescribed the correct medication(s). After they received their prescription they moved to our make shift pharmacy where they received medications for their symptoms. 

Everyday is a learning experience for me in this country and I am so happy that I've learned so much! I can also say that the people of Haiti have given me more than I could ever give them..


Randy   
Five days in Haiti . . . what an experience!! It’s amazing to me the range of emotions I have felt in such a short time. This country definitely contains a lot of beauty despite the devastation. It’s easy to see the awful effects the earthquake caused; collapsed buildings, communities of tents, roads and bridges badly damaged. It’s been my desire to also find the positive aspects that continue to exist; the absolute beauty of the mountainside and ocean, the Haitian people continuing to have faith as we see signs “Merci Jesus” and “God is good”. The gracious way in which the people accept the donations of clothes, toys and medical supplies we have bought.
In an effort not to go on and on, I’m going to bullet some of the things I have done or witnessed:
• Rode on the top of a cargo truck from Petit Goave to Port au Prince. To take in all there was to see, brought tears to my eyes. Definitely a top 10 experience of my life.
• Goat was served as part of the lunch the other day; I had to pass on that!! Rice and vegetables filled me up just fine that day.
• Seeing the sweetest smiles on the kids at the orphanage as we gave them clothes and toys. They sang a song for us when we arrived (in French).
• Watching a little Haitian girl fall asleep in Lindsay’s arms as she held her.
• One of the Haitian girls (about 16 years old) trying to teach me some Creole. I was not pronouncing it well at all, it was pretty funny!
• I talked our interpreter into walking about a half mile to buy us 2 pizzas for us (which cost $20.00 each), and he came back and said the restaurant doesn’t have any pizza today.
• This group that I am here with has been nothing short of great in the way each member gives of themselves to others, has shown flexibility, and has stepped up to the plate every time when needed.
This is a time I will never forget, and am thankful to God and Shelly for providing it.
Blessings,
Sandy

Friday, July 16, 2010

Back to Port au Prince

It was real in Petit Goave, but now we are back in Port au Prince. After my last post, John, Randy, and Chris set up a medical clinic in Petit Goave outside our friend Renel's store. The clinic went very well, we saw a lot of people and gave out lots of medicine. Most of what we saw was just worms, so we gave out mebendazole left and right and in a few days these kids will be worm-free. Other than that we saw a lot of dehydration and colds.
Michelle, Lindsay, Sandy, and Kelsi all arrived that night with Bruce and Shelly. The ride back from the airport in Port au Prince was cool, although Bruce, being the man that he is said "I almost died like 17 times."
The next day we went back to the clinic and handed out clothes and provided more medical care to the people of Petit Goave. Michelle, Kelsi, Sandy, and Lindsay really enjoyed playing reindeer games with the kids outside the clinic. Kelsi and Michelle enjoyed learning the local Haitian dance. Lindsay liked being bombarded by all the kids when she was handing out stickers. A lot of the children have actually never seen themselves before (due to lack of mirrors and cameras), so whenever we took a picture of them they would always ask to see it. "El foto" was something we heard yelled very often around the children.
After a long day at the clinic, we went to the local "hotel" for dinner. The food was good, but getting used to Haitian time is something everyone is still struggling with.
We went to the orphanage the following day. We got the attention of everyone in the street because we had bags of clothes and toys for the orphans (not to mention we were the blancs in town). Everytime we saw the orphans, they would stop whatever they were doing and start singing. Our translator Nesly told us that they thank us for being there and sing about more help coming soon. We had a blast handing out toys to all the orphans, they really liked the dolls we had given them. We also gave out punching balloons which made for an interesting exit.
After finishing up at the orphanage we went back to the site of the clinic (which was going to be closed for a while for renovations) and said our goodbyes to the local kids and families that we had grown to love so much. A few of them followed us back and we had to say goodbye again (which was even more sad). And then they came back again. To say goodbye. Again.
Later that night, we were eating dinner and we heard Johnny and Gueto (the kids) come up again. This time, they brought their moms and dad. Johnny’s mom is 8 months pregnant, Gueto’s mom had a 6 month old baby, and Johnny’s dad came to make sure his mom made it to where we were staying (over 3 miles away). The group came just to make sure they could thank us again, and they wanted our phone numbers to make sure they could call us. They walked over 3 miles…just to say thank you. At that point, I think I could have stood in front of traffic and been fine. That was the best feeling in the world to know that we had made such a large difference in these people’s lives in such a short amount of time.
The next morning we packed everything up, with the assistance of Johnny (who cut school to come help us) and left for Port au Prince. On the way we stopped by Renel’s house and gave him our tents and beds (and one pool float) for him to keep for us for when we come down again. The drive back to Port au Prince was long, bumpy, and hot. A few of us got sunburn, we didn’t count on being in the sun that long.
We are now in Port au Prince. We spent tonight sorting through drugs and punching them out and organizing them and researching them…it was a long process worthy of a run on sentence. Everything here is great on our end, we have our work cut out for us here. Tomorrow we will be setting up a clinic for a conference run by the local pastor. Over 1000 people will come to be seen, so we should be pretty busy. Au revoir from Port au Prince, we will write more soon.

All the best, Chris, Michelle, and a really tired Lindsay

Monday, July 12, 2010

Chris in Petit Goave

So it has been a while since I last had the chance to write, mostly because we are now in petit goave, and the closest place with internet is 3 miles away and even then the internet is dependent on the electricity running. Electricity is kind of funny in Haiti, it only runs at night, but there is no set schedule. It runs sometimes during the day too, but there really isn’t much that needs electricity around here. Since my last post, a lot has happened. We got to petit goave on Wednesday afternoon and we set up our stuff in the tent and unpacked. We are staying at “Our Lady of Assumption” (I don’t know how to say it in French) parish in petit goave. It is the main church in the ton, and people are constantly coming in and out. I know this because our tent is right in the main courtyard of the church, and whenever anyone comes in or out we hear it. That night while we were getting ready for dinner, Thom, the contact man for the foundation in Petit Goave, was running around looking for phone numbers looking kind of panicked. When we asked why, he said that one of the other people staying at the house had gotten sick and “was feeling worse”. So naturally, being medical personnel, we asked to go and see this sick person. What Thom should have told us was that this person “was not feeling at all” because she could not be awoken, was breathing 100 times a minute, and was incredibly hot to the touch but was not sweating. In other words, she was really sick. So Shelly and I put in some IV’s gave her some fluid, while Bruce and our new friend John set up some blankets to move her and helped Shelly and I run our lines. Randy ran down to the local hospital to try to get an ambulance or a van or something to move her in. When he returned, he said that the hospital was closed for the night and there was nothing available. So we moved her to a table downstairs, moved the table to the street, and literally stopped the next passing car. The man was nice enough to let Shelly and Bruce take her to the hospital, so Shelly sat in the front and we literally handed the woman to her and she sat on Shelly’s lap. Bruce held on in the back of this “truck” which is the equivalent of a Suzuki roadster or some other coup suv. It was really small, and I don’t know how they made that trip. The next part comes from what Shelly told me, because I wasn’t there. The sick woman had 6 seizures while sitting on Shelly’s lap before they got to the hospital. Shelly got to the hospital, they woke the local doctors (who were part of the Norwegian Red Cross) and they took care of her. The irony is the same day, before we had even met this woman; she had talked to the same doctor, who sent her home because she was not displaying any serious symptoms. Well now she was. After Shelly and Bruce left Randy and I sat down and tried to eat some dinner, but before we could finish Bruce called Thom and told him to bring Randy and me to the local hospital (which is called Notre Dame by the way). The doctors moved her to the surgical bed in the ER, monitored her vitals and put in another IV. Then they said they were leaving, and we would have to stay the night in the ER with her to observe unless we wanted to try to take her somewhere else. Considering that we couldn’t even get her to the hospital without grabbing someone off the street, we had to stay. So the doctors left Shelly and Bruce and Randy went back to the parish (because we had a meeting early the next morning, and Thom and I stayed with her in the ER for the night. We tried to sleep; however, the only things available were a surgical bed and a few chairs, so that was hard. It was further complicated by the fact that many people get sick in Petit Goave at night, so while in the ER, a few locals who were feeling ill came to see if they could get help. They came at all hours of the night, and Thom didn’t have any medical training, so I had the honor of being chief of staff, head nurse, and director of Notre Dame ER for the night. That was a blast, but honestly I think next time I’d rather have a few other people with me. When the doctors came back the next morning, they took over the ER, and the woman stated she felt 100% better and did not want to go home, even though she thought she had “Dengue fever” (Wikipedia that). So she stayed here, and Randy and I went out to see Bruce and Shelly at the hotel. They were with Renault, a local mototaxi (aka motorcycle that fits 3) driver who was their good friend from before. We met them, and then went to Renault’s house and shop, where we met with and played soccer and Frisbee with some of the local kids. Renault is a great guy, and he knows everyone, so getting around and getting another mototaxi is super easy for us. He is also a great translator, and likes to laugh at everything. All in all he is the man.
The next day we took a break from all the working and visited the local beach. The white sand and blue ocean was amazing. The water is just like any other Caribbean country…beautiful and clear. The sun was really hot, and there were a lot of rocks, but it was well worth it. Also, I ate goat, sea snail, freshly caught lobster (literally watched them cook it out of a trap), too much Dominican rum, and concrete textured bread all in the same day. It was a great way to relax after the last few days, but we are anxious to get back to the medical work.
Also, as of last night (Saturday night) we also learned the local nightclub is next door. I listened to Haitian music until about 2:30 last night. It sounds a lot like American music, it actually is the same beat and the same words, but much more sped up and the voices are all high pitched. I would liken it to Alvin and the Chipmunks singing every song on the Billboard Top 100. I heard lots of Akon (Smack that seemed to be a favorite last night) Lil Wayne (A Milli) and I actually heard Jordan Sparks and Chris Brown singing (No Air). I also found out that the music here is hard to fall asleep to, especially when you are sleeping outside in heat index of 95 and sweat is dripping off your body onto your bed (pool float).
That is all I will write for now, hopefully we can get out to the internet soon. I am actually writing this on Shelly’s computer and saving it, and then she will post it to the blog. She is heading back to Port au Prince today to pick up the girls tomorrow, and while she is gone, Randy, John, and I will be setting up a medical clinic outside Renault’s shop. All the best, I’ll write more soon, Chris.

Haiti through Shelly's Eyes

Bonjour from Petit Goave! We arrived here on Wednesday afternoon after the 2 ½ hour drive on roads that make the potholes on PA roads look like small ruts. Bruce and I are familiar with this drive, but it was a new experience for Randy and Chris as they quickly found out that Dramamine is your friend in Haiti if you are prone to motion sickness. Needless to say we arrived safely at the Our Lady of Assumption Parish, located in the middle of town, which is home to about 120,000 people. As we arrived in the parish, we were greeted by friends that we had made before, along with Father Bonafus, the main priest at the parish. Our accommodations are the usual 8 person tent set up in the parish courtyard. As the evening goes on and we get settled in we are notified of an ill person upstairs in the parish. Apparently this was an understatement, as the patient was completely unresponsive and febrile. Just as we would at home, Bruce, Chris, Randy and I switched to medical providers. After we established 2 IV’s we were yelling for a ride to the hospital which was about 7 blocks away. There are no ambulances that you can call for in Petit Goave so someone had run to the hospital to get help. Needless to say, we needed transportation as soon as possible as the patient was seizing and we had no medication available to help her. We flagged a car driving by and they stopped. It was a Suzuki Samari; therefore I had to hold the patient on my lap in the front seat as Bruce rode in the back seat holding the two IV bags. As the patient seized 3 times while enroute to the hospital, the driver drove faster as I screamed “VIET!” which means fast in French. Once we arrived at the hospital, everything became very difficult. No doctors or nurses and no one spoke English. As we are asking for help and realizing that there was none, we began to search for medicine and oxygen. We found the only oxygen cylinder…….but no medication. Therefore we knew that we had to get her 104 fever down. We started to cut up sheets and towel and drenching them with water and putting them on her then proceeded to pour water all over her. As we were doing this, we had all of the patients in the hospital and their families staring in silence at two crazy Americans running yelling and pouring water over a seizing, unconscious patient. Thank God that it worked and we were able to break the fever and she regained consciousness just as Chris and Randy arrived. The German doctor finally arrived shortly after that. We will never complain about American hospitals again. God bless the sick people in Haiti as the medical care is minimal at best. I’m glad that everything worked out well.
Thursday Bruce and I went to visit all of the clinics and medical centers that we worked at in March. A lot of the tent villages had moved and the one clinic that we worked at no longer provided medical care, but we were able to find the children that we fell in love with! They recognized us and came running yelling Bonjour Shelly, Bonjour Bruce. It was wonderful to see them, and even better to see that they remembered us. Again, they are still hungry and very poor but they have smiles that will melt your heart. We will set up a clinic in that area to provide care to these children and their families who have had no medical care since we were there in March.
Besides that all is well here. We will try to post when we can, but internet access is difficult to find. Please pray for good health and food for the children of Haiti. Au Revoir for now, Shelly

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Haiti Through Shelly's Eyes

Thank God that we are in Haiti. It is so incredibly wonderful to be back here. As we were landing, Randy and Chris were amazed and excited; Bruce and I felt like we were coming home. We are in Port au Prince staying with Catholic Relief Services. Chris has explained most of our activities in his post. We did have a great tour of town, but it is very discouraging to hear and see that nothing much has changed since we were here in March. Thousands of people still living in tents, but the tents are now tattered and worn. Its rainy season here so now the "tent people” are sleeping in mud and God only knows how the families living in tents made of sheets are doing. The food distribution has ceased and there are a lot of hungry, starving people and children. All of the buildings that fell or were damaged from the earthquake have not been touched. That means that there are still tens of thousands of dead bodies inside of them. Haiti is in dire need of every type of aid available; food, clean water, medicine, sanitation and the rebuilding of homes just to mention a few. But the most amazing aspect of Haiti is that the people continue to endure and they do this with smiles on their faces and faith in their hearts. The children who are living with their families happily come out with huge smiles on their faces just wanting us to play with them. They don’t complain that they are hungry or thirsty. They don’t mention that they have no toys or that their clothes are worn and torn, they just smile and are happy to have company. A perfect example was this evening when we were spending time with two 15 year old girls that have befriended us, Zanzie and LeKenna. After enjoying their conversations and they were getting ready to go to bed, they gave each one of us a kiss on the cheek and a hug and said “God bless you.” These beautiful young ladies living in extreme poverty with no change in sight are blessing us. They didn’t ask us for anything, didn’t complain that they were hungry or that one of them felt poorly because she has Malaria. Instead, they wanted to spend time with us and kissed us goodnight and wished US God’s blessing!!!! As they left, I couldn’t help but cry. There are no words that can explain what I felt, just the feeling of warm tears rolling down my face. It is my wish that God does truly bless them and their families.

I had the opportunity to speak to a Haitian doctor during dinner yesterday about the health care in Haiti. Of course he stated that the people don’t have insurance, so most care provided is free of charge. I explained that Bruce and I were interested in opening a woman’s and babies clinic in an attempt to cut down the infant mortality rate as so many children and babies die needlessly due to the lack of medical care. He agreed with the concept, but reminded me that they are not able to pay. I reassured him that we would never turn away any patient for any reason; we just wanted to assist in keeping more mothers and babies alive. We also talked about the village that we wanted to start where the 20-30 families living there could be self-sufficient from growing their own food to having a solar operated water purifier to building safe homes. The doctor was very interested and stated that he wanted to come out to Petit Goave as he believes that he be able to find us the land that we would need to start this. Even better, it would be donated to us!!!!! Life is good and God is great! We ended the conversation with him making plans to come and take us around Petit Goave and find land that would be suitable for what we would like to do.

We will be heading to Petit Goave tomorrow and so look forward to seeing all of the children that stole our hearts in March. Until then, please keep our team and the people of Haiti in your prayers. Au Revoir.

Blog by Bruce

So here goes my first post! First day returning to Haiti my confidence level was very high. Mainly for the reason that I have experience in country. The airport was typical with only a few more conviences like a baggage belt. The airport has changed the way that you walk off of the property. Now there is a long walk along the street inside a fence, then the chaos of the city. From there we arrived at the guest house. Very nice people here as expected. We found ourselves playing with the kids within the first hour of being here :-) Our team got a tour of Port-Au-Prince in a van. A little overwelming for the newbies but soon got a grasp of how bad life is here. Stopped at a grocery store for ice and things. Returned home for dinner, showers, and relaxing. Slept well and ate breakfast. The people here treat us well and could not be any more hospitable to us. Two more guys showed up today from jpf, Tanu and John. Very smart and nice guys. Will compliment our team well. We recieved news that there was a transportation mix-up and we will be staying here another day. So we aranged another tour of the city but this time we insisted in riding in the back of a pick up truck. Very good choice! Seen the sights and stopped at the market to purchase some Hatian goods. Bought a small handmade wooden box, a wooden sculpture thing of the map of Haiti, and 2 Haiti flags. While driving around the city, there was a bird that aparently flew in front of our truck. Wellllllllll needless to say this bird flew just above the windsield and the edge of it's wing hits my forehead! Another two inches and it would have hit me dead between the eyes! Everyone laughed, definately a me moment! Returned home and got settled before dinner. As we were relaxing for a few minutes there was a small medical emergency that arose with one of the locals. It was a very good feeling seeing 6 of us salivating at the chance to get our hands dirty and do what we do. Dinner was very good and well appreciated. Now we are all sitting and reflecting on the days events. It's 930 here and a summer storm just rolled through. Morale is very high, health is great, spirits very high. Bye for now. :-)

Signs

Let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Michelle Androwick, and I'll be joining the others in their journey to Haiti in a mere 6 days. I am a teacher at Twin Valley Middle School, a job that I thank God for every day. Not many people can say that they truly love what they do; I am lucky enough to be one of those fortunate people.

Some people ask, "Why Haiti? Why now?" I find myself responding with a phrase I used to loathe hearing from my parents as a child - "Because I said so." I don't feel like I need to defend my decision to travel to Haiti to help. I would, however, like to share my story. In this past year, I have experienced losing multiple loved ones. Most recently, a very dear friend of mine passed away. Although he spent his last 6 months battling ALS (otherwise known as Lou Gehrig's disease), he showed me the incredible power of staying positive. My friend was only 26 years old, but he LIVED those 26 years. The amount of people that he touched in his short life inspired me to do the same. I set a personal goal to put more good into the world.

Summertime rolled around a few weeks later, and I found myself randomly attending my parents' church on Father's Day. It was a rough mass, as I found myself crying and praying for my 2 best friends that lost their dads this year. Through my tears, I relentlessly thanked God for my own family. (Sidenote - no embellishment needed, I have the BEST family anyone could ever ask for, hands down!) At the end of the mass, a small group of people stood up to speak about Haiti. There it was. There was my sign, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I couldn't even fathom ignoring this sign. I spoke to Shelly after mass, and was immediately on board.

I'd like to thank my inspirations - My family (Dad, Mom, Bill, and Em), Dustin D-Man Myers, Jon-Jon Spirko, and Mom-mom.
I'd also like to thank my encouragers and supporters - my incredibly generous friends, family members, students, and co-workers. It's much easier to do great things when you have great people behind you all the way.

So that's my story. I'm putting more good into the world. However and whenever it may be, I hope that our stories from Haiti inspire you to put some good into the world as well.

Always,
Michelle

Port au Prince, Haiti

So we made it to Haiti. After two flights, many questions about why we had so much toothpaste and baby toys, and an interesting entry at the Haitian airport, we are sitting in the local house in Port au Prince. We flew from Philadelphia International to Ft. Lauderdale (i dont know how to spell), then from Ft. Lauderdale to Port au Prince. The Haitian aiport is just a big warehouse. You get off the plane normally, then you walk down a flight of stairs and get bussed over to customs. You go through the customs lines, and then there are two revolving belts that the luggage gets put on. After finding the luggage, the hardest part was making it to the van and finding the people you need to find. In Haiti everyone wants to help you because they know you have money, you are coming from somewhere else. So they all try to grab your bags or push your cart or say that they are the supervisor. They really do mean well, but when there are 7 people trying to push your cart over a cobblestone path, it gets rough. We finally found who we needed, got into the van and came to the building that we are currently staying at. If the computer lets me, I'll try to put up a picture. It is like a hotel at the Jersey shore, except it is mostly offices and there are tents in the yard out front. The tents do house people, and the kids there love to play soccer. I only wish I was better at it, they think it's funny how bad you are. Stranger still is the inability to say what you want to someone and have them understand you. They speak French, I do not. You can kinda get what they are saying, but when they talk to each other, for all I can tell, they could be taking about how funny I look. We got a lot of picutres, hopefully I can put some up on here.
So after we arrived at the house and got our luggage in, we met with "Pastor Freddie". He told us where we could stay the night and when we would move to Petit Goave, and also that if we were interested, he would have someone take us on a tour of Port au Prince. We absolutely went on that tour. We got in the van and a driver drove us around, showing us the fallen buildings, the tent cities, the markets, and the very much broken Presidential Palace. We got sugar cane (which comes in a little bag, like the ones you put vegetables in at the super market). It is like a carrot, except when you bite it, you just chew it. It has the consistency of wood, and when you bite it, sugar water or juice or something comes out. It tastes good, but I personally was pulling toothpicls out of my mouth for a good amount of time after that. We stopped and got out in front of the Presidential Palace, and we met some of the people who were walking around in front. Shelly played with some of the children from the tents accross the street, and she bought a couple of them shoes. Shout out to all my BC classmates, a priest named Joseph was walking by who had spent time in Boston at St. Ignatius (the lower church on main campus). It was kinda cool to talk to him in front of the Presidential Palace it was a little reminder of home.
Our driver needed some groceries and ice, so he went to the local grocery store in Port au Prince. It had maybe 5 aisles and sold pretty much anything. We got some cookies, some Pringles, and I got a Haitian beer to try (no drinking age in Haiti). We went back to the house and ate dinner. The ladies of the house made, Kraft Mac and Cheese, fried plantains, string beans, corn, and chicken. Everything was delicious, no question asked. I was not expecting such good food, but we certainly got it. After dinner we went out and played with the kids a little more before they had to go to bed. We learned a lot about Haitian culture. We learned by the blasting music next door that Haitians love Jay Z, hate Kanye West for stealing the mic from "that coutry girl", and are big fans of music in general. We hooked up our Ipods to speakers and played some music and danced with the Haitian children who live here.
After that, the children went to bed so we followed suit. Our room had a shower that shot water out in a stream smaller than that of a hose, but it was cold and it felt really good. This morning we got up and got ready, packed our backpacks full of medical equipment, and ate breakfast. Breakfast was pancakes, hot dogs cooked in some blend of spices, and toast. They did have coffee (thank God) but that last sip was straight grounds. We played some more soccer with the kids, and now we are waiting for the ride to take us to Petit Goave. Unless plans change.
In Haiti, time seems irrelevent. I dont think many people have watches, and its just sun comes up sun goes down. Early for a Haitian is 4am. We learned this after asking our driver what time he wanted to go in the morning. Haiti also is one hour behind the US, because of day light savings.
If there are no posts to this for a while, it is because we went to Petit Goave and couldnt find internet. We are blessed enough to get internet here, but it was hard to find, and I doubt it will get any easier. Thank you all so much for your prayers, God bless.

Chris

Ps...doesnt look like it will let me upload pictures. Sorry

Monday, July 5, 2010

GETTING READY . . .

Life in Haiti is much different than what we experience here in the USA, yet I believe there are some commonalities that exist which will remind me, how very much we are alike. As I mentally plan to go, I’m wondering what my journey will be like, where I will fit in.

My name is Sandy Evans and this will be my first trip to Haiti. I am a first grade teacher at the Octorara School District and a mother of 3 children (17, 14 and 13 years old). My oldest daughter, Lindsay will also be going along on the trip. The reason I have chosen to go to Haiti is that I strongly believe that it is important to give back. My life has been blessed in many more ways than is reasonable to go into on this blog. God has enabled me to attain a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership through Immaculata University. It is my desire to use the skills I have gained in my education as well as life experiences to make a difference in the lives of others.

Thank you to the Upper Octorara Presbyterian Church, my family and friends for the support you have given to Lindsay and I, which has enabled us to participate in this mission. With anticipation and gratitude, we will do our best to represent our country, our community, and ourselves in a positive way.

Sandy

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Four Members Departing for Haiti Tomorrow!!!!

Well, the departure date is almost here, and even though we have known for months that tomorrow was "the day", we are all running and getting the last minute items together and trying to fit it all into our suitcases. Let the adventure begin!

My name is Shelly Meadowcroft and this will be my second trip to Haiti. Two members from our team, myself and Bruce Harlan, spent 10 days in Petit Goave Haiti in March. Although we made every attempt to be well informed about the conditions and people of Haiti prior to our trip, nothing could have prepared us for what we experienced. From the extreme overcrowding and poverty in Port au Prince, to the incredible natural beauty of the mountains and ocean, to the amazing resilience and faith of the Haitian people, to the beautiful voices of the singing children. I am very excited to have 6 new volunteers join us in Petit Goave. Randy Smith and Chris McLaughlin will be travelling with us tomorrow. Sandy Evans, Lindsay Evans , Michelle Androwick and my daughter Kelsi Thieroff will be joining us on July 12 through July 20. We will returning at the end of July.

I would love to have the time to write more, but the packing of all the medical equipment, medicine, toys and clothes for the orphanage needs to be completed. Until next time, au voir.

Shelly Meadowcroft