Work day...again today we worked on our various projects and as we worked on getting some viruses off the computers around the office there were two things that came to mind: 1. Everything seems to get done a lot more slowly here as it relates to any type of work and 2. The problems that we dealt with were similar to some of the problems in society here where sometimes the issue didn't look like a real big deal, but the further we got into the project(s) the deeper the problems seemed to be. We were able to make good progress on our projects today and everything seems to be on track to get done over the next few days before we head back.
Tonight there has been a pretty good amount of rain. It started at dinner time while we were eating and was really coming down hard. Seems like in the tropics there aren't just misty rains or sprinkle rains...when it rains...it rains hard. While we were eating we could hear it starting to rain and there was a porch area out the back door of the house we were in. The porch roof had been damaged in the earthquake and had a crack in it that was substantial enough that the water gathering on top of the porch (a balcony) started coming through the crack in the roof into the lower porch area. It was like a shower causing flooding in the lower room. Not much that we could do about it as the house is rented and it's the owners responsibility to take care of those types of issues, but they just really don't and haven't done much to take care of these types of issues. This is a pretty common problem right now as many people rent and pay their rent up front for the year. After the earthquake they have been left stuck with no place to live. In this case at least the rest of the house was pretty much ok, but this was a pretty substantial crack in the ceiling.
As we left dinner we heard there was a problem with water collecting on the tent over at the clinic and they needed some help getting it off to keep it from getting too heavy. The clinic is built over a driveway area and also includes an area off the driveway (in the dirt) where cots were on both pieces. The whole yard is pretty much flat and really no drainage was planned when the house was originally built, so with all the rain a 'lake' formed in the front yard that extended into the hospital area. The patients had been moved to higher ground, but it was still VERY wet throughout the entire area. We knocked the water off the tarps as best we could, but it is continuing to rain, so hopefully the water doesn't get too high. It made us think about the people in the tent cities that are spending the night in the rain and flooding ground. This is only the start of the rainy season with the worst still coming. What will these people do? The tarps help, but the ground is flat and puddles form fast and easily. With this much gathering water along with all the trash and poor sanitation it just seems ripe for disease.
There is a little boy at the clinic who's name is Emmanuelle and had some scars from being hurt in the earthquake, but despite all this was a fun little guy that always seemed happy. It's great to see him doing so well and he is supposed to get some additional plastic surgery done on his nose soon. He is a great little guy.
We walked back to our place after helping and had to walk through ankle to knee deep water. The streets had turned to rivers. All the trash that is in the streets is now floating.
As we were walking back we were concerned about dirty water we were wading through and when we got back we rinsed it all off with a shower while others out there tonight are trying to figure out how to keep their family dry in a 10 x 10 tent area. What do we do about all this? What would God have us do?
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Haiti - Day 6 - Visit to Pele
Early morning today. The lady that came in to have a baby yesterday wasn't making progress so they took her to the hospital last night for a c-section. When they got there the doctor was insulted because they hadn't brought her in earlier and he told them she couldn't stay. After negotiating with him he agreed to take her in exchange for sending two ladies in labor back to the clinic. This is healthcare in Haiti. So, about 4am 3 cars pulled up outside the house with two pregnant women to have their babies at the place we are staying. One of the rooms we're using is the 'backup' room and with two coming in they needed it. We quickly moved all the stuff out of there and re-arranged to make room. By this time most all of us were up and awake so we helped et some things together for the nurses..coffee (they had been up all night already), water for the ladies... It felt like being an on call doctor...with no idea what to do when woke up from sleep in the middle of the night :) I managed to squeeze in about a half hour extra sleep before we starte the day off. Baby 1 (Belle) was born around 7:30am and weighed about 5 lbs (pretty normal for there) and baby 2 never came and mom was shuttled off to the hospital about 6pm tonight for a c-section.
Today Bill and I rode along with the medical crew that goes out to the poor areas and does some after-care treatment of patients injured in the earthquake. Many are still suffering from broken bones and severe wounds from being hit or trapped under fallen buildings. We went into a part of town called Pele where the team goes about 3 times a week. For a while they went everyday, but with fewer patients coming now they have scaled back. We brought along one of the armed guards that stands at the gates where we're staying for added protection. He is a really nice young guy and is from the area, so he knows a lot of the people down there which helps if things get tense because he already knows most everyone. One thing we noticed was that he was wearing a glove when we went down there today. We weren't sure why and we asked him as we left and he said that was his signal to the people there saying that he was carrying a shotgun. When we got there the medical crew starting taking care of the patients that came and lined up behind the truck to 'see the doctor' Our job was to entertain the kids. This was an experience like no other and a moment in life that I won't forget. The kids came running over to us and thought we were cool because we were white (everybody there is black) and american. They would hang on our arms and legs and hug us. We kicked a soccer ball around with them and played the hand-slapping game for the couple hours we were there.
Most all of them spoke pretty much no english, but loved playing and having their picture taken. Some of them would beg for money, but most all of them just wanted to play. They would run their hand up and down my arms because of the hair on my arms (i guess that's not common there :) ). It was a great time to just love on these kids (probably a lot of the orphans) and just see them smile. At the same time it was heartbreaking. The area we were in was an extremely poor area where everyone lived in a little 'house' made out of piece of corrugated metal. A lot of the kids ran around in just a t-shirt or no clothes at all because they don't have any. There was a ditch that ran alongside the road where they would just throw their trash and it also acted as their bathroom.
It's almost too much for words to try to describe the scene. Despite all this these kids were some of the happiest kids I've seen. They could have fun and loved to play. Wrestling through some of the thoughts today when facing the true reality and putting faces and people behind it made this one of the toughest days so far, yet one of the most rewarding. To be able to go spend time with these kids makes it a lot more personal and I believe started a life-changing mindset specifically toward orphans. I pray that God can help to show me how we fit into this picture as believers both here and once we get home. It is easy to get caught in the america bubble and ignore or just not care about what is happening in some of these other parts of the world, but i think it is wrong to do that. I haven't always felt this way, but after being here this week and specifically this experience with these kids my perspective is shifting. It's a work in progress and I think God will continue to work on me and show me how we should help.
It is amazing the work that is being done here through Heartline. They are making a huge impact in the community as it relates to orphans, injured, displaced and those who are unemployed. They have cared for them through this tough time the last few months (and years before) and are committed to help for years to come. They have set a great example of Christ and sacrifical love that really goes beyond what I could imagine.
Today Bill and I rode along with the medical crew that goes out to the poor areas and does some after-care treatment of patients injured in the earthquake. Many are still suffering from broken bones and severe wounds from being hit or trapped under fallen buildings. We went into a part of town called Pele where the team goes about 3 times a week. For a while they went everyday, but with fewer patients coming now they have scaled back. We brought along one of the armed guards that stands at the gates where we're staying for added protection. He is a really nice young guy and is from the area, so he knows a lot of the people down there which helps if things get tense because he already knows most everyone. One thing we noticed was that he was wearing a glove when we went down there today. We weren't sure why and we asked him as we left and he said that was his signal to the people there saying that he was carrying a shotgun. When we got there the medical crew starting taking care of the patients that came and lined up behind the truck to 'see the doctor' Our job was to entertain the kids. This was an experience like no other and a moment in life that I won't forget. The kids came running over to us and thought we were cool because we were white (everybody there is black) and american. They would hang on our arms and legs and hug us. We kicked a soccer ball around with them and played the hand-slapping game for the couple hours we were there.
Most all of them spoke pretty much no english, but loved playing and having their picture taken. Some of them would beg for money, but most all of them just wanted to play. They would run their hand up and down my arms because of the hair on my arms (i guess that's not common there :) ). It was a great time to just love on these kids (probably a lot of the orphans) and just see them smile. At the same time it was heartbreaking. The area we were in was an extremely poor area where everyone lived in a little 'house' made out of piece of corrugated metal. A lot of the kids ran around in just a t-shirt or no clothes at all because they don't have any. There was a ditch that ran alongside the road where they would just throw their trash and it also acted as their bathroom.
It's almost too much for words to try to describe the scene. Despite all this these kids were some of the happiest kids I've seen. They could have fun and loved to play. Wrestling through some of the thoughts today when facing the true reality and putting faces and people behind it made this one of the toughest days so far, yet one of the most rewarding. To be able to go spend time with these kids makes it a lot more personal and I believe started a life-changing mindset specifically toward orphans. I pray that God can help to show me how we fit into this picture as believers both here and once we get home. It is easy to get caught in the america bubble and ignore or just not care about what is happening in some of these other parts of the world, but i think it is wrong to do that. I haven't always felt this way, but after being here this week and specifically this experience with these kids my perspective is shifting. It's a work in progress and I think God will continue to work on me and show me how we should help.
It is amazing the work that is being done here through Heartline. They are making a huge impact in the community as it relates to orphans, injured, displaced and those who are unemployed. They have cared for them through this tough time the last few months (and years before) and are committed to help for years to come. They have set a great example of Christ and sacrifical love that really goes beyond what I could imagine.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Haiti - Day 5
Today we started the day off again with our morning meeting. We reviewed what had been done and the plan for the day. Something that has been tough for everyone this week is the availability of resources to complete the projects. John told us a story about recently when Ronald (one of the guys that help out around the clinic) was riding his motorcycle into town and was stopped because his license plate was missing. The officer told him that he needed to have a license plate and they were going to have to take his bike. He responded that he tried to get a new plate, but that the government isn't issuing them right now because they have been too pre-occupied since the earthquake. They responded saying it didn't matter he had to have a license plate. So, he asked where he could get one and after arguing a little more they finally let him go. John said this is a typical scenario of the logic that happens in Haiti where it just doesn't make sense. There's nothing that Ronald could have done differently and yet he was going to be punished for it. They were also saying how 3 of the people on staff had expired drivers licenses now and the government isn't open to renew them, but if they get stopped and asked about it then they will most likely have to try to convince the officer that they have tried to renew it but couldn't. Crazy.
Today we tackled our projects again and continued to make headway on them although still slow going. There were times when we ran into the situation of 'if it will go wrong it will' making it not so fun and more time consuming to get the issues fixed. All went ok though and we are getting closer. Still more to do...
The place we are staying is the women's center/birthing center. It is where local Haitian women come during the week to learn a trade (in this case sewing primarily) and then they are able to sell what they make to people in the US and make a living. Right now they make purses and they are backlogged and selling very well in the states. It's a great opportunity for the women to be able to work and earn money. Most people in Haiti survive on about $2/day. These ladies are able to make a few hundred dollars a week making it a pretty good wage for them. It's neat to see how Heartline is helping these ladies change the course of their lives and learn a trade at the same time.
As for the birthing center piece, well this morning a women came in this morning with Beth (John's wife) and a couple of the volunteer nurses and she was in pretty active labor. Having a baby in Haiti is a little different than in the US. They took over one of the rooms in the house (note 'house' not hospital) and she has been laboring pretty much all day today...it's been probably close to 12 hours now. They don't have any pain killers or special equipment like heart-rate monitors or anything like that. It's pretty much just child-birth as it was before modern technology. Things went on as normal around the house all day with the women sewing purses outside and all of us working on our various projects around the house there and she labored away all day in the room alongside everyone. Not how most ladies would like to give birth i imagine, but this is how it is done in Haiti. Hopefully things get going soon for her tonight or else it could be a long sleepless night for all of us as our bedrooms are all right outside the room she is in.
On our walk home from dinner tonight we had an interesting talk about less is more and how 'things' can complicate life and decisions. It seems there are good and bad to both. When you don't have much and food and a place to sleep are your biggest concerns you have a lot less distractions. It seems it would give you a much stronger dependence on God and relying on him to provide for your basic needs. We are so blessed in America to really not have to worry about that even in some of the worst of situations and as a result we can be more easily distracted by things that are insignificant in comparison. It's really nice to have time this week to step back from the craziness of life and re-evaluate things as it relates to life, God and others. It is a good reminder of how good things are at home. I'm looking forward to seeing Abby, Blake and Kona later this week. I see a lot of people here who are apart from their family either because their family has died, they are too poor to live together and are all apart just trying to survive or they have been left and orphaned and it makes me appreciate my family all the more. Things are starting to feel a little more comfortable the longer we're here. It is trange to not feel completely out of place in a place where things are so different. I'm looking forward to tomorrow as we are planning to go out to Pele with the medical truck to play with the kids while the nurses do some field care.
Today we tackled our projects again and continued to make headway on them although still slow going. There were times when we ran into the situation of 'if it will go wrong it will' making it not so fun and more time consuming to get the issues fixed. All went ok though and we are getting closer. Still more to do...
The place we are staying is the women's center/birthing center. It is where local Haitian women come during the week to learn a trade (in this case sewing primarily) and then they are able to sell what they make to people in the US and make a living. Right now they make purses and they are backlogged and selling very well in the states. It's a great opportunity for the women to be able to work and earn money. Most people in Haiti survive on about $2/day. These ladies are able to make a few hundred dollars a week making it a pretty good wage for them. It's neat to see how Heartline is helping these ladies change the course of their lives and learn a trade at the same time.
As for the birthing center piece, well this morning a women came in this morning with Beth (John's wife) and a couple of the volunteer nurses and she was in pretty active labor. Having a baby in Haiti is a little different than in the US. They took over one of the rooms in the house (note 'house' not hospital) and she has been laboring pretty much all day today...it's been probably close to 12 hours now. They don't have any pain killers or special equipment like heart-rate monitors or anything like that. It's pretty much just child-birth as it was before modern technology. Things went on as normal around the house all day with the women sewing purses outside and all of us working on our various projects around the house there and she labored away all day in the room alongside everyone. Not how most ladies would like to give birth i imagine, but this is how it is done in Haiti. Hopefully things get going soon for her tonight or else it could be a long sleepless night for all of us as our bedrooms are all right outside the room she is in.
On our walk home from dinner tonight we had an interesting talk about less is more and how 'things' can complicate life and decisions. It seems there are good and bad to both. When you don't have much and food and a place to sleep are your biggest concerns you have a lot less distractions. It seems it would give you a much stronger dependence on God and relying on him to provide for your basic needs. We are so blessed in America to really not have to worry about that even in some of the worst of situations and as a result we can be more easily distracted by things that are insignificant in comparison. It's really nice to have time this week to step back from the craziness of life and re-evaluate things as it relates to life, God and others. It is a good reminder of how good things are at home. I'm looking forward to seeing Abby, Blake and Kona later this week. I see a lot of people here who are apart from their family either because their family has died, they are too poor to live together and are all apart just trying to survive or they have been left and orphaned and it makes me appreciate my family all the more. Things are starting to feel a little more comfortable the longer we're here. It is trange to not feel completely out of place in a place where things are so different. I'm looking forward to tomorrow as we are planning to go out to Pele with the medical truck to play with the kids while the nurses do some field care.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Haiti - Day 4
Today we started tackling some of the projects that needed to be done. Jared, Ken and Brian worked on some construction projects at the house we were staying in where the market was located downstairs, John was working on some electrical issues at a few different locations (the electrical conditions are sketchy at best. kudos to John for doing good work...i wouldn't go near it...John's an electrian, so it didn't scare him off), Joel helped sort and organize a pile of medical supplies that needed to be inventoried so that they could use them at the clinic, Jeremy went to the market & did some cooking for the team and volunteers at the clinic (as well as the patients) and Bill and I tackled some of the computer issues at the office. It was a bit of a tough day because we had a hard time making fast progress. One thing we have found about working in Haiti is that things move very slowly. If you need supplies you don't just run down to Home Depot and grab them, if you're cooking food you don't just run to Safeway, if you're working on computers the internet is very unreliable and slow...so no matter what the project there were obstacles in trying to get it done quickly. We were working on some big time virus and hardware issues that are time-consuming to resolve on a good, reliable connection so it was shaping up to be a pretty long process of getting these cleaned up.
It was a pretty full work day for all of us and we were all pretty tired by the end of the day. It was a tough day for all of us as we were all working in our skills and doing the same type of work we do everyday at home. The good thing about this is that we were all using our abilities to help, but sometimes it is nice to do something different and (in our case) get out of the office. But this was something that has been a substantial problem for them as they run the ministry there and there really isn't anyone there that can take care of the problems for them. So, our skills were being used and we were able to help with something that makes a difference for them as they need this to be working to help keep everything running with the volunteers and their connections to the US. We'll be working on these issues more this week to get them all squared away due to the slowness of the systems and the internet.
I finally got a better night's sleep last night as I'm feeling a little more adjusted to sleeping on the ground in 85 degree heat. It's crazy how hot it stays at night. At home it's still cool enough to sleep with blankets. Here it is so hot you sweat all night long sleeping on a mat and it makes it hard to sleep. I've had a couple nights that i haven't slept good, so last night i think i was finally just tired enough that it didn't matter. I haven't had any substantial mosquito bites yet (just a few) and have been trying to keep the bug lotion on as much as possible. There are mosquitos, but not an overwhelming number of them. Those of us sleeping outside are still being careful and sleeping under the mosquito nets, but everybody seems to be avoiding the bites pretty well.
Tomorrow we're planning to continue on the projects and hopefully be able to make some really good progress on things.
It was a pretty full work day for all of us and we were all pretty tired by the end of the day. It was a tough day for all of us as we were all working in our skills and doing the same type of work we do everyday at home. The good thing about this is that we were all using our abilities to help, but sometimes it is nice to do something different and (in our case) get out of the office. But this was something that has been a substantial problem for them as they run the ministry there and there really isn't anyone there that can take care of the problems for them. So, our skills were being used and we were able to help with something that makes a difference for them as they need this to be working to help keep everything running with the volunteers and their connections to the US. We'll be working on these issues more this week to get them all squared away due to the slowness of the systems and the internet.
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| From Haiti - Day 4 |
I finally got a better night's sleep last night as I'm feeling a little more adjusted to sleeping on the ground in 85 degree heat. It's crazy how hot it stays at night. At home it's still cool enough to sleep with blankets. Here it is so hot you sweat all night long sleeping on a mat and it makes it hard to sleep. I've had a couple nights that i haven't slept good, so last night i think i was finally just tired enough that it didn't matter. I haven't had any substantial mosquito bites yet (just a few) and have been trying to keep the bug lotion on as much as possible. There are mosquitos, but not an overwhelming number of them. Those of us sleeping outside are still being careful and sleeping under the mosquito nets, but everybody seems to be avoiding the bites pretty well.
Tomorrow we're planning to continue on the projects and hopefully be able to make some really good progress on things.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Haiti - Day 3
Roosters. I guess I've never lived on a farm and know they wake up early, but but 3am? Seems the internal rooster clock is off by AT LEAST a few hours. So, it was a little sleepless from then until we got up around 6:30.
We left for church this morning about 9am. The church meets a few miles away across town on a school campus. To get there we piled in the truck that the ministry uses to do their field medical care and doubles as an ambulance. It has a big enclosed areaon the back that you can sit inside of and an area on top where you can ride with a better vantage point. The only thing to be careful of up there are low hanging branches, powerlines and barb-wire. Definitely a good idea to keep eyes up. As we made our way through town we could start to see the devestation. Buildings that had crumbled, tent cities that had formed, people asking for money on the corners. It was pretty amazing the amount of damage caused in such a short period of time. Some houses had collapsed and slid down the side of a hill and 4 story buildings that just dropped like a pancake to the ground.
The church service was really good. It is lead by John and some other missionaries in the area. There were probably about 60-70 people there and it was similar to a church service in the US. They are meeting outside right now as the campus where they meet has been a home to the US military since the earthquake. It was really awesome to be there and worship with the Haitians. As I mentioned earlier, they are a happy people despite the conditions and it was great to see the hope that these believers had and the passion that they showed. I sat next to a Haitian man about 20 years old and we talked after the service. He was very interested in what we were doing and how we were helping. At one point in the conversation he asked me "How is the us different from Haiti?" Wow, didn't expect that question and I wasn't really sure how to answer it. The differences are huge, but I didn't want to make it seem like the US has it all together and Haiti doesn't, although when comparing a lot of things it does seem that way. As i realize some of these differences it makes me think about how life would be different had i been born in a different part of the world. Andy mentioned he lives up the hill a little ways from the church in a building that survived the earthquake, but he didn't have a job and wasn't able to find one. I thought this was interesting given the 'work' that would have been created from the earthquake, but the problem isn't so much 'lack of work', but 'lack of money'. People can't afford to hire people to do work for them. Interesting problem. Many people rent the building that they live in and they pay rent for the year upfront rather than month to month. So, in these cases they have a place to stay, but a lot of these places collapsed, so now they have pitched a tent on the roof of the collapsed building or on the ground next to it and that is where they live. The owners don't have the money or choose not to fix the house and the tenants are stuck.
John took a us out to see more of the city this afternoon. Sunday is the best time because there isn't as much traffic and it is less busy. As we drove through the city it was a very eye-opening and at times disturbing scene. A lot of it was similar to images that we had seen on TV over the last few months, but it is a lot different to in person. It was interesting how some buildings would crumble while others were find with only minor (visible) damage and others right in between were fully destroyed. The magnitude of the tragedy began setting in more as John pointed out things affected by the earthquake and things were beforehand. I wrestled with the reality of the situation as we drove around. People walking in the streets were dressed nicely as if you would see in america, so i had a hard time understanding that they don't just walk around the next corner and go into their nice house, take a warm shower and sleep in a bed. Yet that is not the case for pretty much everyone. As we drove through the streets there was trash just piled out in the road where it is then burned all day long.
The smell was pretty intense at times. Throughout a large part of Port-au-Prince this was the scene. This is normal life to them. Most of the people have no idea that there is anything different and this is where they have spent their life. In a lot of ways they are stuck. Even if they wanted to live a different life or try to be successful the resources aren't available to them to do it. There is no education, except in some private expensive schools, no money, a virtually inactive corrupt government to help....just each other and whatever they have at the moment in time.
We drove past a 'market' where food is sold out on the street. It was just in piles and when it was no good anymomre they would push it out into the street where it is crushed by traffic and trampled on until it rots away. You can imagine the smell. Not like your typical produce dept down at safeway. We went down to the palace where we drove past the equivalent of the white house. It was like something out of a movie. I'm not sure that Hollywoord could have done a better job It looked surreal. Across the street from the palace was a huge tent city in the field. Kids running around naked, people cooking dinner.
We finished up the day with dinner at Bryon and Shelly's and then had a sunday evening service at their house. Joel spoke about what we saw today and about how we need to look at how we can impact people we come in contact with on a smaller more personal scale. One thing i grappled with today was how does anyone fix these problems? These are God sized problems that really seem beyond the scope of 'anything' that any number of people and any amount of money could solve. We have to trust that God has a plan for Haiti and look at how we fit into that. These are God's people too and it's hard to understand why things are good for some people and bad for others sometimes. I was a humbling day as it feels like no matter what you do it just doesn't seem like it really can make a significant impact on the population of people there.
We left for church this morning about 9am. The church meets a few miles away across town on a school campus. To get there we piled in the truck that the ministry uses to do their field medical care and doubles as an ambulance. It has a big enclosed areaon the back that you can sit inside of and an area on top where you can ride with a better vantage point. The only thing to be careful of up there are low hanging branches, powerlines and barb-wire. Definitely a good idea to keep eyes up. As we made our way through town we could start to see the devestation. Buildings that had crumbled, tent cities that had formed, people asking for money on the corners. It was pretty amazing the amount of damage caused in such a short period of time. Some houses had collapsed and slid down the side of a hill and 4 story buildings that just dropped like a pancake to the ground.
The church service was really good. It is lead by John and some other missionaries in the area. There were probably about 60-70 people there and it was similar to a church service in the US. They are meeting outside right now as the campus where they meet has been a home to the US military since the earthquake. It was really awesome to be there and worship with the Haitians. As I mentioned earlier, they are a happy people despite the conditions and it was great to see the hope that these believers had and the passion that they showed. I sat next to a Haitian man about 20 years old and we talked after the service. He was very interested in what we were doing and how we were helping. At one point in the conversation he asked me "How is the us different from Haiti?" Wow, didn't expect that question and I wasn't really sure how to answer it. The differences are huge, but I didn't want to make it seem like the US has it all together and Haiti doesn't, although when comparing a lot of things it does seem that way. As i realize some of these differences it makes me think about how life would be different had i been born in a different part of the world. Andy mentioned he lives up the hill a little ways from the church in a building that survived the earthquake, but he didn't have a job and wasn't able to find one. I thought this was interesting given the 'work' that would have been created from the earthquake, but the problem isn't so much 'lack of work', but 'lack of money'. People can't afford to hire people to do work for them. Interesting problem. Many people rent the building that they live in and they pay rent for the year upfront rather than month to month. So, in these cases they have a place to stay, but a lot of these places collapsed, so now they have pitched a tent on the roof of the collapsed building or on the ground next to it and that is where they live. The owners don't have the money or choose not to fix the house and the tenants are stuck.
John took a us out to see more of the city this afternoon. Sunday is the best time because there isn't as much traffic and it is less busy. As we drove through the city it was a very eye-opening and at times disturbing scene. A lot of it was similar to images that we had seen on TV over the last few months, but it is a lot different to in person. It was interesting how some buildings would crumble while others were find with only minor (visible) damage and others right in between were fully destroyed. The magnitude of the tragedy began setting in more as John pointed out things affected by the earthquake and things were beforehand. I wrestled with the reality of the situation as we drove around. People walking in the streets were dressed nicely as if you would see in america, so i had a hard time understanding that they don't just walk around the next corner and go into their nice house, take a warm shower and sleep in a bed. Yet that is not the case for pretty much everyone. As we drove through the streets there was trash just piled out in the road where it is then burned all day long.
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| From Haiti - Day 3 |
The smell was pretty intense at times. Throughout a large part of Port-au-Prince this was the scene. This is normal life to them. Most of the people have no idea that there is anything different and this is where they have spent their life. In a lot of ways they are stuck. Even if they wanted to live a different life or try to be successful the resources aren't available to them to do it. There is no education, except in some private expensive schools, no money, a virtually inactive corrupt government to help....just each other and whatever they have at the moment in time.
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| From Haiti - Day 3 |
We drove past a 'market' where food is sold out on the street. It was just in piles and when it was no good anymomre they would push it out into the street where it is crushed by traffic and trampled on until it rots away. You can imagine the smell. Not like your typical produce dept down at safeway. We went down to the palace where we drove past the equivalent of the white house. It was like something out of a movie. I'm not sure that Hollywoord could have done a better job It looked surreal. Across the street from the palace was a huge tent city in the field. Kids running around naked, people cooking dinner.
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| From Haiti - Day 3 |
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Haiti - Day 2 - Arriving in Haiti
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| From Haiti - Day 2 |
We arrived in Haiti today. We got to the airport in Miami where we spend a few hours before getting on the plane to and it was interesting observing some of the people going down there. Some Haitians, some teams of workers and others that looked to be going on vacation. Maybe not the time to be vacationing in Haiti :) The flight was quick and when landing it didnt look a lot different from the sky than somewhere like Jamaica or Hawaii. At the airport we got a taste of Haiti. There was a lot of military setup at the airport still helping with relief efforts. We got to customs and didn't have any trouble, then we got to baggage claim. It wasn't quite like the typical baggage claim experience. They basically pitched luggage into a pile through a door where 200 some people started digging through to find their stuff.
We had 16 checked bags (2 a piece), because we had all loaded as much as we could to bring down with us to Heartline, and it took probably close to an hour to track them all down. We had one person watching the bags as we found and piled them and the rest of us hunted through the piles of bags to find the ones that belonged to us. Not really the most efficient system :) We finally got them all and then ventured out to try to find John and our ride from the airport. There was a fence that separated the airport from the people outside. They would open the gate long enough to let people out into the crowd of hungry baggage carriers who would basically jump on you to carry your bags to make a couple bucks.
Fortunately there were a couple guys there to help us (who John had sent for us) and they took our bags. We had all 16 bags loaded onto 2 of those little airport luggage carts. We walked out of the gates through the mob of people and proceeded into the street to get down to where John had the truck parked. The streets are busy and crazy so it was interesting trying to get these two overloaded carts down the street between all the cars. Twice all the bags on the carts fell off all over the place in the street and there was a scramble to get them back on the carts before the 'other' baggage guys grabbed them. It was pretty intense for a few minutes.
The ride through town was crazy. Kids coming up to the truck asking for money, people lining the streets trying to sell things...As we went through town we could see some of the damage from the earthquake...some collapsed, or leaning, buildings and walls and people living in tents right off the side of the road.
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| From Haiti - Day 2 |
We got to the house we were going to be staying at and could see some of the outer protective walls were still damaged and some completely down in a pile of broken bricks. Each of the houses has an armed guard at the gate for protection. We went over to the makeshift hospital where they have cots lined up under a tent made from PVC and tarps.
It actually is a pretty ingenious design considering what is available to them. It was pretty large, probably about 40 feet in length and 20 feet wide. There were probably about 30-40 people in the hospital being treated. Some are still in after-care or recovery from earthquake related injuries, while others are just there for more recent sickness or injuries. Some had pins in their legs, others IVs hanging from a pole that was cemented into a large bucket with an eye-hooked zip-tied to the top. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Right after the earthquake occurred there were a lot of people requiring amputations due to being stuck under a building, etc and most of these were done with no pain-killers or anesthesia. It just isn't available to them there. There were a lot of mothers who were either about to have a baby or just had one and were sitting in the tent nursing their newborns among the crowd of people. This field hospital had significantly better conditions than most of the local hospitals from what the doctors who were volunteering had to say after visiting a few of them. It's all perspective I guess. We handed out some dumdums to the patients and then were all very excited, especially the kids. Following the time at the hospital we went over to Byron and Shelly's house and had a great meal of ham, beans, salad and some great Mango. We headed back over to the hospital after for the evening church service and it was awesome to watch the injured who were so excited to have the service. Things are different here in many ways. Time is relative, work is optional. Most people don't have any sort of plan for their day and everyone seems to enjoy spending time together at the hospital or anywhere we see them...in the streets, the market...Once again makes me think about how American culture is so different and a lot times so rushed.
4 of us decided to sleep outside on the balcony because it is SO hot and since the city power shuts off towards evening time all the houses have a battery / charging system that runs the lights and fans and stuff at night. As a result about 2 in the morning the fans shut off because the batteries die. So, at least sleeping outside it was a little cooler. Because of the mosquito problem and the possibility of Malaria we each had our own mosquito net tent that we slept under. It definitely was cooler to sleep outside.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Haiti - Day 1
Friday - 3/12
We left Denver this morning on the flight to Miami where we are staying the night and heading to Haiti Tomorrow. I think this is going to be a great trip and a good perspective adjustment. Everyone on the team has expressed that the have had a tough week leading up to the trip with a lot of challenges. It is encouraging to know that it wasn't just me. It has been interesting so far as people have asked us what we are going to be doing while in Haiti and everyone thinks that what we're doing is great, but still to want to keep Haiti at arms length and not be affected by it personally. Maybe because it isn't something that we can directly relate to on a daily basis makes it easier to overlook.
I'm excited to get there and to get started with things. I'm a little nervous about the trip, but at the same time curious to see how I will be affected when we get there and see some of the things we have talked about like the extreme poverty, sickness, injured and devastation of the area after the earthquake. Still I believe this is an important trip and is what God wants me to do. I want to be fully engaged this week and try not to be distracted or be unaffected by the things we'll see and the people we encounter. I believe God wants to teach me some important things through this experience and I'm excited to learn what they are.
We left Denver this morning on the flight to Miami where we are staying the night and heading to Haiti Tomorrow. I think this is going to be a great trip and a good perspective adjustment. Everyone on the team has expressed that the have had a tough week leading up to the trip with a lot of challenges. It is encouraging to know that it wasn't just me. It has been interesting so far as people have asked us what we are going to be doing while in Haiti and everyone thinks that what we're doing is great, but still to want to keep Haiti at arms length and not be affected by it personally. Maybe because it isn't something that we can directly relate to on a daily basis makes it easier to overlook.
I'm excited to get there and to get started with things. I'm a little nervous about the trip, but at the same time curious to see how I will be affected when we get there and see some of the things we have talked about like the extreme poverty, sickness, injured and devastation of the area after the earthquake. Still I believe this is an important trip and is what God wants me to do. I want to be fully engaged this week and try not to be distracted or be unaffected by the things we'll see and the people we encounter. I believe God wants to teach me some important things through this experience and I'm excited to learn what they are.
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