Three Days and Two Nights

It is hard to believe it is already Wednesday. We have been busy since Sunday. On Monday we visited a very impressive school and orphanage. This location also houses a therapy clinic for children with disabilities run by D, a Baptist missionary. Currently, the orphanage houses 27 children, but has the capacity for about 50. Additionally, this same site provides occupational training to the older orphans as well as young adults in the area. Right now they offer sewing and tile installation, but are looking to start nursing classes in the next month or so. This site is to be a template that can be replicated in other part of Port-au-Prince.


It was at this site on Monday where we held our first medical clinic. This was also to be the first trial of the Haitian kite project that was started. So while the doctors and nurses whee doing their doctor and nurse things I set out with to Haitian helpers to work on kites and entertain kids as they waited to see the doctors.

Luckily the young Haitians with which I was working knew how to string the kites, so it was decided that while I entertain the small children they would start a kite production line and when they were finished we would start handing out the kites. This made since as for the most part the children with which we were working were very young.

Every now and again I would steal a kite from the production line and give it to a kids. And while I can't say if the kite flew or if it went up simply because the child held a string an ran, I will take any success I can get.


We have been having some issues with our transportation this week, in particular one van, but really a couple of different vehicles. The van has some transmission issues, alignment issues, perhaps a bent axle, and some breaking problems; but other than that it is fine. So it was decided that the van would get some repair work during the clinic. In Haiti this means that a bunch of guys would tear apart the van, fix what they could, and put it back together at the clinic site. We were hoping that would be back together again by the end of the clinic and it was. It was really kind of amazing given the tools and environment.




The next day, Tuesday, we were providing a medical clinic in another part of the city. We did not make kites for this clinic as there was no open ground to use the kites. After the clinic was set up an functional, M and I, went back to the site of the first clinic to do some painting at the orphanage. To be honest, I am not sure the site was ready to be painted, but I respect that the Pastor was attempting to accommodate some non-medical work. So after a brief painting session M and I spent some more time with the children. We also may or may not have took a walk around the block unaccompanied, where we may or may not have meet some very nice people who simply want to chat, meet some new people and practice their English. But again, that is only in theory what we might have done.

Today as the medical clinic was setting up, M, J, and I headed back to the first site to paint again, this time with a much more detailed plan by D to paint the rooms in which she provides therapy for handicap children. The idea being to brighten up the space and make it more child friendly. This took most the day, but I have to admit the rooms looked much more welcoming when the job was done; even if we had to put a 3rd coat on one wall and paint the top of another wall that no one was ever going to see.

It has been a busy couple of days and I am quite tired. Tomorrow we are going to an orphanage that we first visited last year to perform a clinic. My goal is to build a bunch of kites tonight to have them ready. I think it will work out better to have some pre-made and then also make some with the kids.

Location:Rue Roucourt,Carrefour,Haiti

Impressions

It is 8pm in Port-au-Prince and the day is drawing to an end. We have arrived at the site we will be calling home, as you can see from the picture. The trip down to Haiti has been long and tiring, but as always, worth it.

I have to admit when I saw all the mission groups boarding in Miami I was a little disheartened. It was somewhat depressing to see so many groups and their associated money flow into Haiti and yet still there is so much that needs to be done. There are many reasons for this and it helps to understand the history of Haiti as part of the context, but even with a little knowledge in this area it can be disheartening.

The airport in PaP is pretty much as I remember it from last year, it really hasn't changed. The baggage carriers are still attempting to get every dollar from you they can. "Hey, I touched that bag, you owe me a tip", is kind of the mentality. It was a bit frustrating that the guy that Pastor R sent down to help us kept asking for more and more money, now he didn't get it, but he kept asking. I know people are hurting here, but ...

The ride from the airport was interesting as we seemed to avoid the main road and we were not sure why. Some parts of the city seemed a little better, some parts seemed worse. In particular it seemed that there were many more tents surrounding the presidential palace than last year. When we finally did hit the main road it was evident why we were attempting to avoid it as it was going under major reconstruction. Gone is the makeshift center divider made from jersey barriers and they seem to be building a real median.

Seeing that there was progress on the road was promising. Don't get me wrong there is still piles of trash burning everywhere and evidence of the earthquake 2 years ago can still be seen, but progress is being made; ever so slowly.

I find myself looking forward to church tomorrow in hopes that I will be able to see the translators that we worked with last year and give them the Bibles they have been waiting for to help them teach English in their Easy English Club. We sent them Bibles shortly after last year's trip, but they did not make it to their intended target and I am not sure what happened. But this year we brought them down personally, so we know they will get them.

PaP still smells of diesel fuel and charcoal, but it is a smell I associate with Haiti and it brings back the memories of the past two trips: having to close the medical clinics even when there were more patients waiting, the family who lost their wife / mother in the earthquake with the 12 year old daughter heading the family because the father was essentially a ghost of a man, the children that couldn't be helped, the orphans living in a condemned building with some that had to be put on the street every night because the government would shut down the orphanage if they kept more than 60 at night, not being able to feed the orphans every day ... the smiles on the children's faces as they received stickers, playing frisbee with the kids while they waited for exams, making bracelets with the orphans, playing duck, duck, goose, the people that were treated and saved ...

Haiti is a quandary for me. It holds both incredibly difficult memories and feelings that can literal sneak up on me and break my heart, but it holds some of the most meaningful things I have done in this life. It has a pull, that won't let go and that I long to share.

Well, the lizard on the wall has chirped 6, which in lizard speak means that is time for bed ... I wonder what tomorrow will hold ...

Location:Rue Roucourt,Carrefour,Haiti

But Will They Fly

After an overnight flight from San Francisco, I find myself sitting in Miami International Airport at a rather early hour. There look to be 3 flights to Haiti this morning from Miami, so I suspect there will be lots of people going to Haiti to help. I have seen one team already. I assume they are a team as they have matching t-shirts.

Several things rapidly crossing my mind this morning: I am thinking of my family and hope they will be ok while I am away, I am thinking of the mission team and hope that we actually meet up in PaP as planned and all goes well, and funny enough I keep hoping the kites we are planning to build will actually fly.

The kites we have planned are those built from 3 chop sticks, some string, some plastic (for the skin), and a bit of tape / glue. They are modeled after Haitian kites and the design, in theory, seems sound enough, but I never really have done a complete practical tests. This makes me a bit nervous. I suspect we are going to have to leverage some local knowledge from the translators and perhaps even the kids to get things tuned just right, but I find my biggest fear right now is that they won't get off the ground.

So besides your prayers for safety, caring, and compassion, please pray for the kites to fly and the children to enjoy the simply pleasure of a kite.

Location:Miami International Airport, Gate D25