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
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