An Infant May Die Tonight

An infant may die tonight. She is maybe 5 months old. She, her siblings, her mother are covered from head to toe in skin infections. They have lice. They are dehydrated. The baby hadn't eaten in two days. She did not have energy to cry and when she did, she did not have enough hydration to generate tears. The doctors fear her kidneys are in partial failure.

An infant may die tonight. She and her family were taken to the hospital. The hospital separated the older siblings and the mother from the infant as they had to go to separate hospitals. One of our caregivers stayed with the infant. Waited. Waited.

An infant may die tonight. After waiting two hours a yellow form was needed. The yellow form was two buildings away, but must be filled out.

An infant may die tonight. The doctors would not provide an IV or medicines. Those must be purchased on the street and then the doctors may administer them. The mother must stay with the infant as there are no nurses to provide care. The mother must stay for a month.

An infant may die tonight. The mother cannot stay. She has other sick children. She has a sick sister at home. She leaves with her dying child.

An infant may live tonight. Drops of hydration fluid are given to her as she leaves the hospital. After a while she is drinking some. And she eventually urinates a little.

An infant may live tonight. It is not certain.

Pray.

Pray.

Pray.

Dirt Moved, Colorful Houses, And Goodnight Prayers

Friday was our last day at the construction site. The goal was to move the unused dirt from the front of the church to the back. We were not quite sure why this was needed as more of it will be used when the floor is poured after ceiling is set, but apparently it was more important to have the dirt out of the way for church; even if that means someone else will have to move the dirt back at a later date.

But it was done and when they last bucket of dirt was carried and dumped there was a general sigh of relief.

The work day actually ended a little early so we headed to Petion-Ville to do a little walk-a-bout. There was a nice park that we walked through called "Place Saint Pierre". There were lots of people about and apparently it is common to go to the park and have public discussions. While we were at the park there seemed to be two groups discussing something or other. The discussions were quite lively. I am not sure what they were discussing, but I like the idea of a place to have public discourse.

On the hills above Petion-Ville there are what look like hundreds of houses all painted various pastel colors. It reminded me of the houses at Capitola Beach, California. It was comforting and wonderful to see the color in the hills when most of the houses we see are the same gray color of concrete and cinderblock. While Port-au-Prince is full of life and activity and there are splashes of color, a large part of the buildings are monochromatic.

Before we headed back to the dormitory we stopped at a small bakery for a snack. I ordered an iced coffee as I have been getting to much sugar with the nightly cokes accompanying dinner, but what I was handed was something akin to a Frappuccino including whip cream and chocolate syrup. So much for less sugar, but I must admit it was great going down.

After we got back to the dormitory and had dinner a few of us went to the orphanage to pick up a suitcase we needed to bring back. We got there about 10 to 15 minutes before the bed time prayer time for the kids. We sat with the kids as they sang night time songs, prayed, and generally calmed down for sleep. By the time we were done each of us had a least one child that was asleep and had to be carried to bed. It was a great way to end the day. It was a side of the life of these kids that I had not yet seen in the 5 years I have come here as usually we head to the dormitory earlier. But it is a time I hope to participate in again.

I Didn't Think It Bothered Me So Much

Each evening after dinner our group gets together to talk about the day. It is a sort of de-briefing, a sort of venting, and a sort of releasing. During tonight's session while someone else was talking it triggered a memory from the day and until that moment it was unclear that it bothered me as much as it did.

A couple of days ago during lunch a group of us met a young woman that lives over the wall from the church / school. Her name is Barbara, but pronounced differently and with a rolling "R". We chatted for a bit, shared family photos (it turns out Haitians are as interested in our lives as we are in theirs; that is a "no duh" moment that took me a while to get). And then we went about our day.

Today durning lunch I was walking back from the room in which we eat lunch to the work area and saw Barbara so I said hello and we started talking a bit. I was asking if she went to school (yes), how old she was (18), and what she wanted to be (a doctor). I told her the age of my children and just stayed chatting for a bit.

While we were talking one of the Haitian workers that has been with us this week walked by and gently stroked her chin while looking at her and then walked on. I didn't really think much of about it and simply thought it was two young people that knew each other and were sort of joking around. But after he left she had this strange look on her face and said that she did not know him.

I was shocked to say the least. I told her that I was not aware that they did not know each other and that he was incredibly wrong to do what he did. In fact, I told her that in several different ways. I apologized to her. I also assured her that if I had known I would have stopped him.

During this evening's session I sort of went off on a rant about this and about how the Pastor at the church, who is presumably mentoring these young men in some way, needs to embed (I think I used the word beat in the meeting) into them a sense of respect for all people and especially women. It is simply not right that even in Haiti a young man thinks it is OK or that he has a right to touch or stroke the chin of a young woman that (a) he does not know or (b) has not given him permission to do so.

It has been well documented that societies improve as the lives of women in that society improve. As their nutrition improves, so does the nutrition of the children. As the quality of their livelihood improves so does that of the children. And this ripples throughout the society. This can be greatly inhibited if women lack the respect of and are mistreated by the men of that society.

My plea tonight is to the male role models in Haiti. Treat the women in this country as the daughters of God they are. Treat them with respect. Honor them. Hold them before yourself. And instill this respect and honor in your sons, brothers, fathers, and friends.

Bending Rebar and Laptop Computers

While rebar and computers don't often relate to each other, they did today. The day started back at the construction site where the early morning was spent moving rock that will be used in the concrete from the back of the church to the front where we are building the building for the water purification system. We already moved this rock once and we are pretty sure we will have to move it again before the week is up. While we were doing this the local craftsmen were starting to bend the rebar and setting it up for the roof of the building.

Working with rebar in Haiti is likely slightly different from what you might expect. The rebar is delivered in lengths of about 25 feet bent in half (so they can fit on top of the tap-tap). From there you have to straighten the rebar out using a tool that looks a little like a shepherd's crook and then cut it (by hand) and further bend it to the shape that is required; all by hand using a hacksaw and the shepherd's crook-like tool.

Normally the local craftsmen don't really like us helping with this part of the construction. We are not exactly sure why, but we suspect it has to do with the fact that they don't trust us doing it. But for whatever reason we were allowed to do this work today and it turns out we were pretty good at it.

After the construction work I went to the orphanage to help set up the laptops that were donated and observe the typing classes in which the kids participate.  [Young] Jonathan teaches the kids typing Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in two groups after their school day: older kids and younger kids. With the older kids he is attempting to get them up to 20 words per minute, with the younger kids he is just acclimating them to the keyboard and letters.

Jonathan does have some older computers that he has been using so the ones that we delivered (as well as the router) are greatly
appreciated. These additional computers not only gave him some much needed equipment it also means that more kids can attend the class without having to double up on the laptops. These laptops are offering these kids an opportunity to utilize technology to which many do not have access. This will help these children as they progress through school. It also allows them to communicate to the world and get a glimpse of far away places. Most of these children rarely go outside the walls of the school / orphanage.

Two, Two Days in One (Blog)

Monday had a great start. I had a nice walk around the neighborhood with Ada. Followed by a tour of the new water purification facility at the orphanage. This water purification not only provides clean water for the kids at the orphanage (and us), but they are selling water to the neighborhood as a source of income (including flavored water drinks).

We left of a couple of our group at the orphanage, one to lead some teacher training the other to help with physical therapy, and headed for the Concorde Baptist Church, which also houses a school, where we were going to building an out lying building to house a water purification facility. The church seems to supply the surrounding community with water today and so clean water will help improve the health of community.

We spent the bulk of our day moving cinderblocks, 94lbs bags of concrete, mixing concrete on the ground (which is harder than it sounds) and moving it all again as the day progressed. It was a hot, dirty, and hard working day. But there is something about doing this type of work that is just amazing.

There were some setbacks, such as the Haitian masons forgetting to leave a space for the door and forgetting to remove the several large rocks before laying down the foundation; but it is Haiti and that is simply expected. (By the way, we removed that big rock in the picture after the foundation was poured. It took about 3 or 4 of us, but it was removed.)

In between spurts of manual labor we were able to interact with the kids and even spent some time on the street out in front of the church just talking with people. All the Haitians I have met while walking around have been extremely friendly and most are just looking to say hello or practice their english.

Speaking of english, the last thing we did before leaving for the guest house was to attend about an hour of the "Easy English Club" meeting. This club meets two times a week with each meeting lasting about 3 hours. This was a club started by some of the translators that we have worked with; the aim being to, well, teach conversational english. Tonight's meeting including a song, I Can Only Imagine, as well as a solo by a member who sang Italian opera ... you don't get that in many English clubs in Haiti.

Tuesday started off with a walk as well. This time Maureen, who came with us to Haiti to help provide some teacher training joined us. Then it was off to the construction site to continue work on the water purification building. We had some down time as the local builders put some scaffolding together to support the concrete roof that is required to support the water tank. We used this time to do some general trash clean up at the school. There is still a lot of trash in Haiti and the culture is such that most people toss food wrappers, etc. on the ground. Lots of children saw us cleaning up today so we are hoping that at least one of them catches on.

After the work day we spent some more time with the children at the orphanage. There were some parachute games, board games, and reading. The children really do enjoy being read to, but it rarely happens. I delivered the donated laptops to the school while we visited the children. My plan is to visit the classroom tomorrow while they are teaching typing to the children.

Sunday In Haiti

It was a good day.

The day began at church, it was a short service and only lasted 2.5 hours. It is inspiring to participate in their worship service. It was a service of hellos and goodbyes. Our group was welcomed by the community, but the community was also saying good bye to some people that will be missed.

Deliris, a missionary from Porto Rico, who has been serving in Haiti since shortly after the earthquake. Her first night in Haiti was spent in the church sanctuary as when she arrived there was no other place to sleep because of the damage. She has been providing physical therapy to children with physical disabilities. She will be missed. She is, however, not leaving empty handed, as while here she met and married her Haitian husband Mois. I have seen and worked with Deliris almost every time I have been to Haiti, Haiti won't be the same without her.

Also saying goodbye is Lorianna. She is a 22 year old Swiss-French student and has been in Haiti doing research for her masters thesis about kids in orphanages and how best to meet their needs. She has been in Haiti for about two months and has had quite an influence on the kids and their care.

She is staying at the orphanage while in Haiti so I suspect her days are quite full of activity, but it is clear the kids are quite taken with her.





Lastly, is [young] Jonathan, a 22 your old from Virginia. He has been to Haiti a couple of times and has been in country on this last trip since January. He is teaching the kids English as well as teaching them to type. He will be one of those using the laptops we brought down to help in his work until he leaves later this month.

After he returns home, Jonathan will be starting officer training as part of the marine corps reserve. A very impressive resume for 22 years.




I am deeply honored to have met each of these individuals, if some only for a brief while. They are amazing people.

In the evening today we walk down to the orphanage to spend some time with the kids. Sidewalk chalk, crayons, flying disks, books, and balls all were brought in to action. [old] Jonathan even found a stick and started some batting practices.

I was able to see old friends like Edna and Christina and Jenna (a first time traveler to Haiti) made some new friends.



A good day indeed.

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing ...

It is about about 10AM in Florida, Ft. Lauderdale airport to be specific. I left San Francisco yesterday afternoon so we are nearing 20 hours or so of travel and I just found out it will be a little longer before I leave the US for Port-au-Prince, Haiti as my flight was delayed 45 minutes. The flight was originally scheduled to leave at 1PM, so another 3 to 4 hours to wait. It does give me time to catch up on my Haitian Creole language tracks. My Creole is severely lacking (pa trè byen).

I keep trying to remember how many times I have traveled to Haiti and I find the trips blur together and I remember key moments, but I can't always place them on a time line. I think this is my 6th trip since March 2010.

As I have stated before every time I travel to Haiti it feels less and less like a mission trip and more and more like a trip to visit and work with friends. Just hanging out, laughing, and enjoying each others company. We do construction, medical clinics, visit the kids or what ever needs to be done, but at some level that is not the focus and and it shifts to just being with my friends, the kids, and making new friends as we work with and for people.

I pray on this trip I can be more conscious of the conversations I have. That I take time to get know those I call friends at a deeper level. That I listen, more than I talk.

Safe travels to all the people from the US that I am joining in Port-au-Prince. See you all in a couple of hours.

T minus 14

Farm at UCI Facility [1]

It is about 14 days until I hop on a plane for Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Actually, the plane is from SFO to DFW (where I spend 8+ hours and sleep at the airport) to FLL and then finally to PAP. Total travel time 18+ hours to go 3282 miles, so will be traveling about 172 mph. The reverse trip is actually longer with an 11 hour sleep over in MIA.

I am getting very excited about the trip and seeing old friends in Haiti. It really does feel like home when I am there. This will be my forth year going to Haiti and the fifth or sixth trip. And while the travel to and from Haiti can be tough, it is always well worth it.

We will be working on construction for one week and medical clinics for one week. I will be joining people from New England for both weeks. I have been in Haiti with some of the people before and it is always great to catch up with them as we work to contribute what little help and support we can to our Haitian friends. Even though it has been 4 years since the earthquake and there has been progress, it has been slow and there is so much more that needs to happen to support the Haitians as they transform their cities to where they could be.

My trip is not fully funded yet, so if you have been considering helping support my work in Haiti I would appreciate any help you can offer no matter how small. I have had to eliminate my trip extension at this point and will not be visiting UCI (http://www.unitedchristiansinternational.org/ [2]). They have been doing some great work in Haiti, so even if you don't support my trip, please consider supporting their work as they are not only providing university educations but also building self sustaining farms which are owned and operated by the local Haitians. 

I thought I would put a last minute request out for additional items that would be helpful for my trip. If you would like to donate any of these items please let me know so we can arrange it so that they arrive at my residence in time for packing:

1. English Dictionary (x5) - These will be donated to the "Easy English Club", which is a club some of the translators run in order to teach other Haitians English.
2. Idiom Dictionary (x5) - These will be donated to the "Easy English Club" as well. Turns out Americans use a lot of idioms when they speak. Could have bowled me over when I learned that.
3. Laptop Battery (HP dv6000) (x1) - One of the laptops donated for helping teach computers has a non-functioning battery. It is still usable and will be going with me, but having a working battery would be a plus.
4. Flying Discs (Frizbees) (x5) - Always something the kids at the orphanage like
5. Kites (x5) - Just make sure they are small enough to fit in my bags
6. Hacky Sack (x5) - Fun for all ages

Thank you again to everyone who has already helped support this trip. It is very truly appreciated. If you haven't donated yet, but still would like to, there is still time. Please send any funds donated to:

Union Church
C/O Jonathan Wright-Gray
P.O. Box 7028
Ocean Park, Maine 04063
(Please put "Haiti" and my name in the memo of the check.)

If you do donate please let me know so that I can keep track.

[1] I borrowed this picture from a friend's Twitter post without permission. They were just recently at UCI, hope they don't mind and thanks.
[2] As of this writing the website of UCI was not working, not sure why, hope it is up soon