A Very Merry Haitian Christmas

Christmas this year was much different than all the other Christmas' in the past.  Everyone here at the orphanage was in the Christmas spirit.  Some of the volunteers that work in Tabarre came up for the weekend to spend Christmas in the mountains.  On Christmas Eve, Fr. Rick Frechette (the director of NPFS Haiti) came up to the orphanage and said mass.  After mass, we all went back to the retreat house for dinner and wine.  On Christmas morning, we all got up and had a really nice breakfast together.  They we exchanged some gifts among the volunteers.  On Christmas Day, I was invited to Kay Christine for a special Christmas celebration.  Kay Christine is home to our special needs children here at the orphanage.  There are about 30 children who live there and they all have a wide range of physical and mental disabilites.  Many are wheelchair bound and some can't even speak or communicate.  The staff of Kay Christine prepared a huge Christmas meal and the children helped to decorate the house for Christmas.  It was wonderful.  Kay Christine is unlike any other home here in the orphanage, in my opinion.  It people that live and work there truly are a family.  The children are so greatly loved and the joy is permeating throughout the home.  Christmas dinner was delicious!  Here's a few pics to give you an idea:

After dinner, Santa made an appearance!!  There is a little girl with Down Syndrome who lives in Kay Christine.  Her name is Rose Therlie and she is afraid of Santa.  Therefore, to help her get over her fears (and so she wouldn't have to see him), they dressed her up as Santa!!  Rose Therlie made the cutest Santa!  She went around and shook hands with everyone.  Then, when it was time for the gifts, she helped to pass them out to all of the kids.  Every child in Kay Christine got a present.  The kids were sooo delighted!  I really felt blessed to be a part of it!

 Santa Claus revealed....

Jenny LOVED her new shoes!!

Enjoying the party:

 As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, the whole orphanage has a talent competition the week leading up to Christmas.  The kids are so, so talented and they were so much fun to watch!  I think that Haitian children are born knowing how to dance...and sing!  They all have amazing talent.  The kids worked for weeks to perfect their performances.  The kids all dressed up in fancy outfits and costumes.  Each house prepared a performance.  The kids wrote their own song, choreographed their own dance moves, and some even did a little acting as well!  I was so impressed.  On Christmas night, they had the grand finale.  The top six houses competed for first place in front of a panel of judges.  The local television station was even there to film them!  How exciting for the kids!  I wish I would have videotaped it because they put on quite the show!

On Christmas night, we all gathered in the retreat house.  We had a champagne toast.  Then we all played spoons and cards.  It was a lot of fun!  It was a Very Merry Haitian Christmas!!

Some Food for Thought...

Next week will mark three months now that I've been in Haiti.  My year here is 1/4 of the way over!  Time flies!! Living here has really made me think about some of the small things that I used to take for granted everyday living in the good old USA.  For instance, transportation.  I was just thinking the other day that I have not driven a car for three months.  It is a very strange feeling.  I used to drive everyday.  I had my own car.  Many Haitians cannot comprehend that.  Many of them do not have a driver license, do not know how to drive, and could never imagine actually having enough money to own their own vehicle.  In the United States, transportation is easy.  You can always jump in your own car, hop on a train, hail a taxi, get a ride with a friend.  It's easy.  That's not the case in Haiti.  Then there's always the tap tap option.  Tap taps are the form of public transportation here in Haiti.  They are kind of like taxis in the form of big trucks and buses that are all decorated and painted in bright colors.  It used to be an option to walk to the town of Kenscoff (about a 20 minute walk from the orphanage ).  But now there is a question of safety.  There are many problems surrounding the presidential elections and with that comes road blocks and riots.  Therefore, transportation is an issue. 

Another thing that I definitely took for granted was electricity.  It's not something we think about.  Like where does our hot water come from?  You wouldn't think that hot water would be a necessity in Haiti, but lately it is.  Kenscoff is way up in the mountains and it gets cold here!  The last four days, it has been in the 40-50s and raining.  (I know, I know, I have no room to complain.  There's a blizzard at home in Indiana right now).  But, for an island in the Caribbean, 40 degrees is COLD!  If we don't have electricity, which is fairly often, then we don't have hot water. 

The other thing that I took for granted was seeing and/or talking to my friends and my family everday.  Now that we have the internet, communication is so much better than it would have been a few years ago.  I am very lucky to have Skype, and email, and Facebook to keep up with all of the news at home!  It is so hard to believe that Christmas is ten days away!  This is the first Christmas that I won't be home with my family.  I am not sad, though.  I am really happy to be here with the kids for Christmas.  The orphanage does a big Christmas talent competition the week leading up to Christmas.  There is a competition between all of the houses here at the orphanage.  The kids dress up and they sing and dance, and then there is a prize for the house who delivers the best performance.  It should be really cute to see! 

As the holidays are approaching, and the year is drawing to a close, I must say that I am happy for all of the accomplishments I have done in 2010.  This has been a year of change for me.  I have learned so much about myself, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunities I've been given.  Bring on the New Year!!  I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store!

Beauty Amidst the Chaos

Haiti is a country full of extremes.  I think often times, it is very easy to see the ugly and the corrupt side of Haiti, not the beauty.  Right now, that is especially true.  A couple of weeks ago, Haitians gathered at polling stations all over to cast their vote for president, hoping for a brighter future for their country.  Yesterday morning, after much waiting and suspense, they announced the top two candidates in the running for president.  But, as is turned out, one of the top candidates is Jude Celestin (who also happens to be the son-in-law of the current president Rene Preval).  He is NOT who the people want for president.  The people believe that if Jude Celestin is in office, things will remain the same.  Instead, many of the Haitian people were voting for the popluar singer Michel "Sweet Micky" Martelly, believing that he could bring about the change that country has been waiting for.  Currently there are demonstrations and riots going on throughout the capital and many of the surrounding areas.  Roads are blocked and tires are burning in the streets.  The people are rioting because many believe that the election was fraudulent, and that Jude Celestin is wrongfully taking the lead.  The common people of Haiti have no voice, no say in what occurs here in the Haiti.  A huge percentage of the wealth in Haiti is in the hands of a very small percentage of people, and these people have the control.  The government, the police, and the military are corrupt, making it impossible for Haiti to move forward.

In addition to the problems right now surrounding the election, the cholera epidemic continues to spread without constraint.  So far, more than 91,000 people have been affected by cholera and there have been over 2,000 deaths.  The numbers are continuing to grow.  Evidence shows that it is very likely that the cholera was brought to Haiti by the UN soldiers, most specifically the Nepalese.  Nepal had been suffering from cholera oubreaks in recent months.  The first cases of cholera, here in Haiti, originated in the Artibonite River, just downstream from a UN base where apparently a pipe, possibly containing human waste, was draining into the river.  Experts suggest that the epidemic will continue to grow before they are able to get the cholera under control, meaning there are many more deaths to come in the near future. 

As I said before, Haiti is full of extremes.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, Haiti is a country of extreme beauty.  I am reminded of that every morning when I stand out on the balcony of the retreat house.  The mountains stretch as far as I can see, and it is absolutely beautiful.  Most mornings, the sun is shining and the birds are chirping and for a brief moment, the country is peaceful.  Last weekend, I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Jacmel.  Jacmel is a town located on the coast, and used to be a major tourist attraction here, before tourism became nearly non-existent in Haiti.  We stayed at a nice hotel, and spent two days at the beach.  It was a much needed mini-vacation.  For those few days, it was easy to forget that I was in Haiti.  The beauty and the serenity of the ocean gave me a renewed feeling of peace.  It was truly the beauty amidst the chaos of Haiti. 
Here's a small glimpse of Haiti in its finest:    

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today, I just want to say that I am thankful for my wonderful and supportive family and friends.  I miss you all! 

I am thankful that I was born in a country that is full of opportunities, and that I have the ability to make choices about my life, my education, and my career. 

I am thankful that I have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a bed to sleep in, because there are many, many people that don't even have these things. 

Also, today, I am very thankful that I am here in Haiti doing what it is that I've wanted to do for so long.  I am thankful that I have been given this opportunity to give of my self and share my skills with those in need.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

Meet Gregory Constant

I'd like to introduce you to Gregory Constant.  He is a 22 year old boy who lives here at St. Helene.  Gregory sees the world from a slightly different perspective than the rest of us because he lives his life in a wheelchair.  When Gregory was seven years old, he remembers walking home from school when all of a sudden he fell down and could no longer feel his legs.  He was paralyzed from his diaphragm down, which means that he had no control of his muscles in his legs, abdomen, bowel, or bladder.  His father did his best to care for Gregory for three long months.  Because Gregory could not walk he quickly developed bedsores, and Gregory's father sought out treatment for him.  By the time he brought Gregory to St. Damien Children's Hospital, it was too late to determine the cause of the paralysis.  Possibly it was caused by an infection in his spinal cord?  We will never know.  Gregory received care at St. Damien Hospital for some time where they treated his wounds.  He was then released back into the care of his father.  After several more years and multiple hospitalizations, Gregory's father determined that he just could not care for him due to the limited resources available here in Haiti.  So Gregory came to live at St. Helene in 1999 when he was eleven years old.  Due to Gregory's condition, he is incontinent of bowel and bladder.  Over the years, he has had several wounds and bedsores, and currently has a colostomy. 

This doesn't stop Gregory.  He is an amazing person.  He is always happy and smiling.  He greets me everyday with a smile and a wave and asks how my day is going.  Gregory has a very strong spirit.  He has big dreams for himself.  Gregory loves to sing and make music.  His biggest aspiration in life would be to go to the United States (or anywhere abroad) where he could finish his education and become a singer.  Unfortunately there are really no opportunities for Gregory here in Haiti.  That is the problem.  Here at St. Helene, we offer schooling up to the ninth grade.  After the kids finish their schooling here, they are moved down to the city where they finish high school and have the opportunity to attend university.  A few years ago, when all Gregory's peers were moved down, Gregory was forced to stay here.  He is very smart, studies hard, and speaks English very well.  He is unable to go to school in the city because there is nowhere that is really handicapped accessible.  Therefore, Gregory would love to go to the United States.  But that is extremely difficult as well.  Just obtaining a visa to travel to the States or attend school there is EXTREMELY difficult, especially if you are Haitian or have any kind of disability.  Then, even if he was to obtain a visa, where would he live?  How would he attend school?  Who would help to pay for it?  It is just not an easy feat.  But everyday Gregory keeps his head up and he holds onto the hope that someday, somehow, his dream will come true.  He is an inspiration to all who have the opportunity to get to know him. 

Cholera and a Hurricane....What next?

My apologies for not writing sooner!  The internet has been down here in Kenscoff for more than two weeks, so I have not had the opportunity to go online.  I know you are all probably wondering about Hurricane Tomas that hit Haiti a couple weeks ago.  Well, we got news of the hurricane about five days before it was scheduled to hit Haiti.  We thought we were going to have a massive hurricane, and everyone was preparing for it.  Down in Tabarre, at St. Damien, they had a whole hurricane plan in place which involoved stocking up on food, cutting plywood to fit over the windows in the hospital, filling sandbags in case of flooding, and much, much more.  We were preparing here in Kenscoff as well.   We stocked up on extra food for the retreat house, duct taped the big windows so the rain wouldn’t come in, and moved all of the outside furniture into the house.  The hurricane hit late on Thursday night (Nov. 4th).  We were expecting the worse, and conteplating all week what it was going to be like to actually be in a hurricane.  What if it turned out like the Wizard of Oz: Haiti style?  What if we all went to sleep in the retreat house on the top of the mountain, and got blown away and woke up in a valley in the middle of a Voodoo village somewhere far, far away?  It didn't exactly happen like that though.  I woke up Friday morning and it was raining like crazy!  We had torrential downpours Friday, Saturday, and part of the day on Sunday.  Friday was the worst though because int addition to all the rain, we had high winds.  Flooding is not really a concern here in Kenscoff because we are up on the mountain and all the water runs down to the valley.  It was pretty windy too.  One tree fell on the property, but other than that there was no damage. 

On Tuesday of that week, I had placed PPDs (TB tests) on 50 of our children.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with the test, it involves giving the kids a small shot it their forearm, and then checking the site for a reaction in 48-72 hours.  So, it just so happened that Friday marked the 72^nd hour, and my last chance to check the kids before the test expired and I would end up having to do it again.  Due to the weather, we could not depend on the kids coming to the clinic to get checked like they were originally supposed to.  So Jan and I put on our rain jackets and took off to check the kids.  We went house to house and checked the arms of all the kids we had placed the PPDs on.  It took hours because all of the kids live in different houses all spread throughout the property.  We would go to a house, check to see if any of the kids who lived there had a shot on Tuesday, check the kids if they were there, wait until the rain let up a little, then run to the next house.  But, we achieved our goal because all of the kids got checked!!  

As for the retreat house: Our duct tape on the big window in the kitchen didn’t do a very good job of keeping out the rain, and the kitchen had a lot of water that leaked in.  The floor was really wet, and we had to move the kitchen table because the water was leaking in through the ceiling as well.  Liz rigged up a water-catching contraption.  A metal pan, balanced on a shelf, on top of a chair. 

Then, in the afternoon, the rain let up a little and we all went up to the roof to try and mop up some of the water.  It was quite a site to see.  All of the blans (the Haitian word for foreigner), on the roof, with mops and brooms, trying to get rid of the water.  Then, we discovered that the gutters were blocked, so Jan got a ladder and tried to clean out the gutters. 

So, if nothing else, the "hurricane" was definitely exciting!!  Forutnately, they didn't have any hurricane damage or flooding in Tabarre either, but there was some flooding in some other surrounding villages.  Ultimately though, it could have been much, much worse. 

Cholera.  The major problem Haiti is facing at the moment.  The cholera outbreak started in the Artibonite region located north of Port-au-Prince.  At first, it appeared the the outbreak was pretty isolated, but like everything in Haiti, it has escalated into a huge problem.  The cholera is spreading and now there are many cases in and around Port-au-Prince.  The original source of the cholera is not known.  Many Haitians are blaming the foreigners and UN soldiers for bringing it into the country because Haiti has not had a cholera outbreak in almost a century! Cholera is a terrible sickness.  It is caused by a parasite and is spread by drinking contaminated water, or by fecal-oral contact from someone who has an active infection.  Cholera causes a person to have huge quantities of diarrhea and sometimes vomiting.  The diarrhea is so severe that a person can get dehydrated in a matter of hours, and even die in less than 24 hours without treatment.  The treatment includes rehydration solutions, oral or IV, depending on how sick the person is.  In Tabarre, they have set up a cholera tent hospital on the grounds located behind St. Damien Hospital.  The idea is that all people with diarrhea will have to first report to the cholera clinic where they will be checked for cholera and treated if it determined that they have cholera.  The idea is to keep the cholera patients isolated from the hospital and other programs in Tabarre to help prevent the spread of the illness.  Doctors Without Borders has a cholera clinic in Port-au-Prince, but they are unable to care for the large quantity of patients that is arriving.  Therefore, the tent hospital in Tabarre is taking overflow patients from Doctors Without Borders as well as the patients that are showing up at the gate everyday seeking treatment.  I am being told that the peak of the cholera outbreak hasn't occurred yet and the worst is yet to come.

I had the pleasure of seeing the whole operation in Tabarre on Monday.  There was a little girl here at the orphanage that showed up at the clinic early Monday morning and told the Haitian nurse that she was having diarrhea, and it was white (which just so happens to be a classic sign of cholera: white diarrhea).  Of course everyone was a nervous wreck.  The nurse gave her oral rehydration solution and then we spoke with the caretaker in the house to be sure that she was cleaning the bathroom with bleach and that all of the kids were washing their hands.  After discussing amongst ourselves, we decided it would be best to take her to Tabarre to get checked out.  Just in case.  She lives in a house with 15 other girls.  Plus we have an orphanage of 400 kids to worry about.  I was pretty sure that it was not cholera, because theoretically there was no way she could have contracted it.  Luckily, we are pretty isolated here in Kenscoff and we have a reliable water source.  But, if the cholera was to spread to the orphanage, it would be a HUGE disaster.  So I was the appointed person to take her down to Tabarre.  I brought her to the cholera tents where she was seen and examined by a doctor.  Afterwards, the nurses gave her a lot of oral rehydration solution and told us that we had to stay until she could provide a stool sample to be sure it wasn't cholera.  So we waited, and waited, and waited.  I kept asking if she needed to go to the bathroom, but she kept saying no.  That's when I figured my gut feeling was correct and she probably did NOT have cholera.  If she had cholera, she would be on the toilet constantly, but she hadn't gone in hours.  Finally, she said she had to go.  She provided a sample, but as it turned out, it was not white.  And it was not cholera.  Thank God.  So, she was released and we went back up to Kenscoff.  Unfortunately, while we were gone, word had spread like wildfire and everyone was convinced that the little girl had cholera.  She was so upset.  The nurse and I had to speak to the other kids and staff and explain to them that it was just diarrhea and that sometimes people get diarrhea but that does not mean they have cholera.  A few days have gone by now and the hype has died down.  But the number of cholera patients in Tabarre is growing everyday.  I will probably go there soon to help out because from what I've heard, they are still trying to organize a system and they need all the help they can get. 

Life Isn't Easy

I started working more in the clinic over the last couple weeks.  Our main focus right now is ensuring that all of our kids are getting follow-up care when needed.  The problem is that we have a lot of kids with chronic health problems and they require close follow-up and care.  Unfortunately, it is really easy for these kids to fall through the cracks because we don't have a good system in place.  Then they do not receive the medical care that they need.  Therefore, I am creating a document on the computer for every child with a chronic illness.  It will include their name, birthday, a picture, their medical and social history, current treatments, and a plan for the future.  This way, if there is an issue, it will be very easy to locate the needed information and be sure to address the problem.  Unfortunately, this is NOT as easy as it sounds in theory.  The problem is that all of the old charts containing the information are handwritten, by doctors (who are not known for their handwriting), in French!  Imagine.  And, yours truly, is the one trying to interpret them.  Any nurse can definitely appreciate the difficulty in this.  To top it off, many of the entries are not in chronological order either.  It is very, very challenging and time consuming, but worth it.  This information will be so vital in providing better care for our kids in the future, so right now that is my goal.

Reading through some of these charts, and digging through the past, has taught me a great deal about the struggles that many of these children have had to endure.  For many of us, it is not fathomable.  Many of these kids were orphaned or abandoned at a very young age, and the orphanage life is all they know.  We don't even have accurate birthdays for some because they were too young to remember their birthday when they came here.  Many were accepted into St. Helene after they were hospitalized at St. Damien at one point in time because they were very ill, and nobody came back to the hospital to get them when it came time for discharge. 

The living situation here for the children is not ideal.  The houses are in bad need of repair.  Some houses have up to 15 or 20 kids living in them with one caretaker per house (the younger kids have 2 or 3 caretakers per house).  The kids sleep in damp, crowded bedrooms in bunkbeds.  Each child has one small cubbyhole or locker which contains all of their belongings.  The bathroom conditions in most of the houses are absolutely awful.  Some houses only have one bathroom.  The toilets badly need to be replaced and smell terrible.  The water that the kids receive in the houses is contaminated, although we have water filters.  Since the public power supply has been down in Kenscoff for the last few weeks, and the generator here at the orphanage needs to be replaced, we have not had a reliable source of electricity.  This means that the pumps, which pump water up to the kids houses, are not working.  Therefore, the kids must carry up all of their own water for drinking, bathing, etc.

I know that I've painted a pretty grim picture of life here.  But, I have to stop and force myself to think about the alternative.  If the kids didn't live here at St. Helene, they would be on the street somewhere.  They wouldn't have a bed, or three meals a day, or healthcare, or the opportunity for an education.  Orphanage or not, life is not easy in Haiti.  And one day, when our kids leave here, they will have to be able to survive out in the "real world" where daily life is an endless struggle.  Yes, I have seen a lot of difficulties here, but on the flip side, I have seen a lot of overcoming difficulties as well.  The children here are amazing.  They are, for the most part, very grateful for what they have.  They are always helping one another and looking out for one another.  And most important:  they are happy.  I can't walk outside for 5 minutes without one or more kids calling my name and running up to greet me with a smile, a hug, and a kiss.  So, it's worth it. 

Settling in

I've been here for a little over a week now and I finally feel like I am starting to get settled in and learn my way around.  I moved into my new room in the clinic.  It is actually pretty big.  I also have my own bathroom.  The only bad thing is that it is much, much louder in the clinic than in the retreat house.  So, I usually wake up to the sound of dogs barking in the middle of the night, and I usually hear the kids around 6:00am everyday.  This past week, we had a group of Canadian volunteers that came down to help with some improvements around the orphanage.  They accomplished a lot while they were here, and they were a ton of fun!  

The kids are great!  I met a group of teenage girls that want to teach me Creole, so I've been to their house a few times for Creole lessons.  The deal is, they teach me Creole and I teach them English.  Our "classes" are usually pretty interesting to say the least.  I was at their house the other day for our lesson, and was planning to leave when it started downpouring.  So, instead of leaving, the girls braided my hair.  It took forever, and it hurt, but the girls LOVED it! 

I know everyone has been wanting to see pictures!  I haven't taken too many around the orphanage yet, but here's a few of the kids:

And this is the BEAUTIFUL view from the porch of the retreat house.  The view is constantly changing every few minutes because of the high altitude and the clouds: