Alison wrote this post on the 20th, while she was stuck in the airport on her way home from Haiti. Sorry for the delay in posting!
Heading home from Haiti- I am stuck in the airport after a long series of mishaps which have me staying over in Miami. It is the end of a difficult eight days in Haiti. John, PID’s construction director and a long-time friend to everyone, died Saturday morning on Haiti’s Flag Day, their national day of independence. Although many of us saw it coming, the loss of John is difficult to comprehend. Apparently he opened his eyes briefly and was able to hold the hand of his wife at some point before he passed, which we are all grateful for. His funeral will be Saturday and I am sure the grief will be dificult to bear. Maxime and I had several discussions about trading in his motorcycle for a car. The danger of riding a motorcycle in Port au Prince has taken on a tragic new significance. Bad things happen to good people.
Despite the tragedy, we did have a productive class for birth attendants, graduating another 14 people from our program. As we add a new group to our graduates each time, I wonder how I will continue to be able to track all these people and follow-up with all of them. I had interviews with only 2 of the groups and they reported such positive outcomes. No newborn or maternal deaths. They were so proud to report all their good news. I need to find a way to distribute more safe birth kits to all of them, which feels like a necessary part of this project.
As the clinic coordinator it was a hard time to really get any work done, although I always see progress every time I go. We are now adding more patients to our hypertension and diabetes programs, and there is a clear system for resupplying and ordering medicines. While travelling about, I see many places where roads are being fixed and upgraded, including the road from the airport to Blanchard. As we had a large team of volunteers, including doctors, nurses and nursing students, every day we did a different mobile clinic in the surrounding area. Bigarade has a new church, a big spacious concrete building, and our mobile clinic took place there. Canaan has a new school and we have started building PID houses there, where we will add ten houses to our housing program. I went out one day with the construction team to work on the foundation of the first house we are building there. It is amazing how quickly the work gets done with so many people pitching in. Haitians love the phrase “Men anpil chay pa lou.” Many hands make the work light.
Everything in Haiti is a testimony to the power of beauty and love overcoming hardship and despair. It is this sentiment which keeps my eyes and my heart turned towards Haiti. Although the loss of John will be felt forever, and there is no way to replace such a good, big hearted and hardworking man, the people will carry on, as they always do. Slowly but surely progress will be made. We will continue building our houses, providing homes for the homeless, healthcare to those who need it, and sending children to school. I am proud to be part of the effort.
Alison
Heading home from Haiti- I am stuck in the airport after a long series of mishaps which have me staying over in Miami. It is the end of a difficult eight days in Haiti. John, PID’s construction director and a long-time friend to everyone, died Saturday morning on Haiti’s Flag Day, their national day of independence. Although many of us saw it coming, the loss of John is difficult to comprehend. Apparently he opened his eyes briefly and was able to hold the hand of his wife at some point before he passed, which we are all grateful for. His funeral will be Saturday and I am sure the grief will be dificult to bear. Maxime and I had several discussions about trading in his motorcycle for a car. The danger of riding a motorcycle in Port au Prince has taken on a tragic new significance. Bad things happen to good people.
Despite the tragedy, we did have a productive class for birth attendants, graduating another 14 people from our program. As we add a new group to our graduates each time, I wonder how I will continue to be able to track all these people and follow-up with all of them. I had interviews with only 2 of the groups and they reported such positive outcomes. No newborn or maternal deaths. They were so proud to report all their good news. I need to find a way to distribute more safe birth kits to all of them, which feels like a necessary part of this project.
As the clinic coordinator it was a hard time to really get any work done, although I always see progress every time I go. We are now adding more patients to our hypertension and diabetes programs, and there is a clear system for resupplying and ordering medicines. While travelling about, I see many places where roads are being fixed and upgraded, including the road from the airport to Blanchard. As we had a large team of volunteers, including doctors, nurses and nursing students, every day we did a different mobile clinic in the surrounding area. Bigarade has a new church, a big spacious concrete building, and our mobile clinic took place there. Canaan has a new school and we have started building PID houses there, where we will add ten houses to our housing program. I went out one day with the construction team to work on the foundation of the first house we are building there. It is amazing how quickly the work gets done with so many people pitching in. Haitians love the phrase “Men anpil chay pa lou.” Many hands make the work light.
Everything in Haiti is a testimony to the power of beauty and love overcoming hardship and despair. It is this sentiment which keeps my eyes and my heart turned towards Haiti. Although the loss of John will be felt forever, and there is no way to replace such a good, big hearted and hardworking man, the people will carry on, as they always do. Slowly but surely progress will be made. We will continue building our houses, providing homes for the homeless, healthcare to those who need it, and sending children to school. I am proud to be part of the effort.
Alison