removed back wall that was broken...before they continued demolition of it.
New kitchen
Kitchen reconstruction
Beautiful but apparently unfinished rock wall...

work bench built by German team
wall after cement finish.
Dr Katlyn Lubin, New York pediatrician and me

The definition in my creole book for quiet is tranquil. It comes in moments here...not necessarily hours. This morning it comes at 9 am when Jean's girlfriend gives me a pedicure. A moment to reflect.

Yesterday we participated in a discharge of a young man from a hospital in Cap Haitian. He received a spinal cord injury when his house fell on him during the earthquake. The process began about 6 am for him. He was accompanied by his nephew and a PT. Also a documentary film maker accompanied them named Cyrus.

We (Jorel and I) picked them and all sorts of luggage minus 1 bag at 9:00. I took Mike and Cyrus over to Medishare Hospital while we waited for next flight to come from Cap at 10. We were assured the luggage would be there....it wasn't so at 11 I took everyone to guest house to have something to eat. Georges (the patient) walked from van slowly with his canes - an awesome and inspiring site to witness. After lunch, we drove to his home at least an hour drive away. He got out of the car and walked with his walker down the road about 100 yards and e witnessed the surprise of his family and friends as if they had a seen a ghost. At first very quiet and then cries and praises of Jesus for bringing him back home. While Mike and Cyrus helped set up his ShelterBox tent, Jorel, the nephew and I returned to the airport to pick up the missing luggage- it did not arrive on the 1 pm flight so we waited until the 4 pm flight and it still did not arrive. We were told it was still in Cap and would arrive in the morning. At this point I am a bit skeptical of its where abouts. We returned back to Georges home and he then showed us his actual house about 3/4 meter (don't ask me how far that is) away from tent site. He saw it for the first time as well and showed us where he was when the house fell. Knowing my emotions of the moment of seeing this, I can not imagine the emotion he was feeling yet he was quiet in his words and stoic in his emotions and yet obviously happy to see his family and friends. Cyrus documented this with video, they had a brief interview with George which included the difficulties that lie ahead for him just in his daily living situation. We left with them saying a prayer in song as more people arrived to welcome him home.

Upon arrival at 6:30, Lorne was here wondering what happened to everyone- staff had left and no one was about. He said it was like coming upon the home of the 3 bears- food on the table uneaten- He decided he should stay until he learned what was going on.

As we were all exhausted from the long day and ready to turn in, a knock at the door to find a distraught Syltane, 2 policemen and an injured friend brought us back to alertness. Syltane and friends were returning from a wedding and were in a car accident. She wanted to come here knowing I would help. Her friend Moise had hit his head on the windshield and had some nasty abrasions and after bandaging him up and deciding he didn't need to go to the hospital, Syltane wanted us to go to the accident scene where her other 2 friends were with the cars and police. She had assured us they were uninjured so we didn't take any supplies with us. As we started to walk, Tiffany, an emergency room doc who was spending the night returned from her meeting so we went in her car to the scene. There was fairly extensive damage to both cars and they were all lucky not to have more severe injuries among them. Both young men continuously told us they were fine. It took about an hour for the police, Mike, Tiffany's friend and a few men walking by to move the cars to the side of the road and off the street. We returned home with everyone at midnight and I checked on Moise through out the night. His wounds looked a little better when I redressed them this morning, he is a little sore with whiplash but happy no one else was injured.

I got up at 7 remembering that Cyrus wanted to interview me before they left at 8...so I pulled my hair up and gave my best shot in my pajamas with a cup of coffee! I didn't ask for a playback...whether I make it into the documentary will be a surprise at some future time and probably embarrassing as well!

Maxon, the veve prayer flag maker was waiting with some purses he had made for a past team member so I paid for them and turned my attention to Modlyne who waited patiently through all this to give me the pedicure.

After all it is Mothers Day in Haiti today,

My moment of traquility and reflection.

Rose colored glasses....

This week in Haiti....

It rained last night....long and steady, very cooling after a very hot day but the relief is short lived when you think about the people in the tents. I wish that the people in the government had to live in tents- maybe then when they call a senate meeting more than 3 would show up to do their work. Maybe then more rubble would be cleared so the people can start to rebuild their homes. Maybe then there could be hope for a city that seems virtually impossible to see a future for their children. Its no wonder people are having manifestations...why frustration is growing.

This is a presidential election year. Will it happen? There seems to be little sign of it.

We did have a little fun this week...we had the Kay Kapab World Cup soccer game. All week Lorne had the boys playing soccer at 4 pm with the finale on Friday. The neighborhood boys played with much enthusiasum after each goal was scored. It was tied at 3 at the end and it was only after 15 shoot offs that a winner was declared. The boys jumped and flipped and shouted. They are a ragged bunch- some had shoes (most even matched), some had sandals, some barefoot- all of them wore smiles! Too bad we didn't have a big trophy for them.

A German team is here this week. Their project coordinator spent 4 days trying to get their container of supplies off the dock- a process that can take weeks if not months. She managed to get it delivered Thursday night (really a miracle). Meanwhile, half of the team are construction guys so they hung about here- they built a work table in the garage and when we get a gate we can have a place to store tools. One of them built drawers for a dresser so Myrline can have a place to put her clothes. And they built some goal posts for the soccer team out of wood scraps. And yesterday they build a sort of prefab clinic in one day. The German Institute for Disaster medicine clinic. Its quite beautiful and 8 guys including Lorne and 3 of the boys helped. They had such pride in themselves at the end of an exhaustingly hot day to see what they build and to be part of the team. Its not large but certainly large enough for a family to enjoy security of a floor, walls and ceiling that doesn't leak. Eight guys, 1 day, 1 house. sixteen guys, 1 week= 14 houses.... Just imagine what some organization with a bit of expertise in building could provide....but it will make you crazy if you wonder why it is so difficult to make happen.

We had a beautiful rock wall built to protect the water pipes next to the driveway. Yesterday, the cement guys covered it in cement. I nearly cried when I saw it. I don't know why they did that...one more cement wall to look at. Another example of why people don't see the beauty in this country. It has difficulty shining through the cement!

Maybe I just need rose colored glasses this morning.

The walls came tumbling down...

Quiet day today...expecting some guests this afternoon from Germany but this morning I was able to sleep in until 7 am. A bit of a treat after a week of 5 :15 mornings. Myrline gave me a pedicure this morning with her new pedi kit I gave to her. My feet are tre belle!

Lorne has had the little boys working on the lower property everyday cleaning up garbage. Afterwards he feeds them lunch - speghetti or sandwiches and juice and afterwards they have a game of soccer. Some of them are amazingly good. Antonio went down and gave them a speech of how proud he was that they were working so hard to help us and that they were demonstrating to us that they would be successful in whatever they did as they grew up. They stood and clapped; you could see the pride they were taking in the work they did.

Yesterday morning the final walls of the clinic and administration building came down with a swoosh and a heck of a lot of dust! The 5 buildings on our property destroyed or damaged by the earthquake are just a small mountain of rubble. On Monday the trucks will start hauling it all away- where they take it, I have no idea- we suggested that they take it all to the port and enlarge the island. Once the rubble is cleared, they will have to level, sand bag to protect agains erosion and start building the perimeter wall.

We went down to the new clinic facility to see if any progress has been made on repairs...but nothing had been started. We are hoping in a week we can begin moving some things down there. Another hurry up and wait project. I want to get moved in by June 1st but may have to cool my heels.

As we drive around the city we still see a lot of rubble piling up in the streets- the government has told the people as they clear their property to put it in the street for trucks to pick up. It causes a lot of traffic back up on some streets as they are narrowed to one lane. Some of the rubble could be broken and used as fill for all the potholes on all of the shortcuts our drivers use.

Last night Celine picked Jeff and I up for dinner- She took us to Madoons- a Lebanese restaraunt in Petionville. we had grapeleaf wraps, smoked salmon, humus, eggplant, calamari, taboulah- soo very good. Who knew. Last year sushi, this year Lebanese.

I forgot my beautiful daughter's birthday on Thursday. Jeff and I were up at 5 to catch a flight to Cap Haitian to do some site visits. My excuse is that I measure my days by events vs. dates. Still its a poor excuse. I think of her, of all of my kids daily- I count my blessings that I have them in my life. How fortunate I am that they are good people. She turned 25. Hard to believe that this time has passed so quickly. Erin, I wish you the good fortune to be blessed with good friends to enrich your life. It won't always be filled with happiness- but I wish you strength to over come the times of sadness. It won't always be filled with love unless you open your heart to receiving what comes into your path. Keep your eyes and mind open to seeing the world as it is and be willing to change what you can. Its the way to make a difference in someones life. That can be a powerful motive and enrich your life in ways you can't always imagine. Baby Erin, I love you.

I'm sorry I forgot your birthday but I love you more everyday!

Celebrating today

Yesterday was my son's birthday. He was 22. Another birthday missed by me but hopefully he felt my presence as I was thinking of him all day. I'm pretty sure he was celebrating with his big brother and friends so probably didn't miss me as much as I missed him. It is hard to believe he is that old. I wrote about him last year since I was here for his birthday as well. These times are the hardest to be away from family - the markers of time passing. I hope he had a good birthday. Danny, I love you and wished you a wonderful day.

The celebrations. We celebrate the moments here- sometimes with a troubadour band on the patio and some homemade chocolate brownies and rice krispy treats like last night. The team from Connecticut reunited after members had been in different parts of the country. Everyone had a good time dancing, learning some new dance moves of Kompas. Maybe a few future Dancing with the Star contestants (or maybe not).

The demolition boss came by today. He thinks the majority of the demo will be complete by the end of next week and they'll be ready to remove all of the debris by truck and start leveling the ground. We've got sandbags to begin filling to protect soil erosion until walls can be built. We will celebrate this phase of the demo with a prestige. (Once the debris is removed, we will make a cheap champagne toast!)

In the guest house, the kitchen work is coming along- the cabinet maker is working on the doors, the counter tile is laid, sinks are being installed and connected to plumbing. Maybe by the end of the week, the cooks will be back in the kitchen cooking and celebrating their new kitchen!

Progress is good.

Another reason to celebrate: Pascale is the director of Holy Angel Orphanage. He hopes to be granted a change of name to Melissa's Hope. (I will write about that when it happens). Today he had a meeting with the directors of 12 orphanages and they formed an organization. So instead of one tiny voice, hopefully now they can make a loud statement to Haitians from government level to community level to receive services and support as needed.

Michael is the organization Haiti Rescue organization. He has been here nearly 2 weeks working with Pascal on his home- repairing water service, electricity, patching walls, drainage systems, repairing toilets and anything else he can including helping Pascal feel empowered to bring organization to the orphanages. Today's first meeting lasted 4 hours and the group found their voice to create an organization. I will have to have them write it down so that I can get it correct. Michael and Pascal left with positive feelings that this can be successful and grow in strength as other orphanages learn what can be done with one loud voice.

So in the face of destruction, we can celebrate the power of small steps leading to a better future for Haitians.

Weight of the world on Haiti

This started bright and sunny, busy getting team members off to locations in outlying areas. Lauren and Victoria went to Cap Haitian to find their reservations had been cancelled but were able to find another place to stay. The group going to Fond des Blanc were to meet the driver halfway in Leoganne but miscommunication caused them to arrive about 10 hours later to their destination. The Jacmel group arrived to their destination uneventfully I believe. The rest of the team stayed in Port au Prince- some working at Medishare Tent, some preparing for the week of work organizing supplies and such.

I haven't "burned the house" down this week. Being in charge of everything kind of felt like I was going in circles sometimes. I seemed to have spent a lot of time in the van going from meeting to meeting, showing off our prosthetic workshop and our new facility, meeting the heads of organizations such as USAID, Direct Relief International and a group of people from Israel that are setting up a rehab facility at the General Hospital and want to collaborate with us for staffing of volunteers and the usual Wednesday Disability Working Group meeting with Handicap International, CBM and Ministry of Health of Haiti. Healing Hands for Haiti International Foundation is and has been recognized as the leading experts of Rehabilitation Medicine in Haiti. Many organizations want to work with us in some aspect. That isn't to say there aren't many many more organizations on the ground - old and new that are working to the benefit of the Haitian people. The hard part is the coordination that is necessary to work within the guidelines as dictated by the government.

Then there are the duties I've assumed in preparing for the teams coming to volunteer, coordinating with placement to work, coordinating transportation, coordinating with staff- overseeing the demolition and work being done on the guest house. The demolition is progressing, injuries not too serious. Jean dropped a board on Fabalons toe and the toenail came off, another worker dropped a rock on his foot - I don't think anything was broken and tonight one of the young men in the Bidonville was injured when some one tried to rob him and hit him with a knife. He had a C shaped cut on his jaw but it will scar as obviously I can't perform plastic surgery and couldn't apply stitches to it at this point. I do not want to become comfortable suturing up lacerations anyway. All in all, I'm learning a lot and enjoy the challenge - it definitely stretches my limits.

Noel, Yasmine and I went to hear RAM play at the Oloffson on Thursday night. It was the first time that they have played since the earthquake. They played on a stage set up outside even though the Hotel wasn't damage, I think people were not ready to be inside. A warm humid night, they were celebrating their return, celebrating the May first holiday and sounded better than ever. (I still prefer the 'ambiance' of the inside performance, it being more intimate but the heat of the night would have been intolerable inside. )

We saw a horrible accident on Wednesday as a truck ran over a motorcyclist and since Lorne was hit by a car on his moto, and suffered minor road rash, I won't be getting on one for transportation purposes. I'll stick to my drivers and vans, thank you.

Officially rainy season began yesterday- May first. Tonight we have had thunder and lightening and hard rain for an hour. Its still raining but not so hard. I used to like thunder storms and listening to this hard drum corps of water hitting the roof but now its difficult and heart wretching. I'm also not generally a person that worries about things I can not change. Listening to the rain puts me in a funk. I know there will be children suffering, old people in the streets with out protection of a roof or tent. I can't begin to express the misery that will be suffered during this rainy season that everyone at home can imagine. People are being moved to temporary and slightly better conditions in terms of structures but I've been told that it is in swamp like conditions when it rains and is a mosquito breeding ground. Imagine in the city of tents made of cardboard, tin, plastic and sheets what the rain will do.

Our guesthouse roof as a few leaks..we are able to catch most in buckets but we are very fortunate. We have power so as not to sit in blackout conditions for hours.

I'm still being asked for tents; my list keeps growing. Noel has found a house for his family. he said it is very expensive but they will be safe and dry and off of the street. He hopes to rebuild his house someday. While he has taken in 6 additional children who lost their families, it is a weight off of his shoulders.