Whirlwind Week

Last Saturday I picked up 23 people at the airport, and with the couple already here, we had 25 guests. They were scheduled to work in several parts of the city as well as Jacmel and les Cayes.

It was a very productive week for sure and came off as planned. We provided a CME class on spinal cord injury to a group of 35 nurses and nursing students and will be repeated this week as well. This group also has been surveying Haitian nurses for a research project and the team has reported some very bright nurses working in a number of settings. Its worked out very well so far and been well received.

Yesterday I picked up 13 more people to add to our mix of guests from Canada and all over the US. So what to do and where to put all the heads that need a bed in a house that holds 30...We managed to get 4 new beds delivered friday night (after the storm) and got extra beds set up in 2 of the offices temporarily- guests in both rooms enjoyed the semi private rooms offered to them.

To distract from the potential chaos of having so many people here, we chose to add to it by having a traditional Haitian troubadour band come play and plenty of beer and coke. The team prepared spaghetti and garlic bread with brownies & ice cream for dinner.

After the band left, we had a rousing game of pool volleyball.

The plan worked well!

Friday afternoon, Al and I were sitting in a meeting on the back patio area of the Seiph Office when we watched an extremely fast moving cloud approach us- much before we could react, we were buffeted with seed pods flying in all directions. We all grabbed our chairs and ran inside and while sitting there witnessed a couple of trees fly through the air much as the house in Wizard of Oz did before crashing to the ground.

I started calling all our groups scattered in all areas of the city and made sure all were ready to return home as soon as storm passed and it was safe to do so. We had contact with everyone but the trip home for all was almost a 3 hour adventure. We've had word of major damage at some of the tent cities and witnessed downed trees, downed billboards, wires and see the wrathful impact of a sudden unexpected cyclone. We in Haiti are grateful that we've not had to deal with an actual hurricane.

Eight months later

Sunday morning dawns bright and clear this morning. Its hard to believe it will be anything but beautiful today but we've been told we can't go to the beach today because of severe storm warnings. So we'll stay home and recharge our batteries in whatever way comes along. Maybe by the pool or maybe napping and reading if the storm materializes.

We had a hard rain Friday night- hard enough for Camille to shower outside. Loud enough we couldn't talk in normal voice to be heard. Its sobering to realize we have a tin roof over our heads to mostly keep out the rain- it does leak in some spots so strategically placed bins are dotted around the room but imagine if you live in a tent that is worn thin from constant sun and rain, water coming in on all sides, rising rapidly if you live in low area, washing debris and mud inside if you are on a slope. If you are lucky to have a mattress, its probably sitting on the floor of the tent soaking up the water. Your holding whatever clothes you have in your arms to protect them from becoming soaked. If your tent leaks badly, you might try to search for a dry place to wait out the rain but everyone else in your tent city is doing the same.

Today marks 8 months since the earthquake hit this island nation and its reported that only 2% of the rubble has been removed. How can hope survive at such a slow snails pace? People remain traumatized and depressed, yet rarely show it to 'outsiders'. You have to ask questions and then ask some more questions yet unless you have answers you don't want to dig this deep.

I wake up everyday hoping to have answers just for today. I think this is what the Haitians do as well. I also look ahead to see what I need to do to accomplish tasks and planning for the next week and for several weeks after that, but I am not in 'survival' mode. Haitians seem to look only one day at a time~ it is too hard to think about next week when your belly is empty today, your child has a fever today, or the few clothes your family owns are too wet to attend church today. This is survival mode. For the hundreds of thousands of people living in makeshift tents, in tent cities, they need to begin living again and that means we must not forget what happened 8 months ago today.

Link to pictures of Life in Port au Prince

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/multimedia/pov/Life-in-Haiti-102546184.html

I also forgot to mention a google search to see information about one of my recent guests, Dominique - google joyshanti . Dominique is a singer in France.

Ice Age

I'm a bit behind in my blogging. I was so busy all week that I decided to try to go the whole weekend without turning on my computer. It worked pretty well. Last Friday Al and I drove to the warehouses where our 380 wheelchairs are stored to bring some back. The van held 8 which is quite far to go for only 8. But storage is still a bit of an issue. At any rate the warehouse is in a huge complex owned by 2 brothers. In one building they make these big chunks of ice. A large vat holds metal cylinders that are filled with fresh water. The vats are surrounded by a chemical water of salt and ammonia to freeze the containers of ice. They are hauled out and loaded into trucks to deliver to the city. Driving around the city, you might see someone pushing a very rickety cart on wheels that look like they are going in 4 different directions and ready to wobble off on every bump and rubble they hit. The carts carry a wrapped hunk of ice and is surrounded by grimy looking bottles filled with different colors of liquid. These are the snow cone vendors. They will shave off some ice and cover it with your choice of color- I wouldn't presume to guess if they are flavored syrup but would think it is. I've not been brave enough to try it.

At this large warehouse complex they also 'package' water in 12 ounce size plastic bags. They are heat sealed 'culligan' water. These I drink all the time. You can buy 3 for 5 goudes which is roughly 12 cents worth. You just bite off the corner of the bag and drink. Its usually very cold and refreshing- Usually, as we are driving down the street, and stopped in traffic the water vendor walks by shouting dlo dlo dlo dlo really fast. Sitting in traffic is when it is most refreshing. Anyway, the machines weren't running while we were there but you could view through the window to see how they worked. Several guys were filling up gunnysack sized bags and loading them on to a truck.

On Saturday, we went shopping again - Deb, Al and I. I drove to Al's house again...a little practice never hurts. I think Jorel likes being chauffeured around. Anyway, after that he drove while we directed him.
one stop was Men Nou, an artisans shop with large variety. This haunting earthquake painting is on the wall. Probably not what you'd put in your house as it would be hard to look at daily. It is a beautiful piece of art and one of the best earthquake renditions we've seen. Its on color is the Haitian flag 'weeping'.

Some of the earthquake paintings depict ambulances picking up people among broken houses or more graphically heads laying in the streets. I'm not such a fan of these.

Anyway on Saturday, I bought some large pots to put plants in and oh we visited that brand new Giants supermarket that just opened last Monday. They had large packages of fresh ravioli, a huge cheese selection, caviar, and many other unexpected items. Its 2 stories with an elevator to the second floor. Its quite fun to discover these places. We found an antique store to rummage through. Next week I will buy a BBQ grill and more pots to put by the pool. Dr Moise will give me some Jasmine to put into the pots. I'm still looking for some comfortable chairs for the pool and patio.

Saturday night I drove to Munchees to meet Al, Deb and Dominique- we considered it an unofficial Working Group meeting. Unfortunately, no one else was able to come. Oh well, the guy guarding the van washed it while we were meeting.

Sunday was spent relaxing in the pool until I had to pick up someone at the airport. On the way, we had a rainstorm that filled the streets with rushing water in each low spot. It stopped by the time we got to the airport and on the way back, water that reached the bumper was all gone.

Never fails to amaze me how much water in such a short time disappears so rapidly.

Til next time, maybe I will be brave enough to try a snow cone.