Changes in Haiti - Big and Small

Belo poster from my friends. Love this band.

Building progress...looking more like a clinic each week. Pictures from 19 August

Gracie, nick-named 'Protocol' by Haitian construction boss.

Beginnings of stairway to basement level

Villa Taino restaurant, near Grand Goave

Taino Beach (before crowd arrived)

Matchbox van, our new Ti Chou (mini me van) arrived 26 August

While its easy to get through traffic, one must remain alert to holes in the street lest we get lost in one.

me with Al Ingersoll

Change happens...eventually. We can see progress on the building site each week. Some weeks it may seem more subtle but none the less it is exciting to see. Hopefully, this week they will pour some more cement. This particular job is a week behind due to difficulty in getting cement delivered apparently.

Driving through the city, we often see new building in progress whether it is clearing a site of rubble, rebar spiking the air or walls in place where last week was rebar. Its exciting to see as well, giving hope that this is true progress but we know differently when just down the road lies a tent community. The tents are worn, torn, or in a few houses adorned with wooden doors, tin roofs or walls scavenged from some source by appearance of rust and what you would expect to see after nearly 20 months of living here (IF you can imagine yourself living in such conditions). As with any home, everyday you try to make improvements with what you have. If your home is near trees or water source (rarely) you might even feel middle class. What Haitians feel I can only suggest; I know I would feel bitterness that the government is slow to form; fearful for my family and home with each report of tropical storm pending; terrified in the dark that our home may be invaded; my heart breaking that I can not give my children enough to eat...these are just some of my fears that I would have on a daily basis. I am also sure that it is the same in all parts of the world -whether ravaged by storms, war or drought.

I also know how fortunate I am, my family is, my friends are. I know things can change in a moment, an unexpected instance - its an everyday thought and everyday I'm thankful that yesterday wasn't one of those moments for me, or my family or my friends. We deal with the bumps along the way, but how we deal with the big changes remain to be seen.

Haiti needs change- its a big picture thing. I believe it has to start with those in charge, the government. One might say the people are the government but in Haiti it doesn't not seem so easily identified by the people in the street. Its more likely the top 5% of the population that wants to be in control. I think its true that you can't change another person, only your own reactions to that person. Typical Haitians may react with manifestations or negative ambiguity and they don't truly feel that anything will ever change. It comes with a 200+ history.

We can only hope that the small changes will lead to big changes that Haiti needs. Unfortunately, these kind of changes don't happen in an instant.

Healing Hands for Haiti

I don't cry often but occasionally I will hear a story that causes the flood gates to open. Although my back ground is nursing, and for years worked in rehab, since being in Haiti, I've done just about everything but nursing most of the past 18 months that I have lived in Haiti. On this day, Fiona came home from work to tell me that she had been in the community to see a few of the spinal cord injured patients that can not make it out of their homes to visit the clinic. The young man she told me about was not injured in the earthquake but shot by a person who stole his motorcycle. The bullet passed through his chest, missing his heart but severing his spinal cord. He has been unable to leave his home since leaving the hospital due to the lack of accessibility. He lives on a steep hillside, many narrow stairways and rubble filled passages that are difficult for strong healthy people to navigate. Imagine living in a small room, minimal if any electricity and no running water. Its not hard to understand why he is very distressed and depressed, completely dependent on his wife for his most basic needs. Before the earthquake, few people with spinal cord injuries survived their initial injuries, most received from motor vehicle accidents, gunshots or falling from trees. Those that did were taken home, confined and dependent on families to meet their care needs. With little knowledge of what this involved, they did not live long. Since the earthquake, specialized care for spinal cord injuries has been available from surgeons who stabilize the spine to nurses and therapists who train the caregivers how to deal with the individual needs of each person. This care has decreased the mortality and morbidity rates like never before. There are over 200 spinal cord injured patients in our data base surviving and living in the county and Healing Hands for Haiti clinic is providing follow up care to over 50 of these. Healing Hands for Haiti has one of only a handful of Physical Rehabilitation doctors in the country seeing these patients. We have hired a nurse who is in a wheelchair. Having survived her spinal cord injury, she is an excellent peer support and trainer. We have peer support meetings for patients and their families each month. We are searching for funding to help provide transportation to the clinic for medical care and therapy (we have received a grant through the generosity of Haiti Hospital Appeal). We are searching for ways to help them earn a new living. we are fighting the battle for inclusion and accessibility. For this young man, it may be a battle to late and for this reason, I feel incredibly sad.

But Healing Hands for Haiti (Klinik Kay Kapab) staff, with tremendous effort and much credit to Fiona, Dr. Moise, Nadege, Nadia, the therapists, nurses and volunteers, has provided care and education to the injured and their families and care givers, including nurses, techs, and physicians in the community. We have to feel proud of the success of what we have accomplished to date and secure in the knowledge that more people will survive their injuries due to this dedication to provide excellent standard of care and continuing education for the most vulnerable in Haiti.

Our hope is that the new clinic will be opened by early spring (see pictures below- we are about halfway to completion). While I don't know how long I will be in Haiti, its really why we are there. To fight the battle for those that can't. I think it is why Fiona and Al are there too. We deal with day to day frustrations and stress, to do what we can to see that all men, women and children have a better chance for a life beyond mere existence.

A couple of weeks ago, Fiona and I had the opportunity to attend a home exhibition show. Last year a contest was opened to provide and opportunity to design homes for Haitians. It was supposed to open last fall but like a lot of things, it didn't. We walked through dozens of houses of different designs- of course, we were looking at each in terms of accessibility and asking the important questions. We didn't bother looking at the houses that had more than 2 steps to enter the house. There were several that were elevated, no doubt to appeal to those living in flood prone areas but obviously not suited to wheelchair users and even difficult for people who have suffered a stroke. Hopefully, our inquiries spurred some thought for those architects, engineers and builders that were hoping to win the design contest. But it was more than that as a couple of presidents were in attendance as well- Former US president, Bill Clinton and current Haiti President Michel Martelly. Despite the obvious and not so obvious security, we trailed along and even worked our way through the crowds to get up close to be part of the paparazzi! All in all, it was a pretty fun day to skip work! We learned that plans have been made to begin building 3600 new homes in the weeks following the home show.

We are always surprised to learn that we can find just about anything a person needs in Haiti. I'm hoping we can make some renovations to the guest house and one of the things that has interested me is to have a water filter to protect the pipes coming into the house. After talking to someone at the home show, I actually found out that there is something available and suitable in Haiti that will do the job and for a very reasonable cost. This could potentially save us from replacing shower heads and decrease a lot of other plumbing problems we have because of the heavily sedimented water running through our pipes.

All of this is to say that there is much hope for building back Haiti better. The are still a lot of difficulties ahead- Martelly's second candidate for prime minister has been rejected; thousands of people remain living in tents in the worst conditions; hurricane season is headed into full speed ahead and most of the promised aid money has yet to be distributed but we have to see that hope is there, we have to believe that the promises made will be kept to have the strength to keep taking the steps to the future.

a new business- building TapTaps to rent, the Haitian version of an RV. These small buses are very colorfully painted and are even set up to have a TV and a toilet for those longer trips or heavy traffic days!
They look like a decent alternative but the seats are made for little people.
Progress is being made on the HHH physical rehabilitation clinic.
Gracie left her footprint(s) in the cement. No one really cared since it will be covered but as she is a daily visitor to the site checking on progress and joining the workers at lunchtime it seems appropriate.



Wheelchair ramp...



On site supervisor.

Haiti's president Michel 'Sweet Mickey' Martelly. Photo taken at the Home exhibition show.

This one was my favorite.

This one had a very nice interior....
The kitchen was beautiful.

Former president Clinton visited the home show with President Martelly.
Martelly, surrounded by some key people...his body guards.
Not sure who the helicopter belonged to- it wasn't the president- and I took the picture for my friend Cory.
The view coming home...to Portland.
The view from one of our favorite places for watching the sun set over Port au Prince.

photos

exterior wall cracks after 3.5 aftershock
interior wall cracks

walls going up....

spreading cement before it sets


sailor man Dan
Capitol building in Puerto Rico
old building...

Dancers at l'ecole des danseWrigley Field- Cubbys lost

Its been over a month since I have made a post...very neglectful of me. I don't even know where to start this. Suffice to say internet is very slow today and this may not even get posted.

Its been 6 weeks since Martelly was inaugurated President of Haiti. Have we noticed any changes? Not really but not for his lack of trying. First thing he must do is to nominate a Prime Minister who needs to be accepted by the senate (which is ruled by the Inite party). His first choice was voted down. I have not heard who his next choice is officially. This in itself could take months as history shows for the confirmation of the previous PM. People remain hopeful for change.

Since the inauguration, I have been to Chicago to witness the graduation of my son from Navy bootcamp in May. We were able to spend one day with him before he returned to base to be shipped out to Texas for further training is the security forces. Since he is a reservist (not sure that is the right term for Navy) he will be based in Portland. He did very well during his 9 weeks in Chicago- I'm a proud mom to a strong young man!

The rest of us were able to enjoy a few days in Chicago, taking in a Cubs game at Wrigley Field and doing a bit of walking about the city.

I had 10 days to catch up with work before Fiona and I headed to Puerto Rico for the International Rehab meeting. About 1200 participants from around the world were there. We attended meetings that included Disaster planning and establishing rehab after disaster. HHH/ TCHH had a poster displayed and Colleen O'Connell, MD PMR was on a panel discussion.

The interesting part for me was being in a group of people from Italy, UK, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Austrailia, Switzerland, Mexico, Austria, France, Ghana (representative) and as there about 15 in our group, I've forgotten where the rest are from- Most were MD's, heads of Departments of Something or someplace...Fiona and I, along with Dr. Moise who was in another meeting were seemingly the only ones from ( or representing) Haiti.

Puerto Rico was beautiful. We stayed in Old San Juan and were within walking distance of the old town area. Lots of little shops in colorful old buildings along the narrow cobblestone streets. Shopkeepers were sprucing up for a visit from President Obama~ the first US President to visit since President Kennedy in 1961. The majority seemed to be very excited about is visit despite the fact that 1) it was a 'four' hour trip (to Gilligan's Island). 2) Tickets to participate in drinks or lunch were extremely expensive and 3) it cost an extreme amount of money to prepare for the visit. There were reports that there would be some protests but apparently even that turned out to be a very small group that received no attention.

The worst part about the trip was that I lost my phone (and a bunch of pictures of my trip) but even that wasn't as bad as it could be as Puerto Rico is like being in the states...I went to the local mall to the AT&T store and 30 minutes later walked out with a new phone (but without my pictures). Someone will find my phone and sell it and be happy with themselves no doubt.

Back home in Port au Prince, we have seen progress made on our building. They poured concrete for the main floor (turned out to be a very loud all night project that kept me mostly awake all night) and the walls are starting to go up! I'll post a variety of photos soon.

Last week we had an aftershock of 3.5 and reports of 20-30 people injured from people panicking during the rush out of a school were treated. A few buildings that were already declared 'red' collapsed. Our guest house apparently is fine- we'll have an engineer check it but no new cracks were found. However, my apartment that had not sustained any damage in the initial earthquake did receive damage. Because this 'aftershock' was vertical vs. horizontal, it pushed up the columns and the caused a lot of cracks. I've been assured that it is still safe and in the event of a 'horizontal' earthquake most likely the exterior wall will fall out but the ceiling will remain intact. Interesting how comforting that is. Honestly, I'm more concerned about the occasional creepy bugs that we see- scorpions and milipods. They are scary!

Inaugural Day in Haiti

Clear blue skies on the morning of a new president taking office, voices singing in neighborhood soon were drowned out by sounds of construction below my apartment.

The current group of guests made an early morning trip to Kenskoff for site seeing and adding to the economy by making some purchases

I spent a little bit of time to relaxing on my lovely faded yellow pool lounge surrounded by the sounds of the day- contruction workers dragging rebar is intermingled with a motor of something, helicopters buzzing the skies like a bee hive, waterfall from the pool fountain all muffle the bird calls. Gray and white clouds occasionally block the sun and cause a slight breeze to temporarily brush aside the heat.

The past 2 days traffic has been intense with dignataries arriving from around the world to witness the inaugeration of Haiti's newest president- kompas king Michel Martelly. The city has been busy sprucing up some of the walls with portraits of Martelly, adding pink painted backdrops.

For 30 minutes I watched a hummingbird flit and hover over the flowers focusing on the beauty that is in front of my eyes this morning. I can't but wonder what changes will occur over the course of months (and years).

In the eyes of Haitians everywhere, there is hope, hope leads to inspiration, inspiration brings change. The challenge will be to create the change that stimulates the economy, improves schools and health systems, build infrastructure, and gets people back in to homes and out of tents.

The King of Kompas, President Michel Martelly is up for the challenge!