Man down!
We suffered a casualty yesterday. . .which is my (lame) excuse for not blogging! I apologize to those who stayed up late. . .
. . .anyway, the usually thoughtful Team Leaders (who, along with the “casualty” shall remain unnamed), thought that back-to-back mobile medical/dental clinics are exhausting. . .long, hot, noisy days they are. So, we inserted a day of painting, removal of dirt and rock from a construction project, and general yard clean-up at an orphanage in the seaside village of Roseaux. . .
. . .which turned out to be long, hot and (surprise) noisy! It was 400 degrees with 1200 percent humidity. . .and we painted the whole enchilada. . .six rooms inside, the hallway, the exterior (32 colors), all at the mercy of our Haitian paint foreman, Nisage. He was tough, but Lovely Samedy, the orphanage director had her foot up his backside as well. Paul and Mick did their best Les Miserables imitation on the rock pile, and Sarah and Nancy made a few big piles of debris where previously there were 50!
Anyway, water intake could not match sweat output for one of our members and a second demanding day in a row took its toll. . .sidelining this team member for a bit, and the Team Leaders humbly assume full responsibility.
By the way, the newly painted orphanage looks terrific, and is good hands with Lovely. She is on top of things, knows what she wants to do next at all times, and is fully accountable to partners. . .like us. . .who invest in her facility.
We spent the late afternoon and early evening counting/bagging/labeling individual doses of about 10 or so medications that we anticipated needing more of for our mobile medical/dental clinic taking place today in the village of Testas.
Despite its beautiful seaside setting, right on the beach, Testas is the poorest and most desperate place we have visited. . .and explains why we returned again this year. If Haiti has little money, Testas has none. . .and medical care is out of reach.
We knew there would be many looking for help so we left early and arrived and were ready to rock by 9:00 am. Before the day was over, we saw and treated about 340 Haitians. . .including a ton of infants (honestly, we can’t imagine. . .CANNOT IMAGINE. . .what attempting to raise a child in such conditions requires). In another room, Maria performed around 50 dental extractions. Around the corner, 100 kids had their teeth varnished. . .and in yet another room, 3 large tubs of donated clothing and footwear was distributed to Testas’ villagers.
It was a 3rd demanding day in a row, but the team, our Haitian medical/dental team (11 in total), our translators/helpers/village leaders. . .over 30 persons strong today. . .were marvelous in every respect. . .like a bunch of Pro Bowl middle linebackers plugging holes in the line for 8 hours straight! A special shout-out goes to Doctors Marc, Beirny and Rosemond. . .they each saw 110-115 patients. . .in a SINGLE day!
Lest we forget, it was a long day for the villagers of Testas, too. . .expecially mothers (sadly, many quite young. . .including a 14-year old girl holding her 15 month-old sister, the mother of both having passed away 5 months ago. They waiting pretty much patiently on this typically warm and humid day for the chance to see a Doctor, the like of which they rarely if ever have.
Bless their patience and resolve, and bless all of you who support this work we do. We wish there was something more impactful than these words that might more fully convey what we experience but suffice it to say the occasional smiles we get when villagers finally sit in front of a Doctor and a few minutes later receive their medications. . .having waited, some of them, for nearly 7 hours. . .well, you can picture that.
Nancy and John, Jackie and Paul, Sarah and Mick, and Anne
. . .anyway, the usually thoughtful Team Leaders (who, along with the “casualty” shall remain unnamed), thought that back-to-back mobile medical/dental clinics are exhausting. . .long, hot, noisy days they are. So, we inserted a day of painting, removal of dirt and rock from a construction project, and general yard clean-up at an orphanage in the seaside village of Roseaux. . .
. . .which turned out to be long, hot and (surprise) noisy! It was 400 degrees with 1200 percent humidity. . .and we painted the whole enchilada. . .six rooms inside, the hallway, the exterior (32 colors), all at the mercy of our Haitian paint foreman, Nisage. He was tough, but Lovely Samedy, the orphanage director had her foot up his backside as well. Paul and Mick did their best Les Miserables imitation on the rock pile, and Sarah and Nancy made a few big piles of debris where previously there were 50!
Anyway, water intake could not match sweat output for one of our members and a second demanding day in a row took its toll. . .sidelining this team member for a bit, and the Team Leaders humbly assume full responsibility.
By the way, the newly painted orphanage looks terrific, and is good hands with Lovely. She is on top of things, knows what she wants to do next at all times, and is fully accountable to partners. . .like us. . .who invest in her facility.
We spent the late afternoon and early evening counting/bagging/labeling individual doses of about 10 or so medications that we anticipated needing more of for our mobile medical/dental clinic taking place today in the village of Testas.
Despite its beautiful seaside setting, right on the beach, Testas is the poorest and most desperate place we have visited. . .and explains why we returned again this year. If Haiti has little money, Testas has none. . .and medical care is out of reach.
We knew there would be many looking for help so we left early and arrived and were ready to rock by 9:00 am. Before the day was over, we saw and treated about 340 Haitians. . .including a ton of infants (honestly, we can’t imagine. . .CANNOT IMAGINE. . .what attempting to raise a child in such conditions requires). In another room, Maria performed around 50 dental extractions. Around the corner, 100 kids had their teeth varnished. . .and in yet another room, 3 large tubs of donated clothing and footwear was distributed to Testas’ villagers.
It was a 3rd demanding day in a row, but the team, our Haitian medical/dental team (11 in total), our translators/helpers/village leaders. . .over 30 persons strong today. . .were marvelous in every respect. . .like a bunch of Pro Bowl middle linebackers plugging holes in the line for 8 hours straight! A special shout-out goes to Doctors Marc, Beirny and Rosemond. . .they each saw 110-115 patients. . .in a SINGLE day!
Lest we forget, it was a long day for the villagers of Testas, too. . .expecially mothers (sadly, many quite young. . .including a 14-year old girl holding her 15 month-old sister, the mother of both having passed away 5 months ago. They waiting pretty much patiently on this typically warm and humid day for the chance to see a Doctor, the like of which they rarely if ever have.
Bless their patience and resolve, and bless all of you who support this work we do. We wish there was something more impactful than these words that might more fully convey what we experience but suffice it to say the occasional smiles we get when villagers finally sit in front of a Doctor and a few minutes later receive their medications. . .having waited, some of them, for nearly 7 hours. . .well, you can picture that.
Nancy and John, Jackie and Paul, Sarah and Mick, and Anne
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