Haiti in my Heart

Its been a while since I posted anything on the blog, mostly because I was out of the country and internet access was sporadic at best. But I'd like to tell you about my adventures in March when I was part of a 7 person team to visit Hope Home - a residence for children and young adults with disabilities in Port au Prince, Haiti.

This is Gylsme learning to use a communication device

Its actually my second trip down, my husband and I went two years ago and for hubby, it was his 5th trip. Our team leader, Judith has not only adopted two girls from Haiti many years ago, but also visits Hope Home at least twice a year. In fact this trip marked her 42nd time to travel and come alongside all the wonderful young people at Hope Home.

 Here's our team after Chapel on Palm Sunday

Many people are curious about the conditions in Haiti since the earthquake just over three years ago. They may have heard that millions of dollars had flowed into the country in aid, but little had changed or improved. They might have heard that people still lived in tent cities, water was not fit to drink or people are going without food. That part and more is true, BUT I've also noticed huge changes from my visit in 2011, both positive and negative. One person I spoke to who have lived in Haiti for 14 years was optimistic about the future for the country and said most emphatically that "progress is being made"!!!
There are still people living in tents or temporary accommodations built by aid agencies, often they are people who were homeless before the quake. The huge areas with acres and acres of tents are gone, often these tents and small buildings have been moved back to small properties and incorporated into the overall city landscape.
Clean water is being delivered to homes and areas, you can't drink from the taps, but that is true in many Caribbean countries, not just Haiti.

The traffic around Port au Prince is congested and chaotic, mostly because of the large numbers of construction/dump trucks moving about. Buildings are going up everywhere, work crews are busy, roads are being improved and business is moving along. Improvements do not happen quickly, work is hot and dusty. It seems that workers will often begin early in the morning, take a long break in the afternoon because of the heat and then work into the evening til dusk while it is cooler. I'm not sure that building codes are strictly adhered to and safety equipment is rare, but I did see some hard hats being worn!
Here in Canada we are used to see rapid progress and change with  government levels responding (fairly) quickly to problems and issues that people have. In Haiti, everything moves much slower, bureaucracy is difficult to understand, corruption is still an issue and change takes time with an enormous effort.

 Each afternoon we took the children outside onto a special swing, they loved the breeze in their faces and the motion of moving back and forth. My husband did most of the "pushing"!

In the small slice of Haitian life that I was part of, there are plans to move the high school to a new and better location, three physiotherapists have been hired, a chicken and rabbit run have been built, small steps to be sure but steps in the right direction. BUT, the needs are still great; medical assessments for some of the children would be helpful, better quality of food would be awesome, equipment upgrades are needed. Teams often come and help but ongoing sponsorship would benefit enormously.

 Some of the children in the shade of the patio

I've heard it said the largest needs for Haiti right now are free education for all children and employment. That is definitely the case, don't give up on the country, there is so much potential.
If you would like to help and want to see your donation make a difference consider giving to an organization where the money is wisely and carefully spent on the young people of Haiti.
If you are in the US, go to: http://www.usfch.org  and in Canada, visit: http://www.cfchcanada.ca/
Visit this Youtube video to see the team I was part of (there are some flashes of me there) and the wonderfully sweet young people that touched my heart: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yA9NF-MUY8&feature=youtu.be
My small  part was mostly spent sewing for Hope Home, I came to love my hand cranked sewing machine!

Thoughts and More Thoughts about Haiti

Its been a month since my return from our trip to Haiti, and its taken a while to process my thoughts and feelings about my experience.
A bit of background first, I was part of a seven person team from western Canada (Victoria and Vancouver) that went to assist at a home for children and young adults with disabilities. We were under the auspices of the Canadian Foundation for the Children of Haiti http://www.cfchcanada.ca/ and our team consisted of a physiotherapist, an early childhood educator, two nurses (one is my husband), and two women who have extensive experience with Hope Home and the children and then me! My husband has been to Haiti several times and the remainder of the team had made many trips, it was the first time for me and even with my husband along side, I admit to some fears. Foremost I was concerned that I would be useful, I have not spent time around children with disabiltites, I have no medical training and wasn't sure I actually possessed any skills that would be of benefit. Later I understood that indeed my sewing skills would be of immense use!

My sewing machine and "studio" at Hope Home! That little hand cranked Singer could sew as well and maybe even better than my expensive Bernina! Six layers of vinyl was no match for that little workhorse. I spent a lot of time sewing covers for cushions, seat covers for the wheel chairs and covers for the mattresses.

We had each packed two large plastic garbage cans of supplies such as clothing, medicines, toys, food, diapers, bedding, towels and more. These cans were our "checked luggage", our carry-ons contained all our personal items....

We were each responsible for one wheelchair that we took for the children.

I knew it would be hot and humid in Haiti, I have lived in humid climates but had forgotten that 35-40 degree Celsius temperatures mean that you simply cannot work at the same pace as home. Keeping hydrated was important as was looking for shade when outside. Fortunately the weather did cool down a bit at night and when we had electricity, the fans were very welcome.

The news has told us a lot about the deadly and long lasting effects of last years earthquake and we could not move without seeing the truth of that. The tent cities were beyond what I had expected, the conditions were incredible. But one of the women on our team had been in Haiti last November and commented often that the cities were smaller in number and size and construction was going on wherever we went. In fact we saw piles of cement, sand and rebar all along the streets when we went from our lodging to Hope Home.

A distant tent city that was largely deserted.

A "tap-tap", local bus transport around Haiti, highly decorated trucks and jeeps. When the passenger want off the truck, they "tap-tap" on the metal roof.

We stayed in a "guest house" while in Haiti, sort of a private hotel that provided breakfast and dinner, this is common for aid workers and visiting teams. One of the other residents we met was a Haitian nurse who was deeply affected by the earthquake and told us about how many people coped with the tragedy. Visit Rigan's blog http://www.haitinurse.blogspot.com/ and read about his work: http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/health_med_fit/article_504d4df0-57b9-11df-a85a-001cc4c002e0.html

I am so thankful that there are people like Rigan in our world.

I was able to play along side some of the children such as this bright little spark:

My local quilt guild and many others supplied bibs for the children at Hope Home and they were paraded in the last day. Many thanks to all our friends who were so generous with their time and talents.

An empty lap was an invitation!

My husband and Peter creating a bed chair (bed on wheels) for one of the children who can no longer sit up due to scoliosis. the bed had been a bunk bed and had the top portion removed. Standard supplies are limited so we made use of what was around us, often remodelling and revamping.

Street vendors are commonplace, selling everything from food and snacks to cell phones and household articles. This women was a moving fabric store.

After a couple of days working at Hope Home our team leader asked me about my feelings. I think I replied that I shifted from feeling that I couldn't leave soon enough and the opposite end of wondering how we could afford to come on a work team every year. Now, after a month, I am looking forward to returning whenever it is possible.

I know that I cannot change the world, but if I can make a small difference in a child's life, then I have been of some use.