WTN Haiti Partnership

Drew’s Advent Meditation

2012-01-27T13:52:00.004-06:00

FROM
DEACON DREW WOODRUFF
UPDATE: THE MISSION TRIP TO HAITI
NOVEMBER 29 – DECEMBER 5

Written on Sunday, December 4th in Haiti

We are preparing ourselves on Sunday both mentally and spiritually to return to the land of milk and honey after we have been in the desert again. We have seen the poorest of the poor in the world, how they live, how they survive-if they do at all, how they maintain their sanity in a country that is beyond broken and chaotic. What we as Americans have been given by the mere accident of our birth! We must be
generous with our blessings, our time, and our talents to further the cause of the poor at home and in Haiti.

I was mistaken when I said previously that the children of St. Vincent’s only own the
clothes on their backs. I was wrong. They cannot even call the clothes they wear their own, for they share those with their brothers and sisters. Their joys are in their hearts, not in their things. They do not open their computers and check Facebook pages or tweets when they arise in the mornings. They use communal showers with cold water, get dressed in discarded clothes that we send down when we are feeling generous. They lead what any of us would consider a very monotonous life. So many simple pleasures are theirs, which we as Americans would turn our backs on-no glitz or glamour here. A balloon held by Yolinde or Diana brings such joy these kids.

Yolinde, who is so physically challenged, that the mere effort of grasping the balloon gives her a sense of accomplishment and a big smile.

The coloring books that Missy Gandy provided brought many hours of joy to all the
children. Even the used pages of these books were made into paper airplanes and were
sailed into the humid air.

The time we spend there liberates us from the stuff we are so attached to. We give a fewdays of our lives to these beautiful children. This is the least we can do with our time, Dr. Susan Nelson’ talent and skill, and your treasure.

People ask me, “Why Haiti?” I feel I can speak for all those who have been down there. That we see life in the states just a little differently. That our hard hearts have been cracked open and we receive the love and gratitude and the Holy Spirit from thesegenerous and giving people.

Those of us who do not speak a word of Creole still receive thanks and gratitude througha hug or an embrace or simply a smile. We capture these in our hearts and bring them home with us. But unfortunately, we let these memories slip through our fingers much too soon under the pressure of our live back here. That is why we keep going back, some of us for as many as ten times. We try to recapture what they so generously give.

Dr. Nelson always schedules a trip during Advent so we are there during the celebration of the International Day for the Handicapped at St. Vincent’s. The Bishop of Haiti, The Rt Rev. Duracin, celebrates the Eucharist. Father Sadoni gives a report on the state of St. Vincent’s to the many dignitaries and special guests who attend. The children get meat and a soda that day. This is the only day in the year that they receive meat to eat. The children provide the entertainment. They get new clothes for the celebration but afterwards the jeans and dresses are returned to the closet until next year.

We cannot remain silent. We must bring you the story of St. Vincent’s and of Haiti. We cannot turn our backs on our children and wash our hands of them and the challenges they face every day of their lives.

The day-to-day survival of our children is assured, God willing. They will not starve to death or die sitting on a curb begging in the streets of Port au Prince neglected and abandoned.

Father Sadoni, the director, has seen to their care with your help and support. Dr. Nelson, after many medical missions, has gotten the children’s health stabilized and improved tothe pint that we can move our medical mission from emergency care to health maintenance. She and her team found very little anemia, no worms, no sign of cholera,and no scabies in our children.

The pharmacy tech, which you help us fund, is charged with the task of giving each child in the school a vitamin everyday, thanks to your generous donations. A simple vitamin has changed their lives for the better.

As Father Kesner Ajax said, “There is hope in Haiti.” How can this be, one might ask?
Surely, the challenges posed in the country as a whole would seem daunting. But we lookat a little piece of heaven on earth, St. Vincent’s, our cathedral for and of children, behind the walls where abandoned and physically challenged children are alive and well.

We are making a difference in their lives. Not wishful thinking, but a tangible, physical, measurable difference in many ways.

Join us in our mission to give these beautiful children an opportunity for a full,
productive life, that otherwise they would not have except for St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children. Yolinde, Samuel, Ferdnand, Frenel, Diana, Magarite, Vincent, Watson, August, Wishme, Berneka, and all the others thank you and send you their love, which is all they have to offer. This is really all we need to possess!

Red Thread Promise

2012-01-16T15:56:00.004-06:00

Sienna Nelson has been in Haiti with the Red Thread Promise. For some lovely pictures and notes on the trip, please visit the Red Thread Promise Blog.

-Caitlin

Thank You from Father Sadoni

2012-01-16T14:40:00.002-06:00

Father Sadoni sent this thank-you letter to the Friends of St. Vincent. Please enjoy. On another note, I would like to ask again for pictures from the trip, if anyone has any. A few people have asked when more will be posted, but I have still not recieved very many. Please send them to themadfangirl@gmail.com. Thanks!

-Caitlin

**

Dear Friends of St Vincent,

On behalf of the children of St Vincent, I would like to thank you for your partnership this year. Your donations made all the difference in the success of helping us brought back the smile on our children face.

The donations of this year allow us to buy uniforms, pay tuition, buy stuffs for the kindergarten, food for the children and the staff and many other things.

Thanks to your great support and participation, we made a difference in the school this year. All the children, teachers, parents and even visitors talked about that. We hope you will continue to help us appears useful to the community.

Happy new year to all of you and your family.

Again, many thanks.

Sincerely,
Father Sadoni LEON

Photos from Haiti

2012-01-03T11:16:00.009-06:00

Hello! Caitlin Cannito here, Sherye's daughter. I'm beginning the long process of uploading photos from the most recent trip. If you have any, please send them to me at themadfangirl@gmail.com when you can. I have only received photos from a few people so far. :3

These photos are from Bob Hooper's gallery..a small selection from a bunch of great photos, full gallery found here: picasaweb.google.com/111200610112608098190

Enjoy, and more to come!

-Caitlin

A Message From Kesner Ajax

2011-12-25T15:35:00.001-06:00

Dear colleagues, partners, brothers and sisters,

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. The holiday season is a time for us to remind one another how grateful we are for life's many blessings. I am grateful for each of you and the support you give to our many schools throughout Haiti, (pre-school, elementary, secondary, high school, music, handicap, trade, agriculture and college) our hospitals, our clinics, our projects, our church’ reconstruction, our teachers, colleagues, and congregations. Thank you for your financial support, donations, dresses, toys, and especially your prayers and spiritual support to the whole diocese of the Episcopal Church of Haiti.

Without your generosity, we could do nothing.

It is my wish that the holiday season will bring you closer to your families and to God. I pray for a happy and healthy new year for each of you.

In Peace,

Kesner Ajax

The Rev. Kesner Ajax
Executive Director, Bishop Tharp Institute (BTI)
Partnership program coordinator, Episcopal Diocese of Haiti
Priest in Charge, Ascension Church, Beraud.

Mailing address:
c/o Agape Flights acc# 2519
100 Airport Ave

Randy's reflections on Nov trip to Haiti

2011-12-13T12:51:00.008-06:00

Randy McCloy is a Gastroenterology physician in Memphis Tennessee. He also serves as a deacon at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion. Here is his reflection written shortly after returning from our recent trip.

December 2011: Who Are We After Haiti

The week following Thanksgiving, my son, Kellar, a fourth-year medical student, and I joined parishioners Sherye Fairbanks and her daughter, Tess, and John Mutin on a mission trip to Haiti. The group was organized by Dr. Susan Nelson and other members of the WestTennessee Haiti Partnership, including Deacon Drew Woodruff and Ruthie Lentz. The visit was to St. Vincent School for Handicapped Children, and the purpose was to offer the children and staff members as much as we could medically, emotionally, and spiritually. Our group totaled 18 people, and included another physician, aged 89, who saw patients every day; a doctor of physical therapy, who was very helpful to so many kids with physical deformities; at least two priests and one other deacon, as well as volunteers whose sole motivation was to help out wherever needed. Most of us felt we entered the country as relative strangers, but left there as very good friends. Three plane rides and a long bus trip from the airport made for a long first day of travel, and some of us likely were outside of our comfort zone, but no one complained and all adjusted to living conditions far inferior to U.S. standards.Some facts about Haiti: it is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, with 80% ofthe population living under the poverty line, and most Haitians living on under two dollars a day. There is an enormous gap between the few wealthy and the vast majority who are poor;1% of the population controls 50% of the country's wealth. Health-wise, 50% of children have received no vaccinations; only 40% of Haitians have any access to basic health care; the incidence of tuberculosis and malaria is very high, and thousands die each year from these potentially curable diseases; 75% of households do not have running water. I could go on, but you get the picture, and that is enough grief for one day. About St. Vincent school: it was founded in 1945 by Sister Joan Margaret, and prior to the earthquake of January 2010, there were over 350 students. That number has been reduced to a little over 200 now, and most are boarded at the school. Many are orphans, some having just been dropped off at the school entrance by a parent unable to care for their child, feeling that this method of abandonment was better than watching the baby starve to death. These orphaned children are adopted by the school and cared for there, and are given the name“Vincent” as their family name. In fact, while he was there two years ago, Ollie Rencher baptized such an infant. The children of St. Vincent have infirmities including blindness, but many more are deaf, and many were born with severe developmental abnormalities: some are dwarfed, or have only partially developed extremities, often with only stumps for arms or legs. Many are confined to wheelchairs, or must uses crutches and/or prosthetic limbs to get around. The blind children are frequently led around by their deaf or otherwise physically disabled peers. In spite of their deformities and their enormous disadvantage in life, the children appear happy and content with their lives, some seemingly unaware of the serious hand they have been dealt. When we arrived, the children all greeted us in the schoolcourtyard, grinning and waving to us, and wanting to “high-five” anyone near them. The deaf ones tried to impress us with their sign language abilities, or wanted to know what our individual “sign” was, so they'd know how to address us. Many were just be content to hug our legs or sit in our laps. Complete strangers to them, we were immediately welcomed and accepted, even loved...like God's love...unconditional. To look into the faces of these physically compromised but happy children is truly to see the image of Christ, and one cannot help but be overwhelmed by a multitude of emotions: sad and happy at the same time; frustrated at their plight in life, but eager to help them any way we can, for as long as we can. To have experienced the children of St. Vincent School is to have received a gift, a learning gift from God that calls us to look inward and be aware of what we have, and what values are necessary to sustain us. Seeing the innocence and joy in the eyes of these children cannot help but strengthen our own resolve to seek Christ in our own lives.
Who are we now, after visiting Haiti? Who am I, after seeing old women and children in ragged clothes, begging on the streets of Port-Au-Prince, because they are hungry?Or seeing young women walking around with baskets of fruit delicately balanced on their heads, hoping to sell enough to provide at least one meal a day for that day...and then start the survival process all over again the next day? Who am I after seeing the “tent cities”, which house a half million homeless persons, where the space in which they live has dirt floors, and may be the size of an American powder room? I personally am not the same person. I hope to be a person changed for the better, one who can love as these children love, can accept whatever changes God has in store for me, and to use them for growth and transformation. Who are you now, and who will you become when change occurs in your life?

Randy McCloy, December 12, 2011

Joan's experience at Re-Entry

2011-12-10T08:48:00.000-06:00

Joan Phelps is a priest from Connecticut and sent me this email shortly after our return to the U S:

I was a bit tired yesterday so wasn't too aware of anything. Today I saw my dental hygienist who I have gone to since '83, So she said some stupid thing about did I have a good time in Haiti. Don't Haitians party alot. I don't even know what she was talking about but my buttons were pushed. I went on this thing about our friends in Haiti and how hard they work, how joyous they are even when they are also trying to get out of the mire. I told her Haitians are a joyous people and can sing even when down but we have a wrong image of who they are if we label them as party animals..............Blah, Blah, Blah !!!!!!!! You had to be there. My poor friend said she reallyu did not mean any offense......I realized I was overreacting ..........and she was the one with the picks, and whatever tools she could use on me.

It is difficult to think Christmas. However, I came back very grateful that we were not exposed to flamboyant decorations and musac blaring every where we went. Maybe our adventures will lead me to a less materialistic time and peaceful reflection of the good that we can do out of our abundance.

God's wonderful peace be with you. Have a joyous time of Christmas and Epiphany. May good things be yours in the New Year!!!

JP+

Advent Meditation

2011-12-10T08:26:00.000-06:00

St Mary's Cathedral is sending out daily Advent Meditations, and this came from today's reading:

"There never was a more holy age than ours, and never a less. There is no less holiness at this time - as you are reading this - than there was the day Jesus said 'Maid, arise' to the centurion's daughter, or the day Peter walked on water. In any instant the sacred may wipe you with its finger. In any instant the bush may flare, your feet may rise, or you may see a bunch of souls in a tree. In any instant you may avail yourself of the power to love your enemies; to accept failure, slander, or the grief of loss, or to endure torture. 'Each and every day the Divine voice issues from Sinai', says the Talmud."

Annie Dillard from For the Time Being

It strikes me that being in Haiti is a holy time for me, a time to experience the sacred. Drinking cool, clean water when you are sweaty and dusty from working in the clinic, is a sacred experience. Knowing that you cant just turn on the tap and get water, you must find treated water specially bought for you and carried into your room for you by one of the school's staff. Brushing your teeth takes on a whole new flavor, usually starting at the sink, realizing you cant use the water coming out of the tap, so you shuffle down the hall to the water cooler, there to be met by 2-3 other Americans with wet toothbrushes in their mouths, coming to fill their water bottles with clean water so they can finish what they started. Giggling with a mouth full of toothpaste can be quite messy!

My first hot shower when I come home from Haiti is a sacred experience as well. I like to drink from the shower spray, another habit I avoid in Haiti. Feeling the abundant hot water pour over me reminds me of the many things we take for granted in our American, comfortable lives.

Susan Nelson

Amazing Grace

2011-12-10T08:04:00.000-06:00

Amazing grace, how sweet though art, to have an no armed boy of about 4 years old come up to you and want up on your lap during the church service. Up he wiggles and moves like all boys do. But there are no handles with this one. I ever realized how much I counted on a child’s arms to steady them on your lap. There is, however, a smile and a set of eyes that can pierce and touch my soul. During the service it was time for us to cross ourselves, so I did so for him wondering in my heart had he ever had this done for him before. Since I didn’t know his name, I turned and prayed believing that the Holy Trinity must surely know this boy already or there would be no need to ever cross myself again? Like children everywhere he wanted down, so I put him down and off he ran to be with other kids. I thanked God for the touching moment completely satisfied that this small boy with no arms had touched me. I few minutes go by then all of a sudden I feel someone kicking the back of my folding chair and he is back and wants back up on my lap. So up he comes and the next thing I see is he is leaning over me and sticking his tongue out at Tess who is sitting beside me. This kid has both of us laughing during mass. Tess whispered that she had done it to him when we were giving him his physical. Then I realized just how trusting this child is of me since just the other day I stuck him on the earlobe to get a drop of blood to check his iron level. He not only came back to me, but wanted to get attention from me - that was just such a heartfelt, loving moment that rarely happens. It was amazing how someone so bright and small, I don’t think he weighed more than 35 pounds, could have such an impact on me. I found out later that night, from his school medical records, that he is 8 years old. But like most children in Haiti they are much smaller than they would be at that age in the USA. This boy was so full of happiness, love and trust that I couldn’t help but feel that he was the definition of grace. It was truly amazing to see him so full of love and hope and trust. His faith and God’s love have already touched this child of God; it is me that is the crippled one! May God someday give me this boy’s faith? Amazing grace how sweet though art? Who put his faith in me?

sent in by John Mutin

Re Entry

2011-12-07T10:58:00.007-06:00

Yesterday was my first day to wake up in Memphis since our recent trip. I find myself thinking about putting my life back together. That sounds dramatic, but it really does feel like re -entry into another world. Tears come to my eyes at stupid things like turning on the faucet. Driving down the highway, I wonder, "where are all the people?" and notice road signs and traffic lights, things which are rare or non existent in Haiti. People actually drive on the right side of the road, rather than filling any available space (Bill Squire tells me the only traffic rule in Haiti is: If there is an open space, fill it!)

I wonder about my other team members, how are they coping with the shock. I can't stand to look at a television and see advertisements for all the things we must buy. The thought of Christmas shopping makes me nauseated.

Jennifer sent me a photo of Diana Vincent with a red foam clown nose and her beautiful smile. I shared her photo with my staff and some of my patients, trying to bridge the gap between the two worlds. Capturing the joy of her life and her learning to walk a few steps, when 2 years ago I thought she would never survive. My heart is full of those children and their smiles when I walk through the gates of the school. This was my best Christmas gift, to see the love of God in the people of Haiti.

Improvements at St. Vincents

2011-12-05T07:35:00.002-06:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the children are generally much healthier than I have seen them in the past. I have included a copy of an email I sent to Pere Leon Sadoni, priest in charge of St Vincent's school since March 2009. In only 2 1/2 years, and despite the terrible destruction of the earthquake Jan 12, 2010, he has accomplished miraculous things at the school.

Dear Pere Sadoni,
I thought I would write to you about the many things I noticed during my trip to St Vincent's, things which I am thankful for. Some of the things seem silly, but I list them because they are signs of the hard work you are doing to improve the school and care for its children.

I am thankful for:
-trash cans in every room in the clinic (believe it or not, this is very helpful and important)
-a pharmacy. It used to be that whatever we brought to St Vincent's would be completely gone by the time we came again. Now the pharmacy is safe and secure, and many supplies are there for us to use.
-Madame Noel, the pharmacy tech. We did not used to have someone to help us write the labels and explain in Kreyol to the patients. Now we have someone to take care of the medicines and also to give vitamins to the children every day
-the vitamin program. The children are healthier, Pere Sadoni, than they have ever been. I only found 3 kids with anemia (low iron levels) during this trip. This is truly amazing. On previous trips we found many children with hemoglobin levels of 6 or 7 (normal is 10-12). This trip I can see that they have been getting their vitamins regularly. Thank you.
-None of the St Vincent's kids had worms. Not one. None had scabies (lice). This is stunning. Previous trips I have treated many children for scabies, which spreads in the dormitories easily. Please tell the staff I appreciate that they are keeping the children clean, their beds clean, and the children healthy.

All of these things mean that you and the staff are doing a very good job taking care of the children.

Thank you for all your hard work.

Sincerely,
Susan Nelson

Update on rebuilding

Children's Medical Mission of Haiti is the primary funding organization for St Vincent's School. Their director is Father Bill Squire. For an informative update on the status of the school and its rebuilding plans, including some nice photos, please visit their website: http://www.cmmh.org/

LAST DAY AT ST. VINCENT'S

2011-12-04T21:17:00.000-06:00

Today began with worship service at Holy Trinity Cathedral. The Cathedral building was nearly completely destroyed in the earthquake, so the congregation meets under a tent in the courtyard next door to the old cathedral. There were about 50 people there including a choir of angels. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing was the first hymn, in French of course. The four part harmony was so beautiful it affected all of us. The incense was powerful and a little strong for a few of our team members, but I loved it! During the offertory they had their annual gathering of pledge cards, and it was quite moving to see people bring their cards and put them into the box at the altar. People who live in tents and may have little to eat, still offering their gifts to support the work of the church. One of the Communion Hymns was in english, and a particular line was, "Fill our lives with grace". I told Pere Sadoni later that sitting in Haiti, listening to the choir sing, my life was definitely filled with grace.

After service ended we enjoyed lunch prepared especially for us by Rev. Fernan. She is the only woman priest in Haiti and is the director of Holy Trinity School. This school, she told us, was founded in 1913 and before the earthquake had 900 students. Since the entire school was destroyed in the earthquake, they now meet in temporary classrooms made of plywood. These cannot be made secure, so they cant keep computers or books or even desks inside the classrooms. She struggles to provide a meal every day for all the students, now about 750 from age 3 (preschool) to 10th grade. They are expanding, in order to graduate their first high school seniors in 2013, the 100th year since the school's founding. One would wonder why they want to expand the school when they can't feed the students they have; but the school has an excellent reputation and the parents have begged Rev Fernan to expand the grades to include middle and later high school; it formerly went only to 6th grade. Jean Robert, our translator, grew up at Holy Trinity where he learned to play the violin. He played for us while we ate delicious pumpkin soup, with mandarin oranges for dessert. Pumpkin soup is a Haitian specialty, and like other Haitian dishes, sounds exotic and strange and tastes fantastic.

After lunch we went to a Haitian arts market and did a little souvenir shopping. That was fun! Practicing my Kreyol while bargaining with the merchants.

We returned to St Vincent's to spend a final afternoon with the children. Kellar and Bob played basketball with some of the kids, using a 4 foot tall basket and a small rubber ball. There were a few balloons left from yesterday's celebration which were batted around, including the Walgreens GET YOUR FLU SHOT balloon which is still floating around! Sherye got out coloring books and crayons and Tess (Sherye's daughter) and Krystina (deaf interpreter from Connecticut) made macrame bracelets with the children. There was a cool breeze and it was absolutely delightful. I sat on the concrete steps and invited Mackenson to get his guitar and play for me, which he did. Mackenson is 16 years old and I have known him for several years. He told me he wants to be an engineer, and is studying physics and math at the Episcopal High School down the street from St Vincent's. Mackenson lives at St Vincent's because his mother, Naomi, who was a cook at the school, was killed in the earthquake, along with his 12 year old brother, Jobson. Sienna and Mackenson are good friends. He played a song which he says Sienna taught him, then we sang some songs together, each trying to think of a song the other might know. I told him one of my favorite hymns is Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, and when I hummed the tune he picked it out on the guitar, then strummed the chords and we sang it together. Actually I hummed it because I dont know all the words! But I will never hear that hymn again without the memory of being in Haiti. Frenel came to sit in my lap. He is nearly blind but showed me that he could see a little bit, as he described the colors on my bracelet. The macrame bracelet, made for me by Sherye, with colored beads. It soon came off and found its way onto Frenel's wrist.

Frenel has a beautiful voice and sang with Mackenson some Haitian songs he knew, then his friend Jean Marc joined us. Jean Marc is also blind and was happily sitting in Jennifer's lap next to me on the steps. Jennifer is a physical therapist from Memphis, and neither of us has a singing voice but it did not matter. The children are happy to have attention and to show their talents. It is one of the hardest things I have to do when it is time to get on the bus and leave the school on the last day, knowing I will not see the children for many months.

Susan Nelson

Day 5 in Haiti: coloring with the blind

2011-12-04T13:32:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of St VIncent, which remembers the International Day of the Handicapped. Started the day with worship service at the school, Randy McCloy and Bob Hooper vested and served at the altar with Bishop Duracin and Pere Sadoni. Randy read the gospel in English (that Tennessee accent REALLY STANDS OUT if you've been listening to Kreyol and French for the remainder of the service). Bob gave communion to the kids....picture little hands reaching out all at once to receive the host. LIttle pieces of the body of Christ, everybody excited to get some!

During the service, we sat under a large tent which had been temporarily placed in the courtyard for that purpose. Balloons and streamers were tied to the poles of the tent. The balloons are interesting in themselves, since one of them was a halloween balloon with orange pumpkins on black, another was for St Patricks day with green shamrocks. I pointed out one balloon to Keisha because it said "Get your Flu Shot" and had the Walgreens logo on it! (Keisha and Asha both work at Walgreens pharmacy in Memphis.) About every 10 minutes a loud BANG would make me jump, another balloon bursting. Later I asked Bob Hooper (priest from Connecticut) if his preaching is powerful enough to pop balloons.

After church, some of our group had coloring books and sat with the kids. Joan (priest from Connecticut) was sitting with one of the blind children, happily explaining the colors to him so he could choose each different crayon and color with first one, then another.

Only at St Vincent's would you color pictures with a blind child, and think nothing was unusual.

Later, as we were waiting for our ride to come and take us back to the guest house, I heard the familiar honking of the car horn outside the gate of St Vincent's. The staff were cleaning up after the party, sweeping ribbons and discarded trash out of the courtyard. Children were running about, some talking with Sherye (signing, actually) and some sitting in Drew's lap as always.

No one responded to the car honking. I looked about and wondered, "Why doesn't someone open the gate?" Then it dawned on me. THEY'RE ALL DEAF. I spotted JoJo and asked him to get someone to open the gate, after having a good laugh at myself.

Susan Nelson

4:30 AM SOUNDS IN HAITI

2011-12-03T07:13:00.000-06:00

Here I am at 4:30 AM again, writing about Haiti because I am unable to sleep anymore. Must be some of those "stress hormones" in action.

The guest house is quiet with sleeping souls, a few snores coming from the rooms. Of course, the night is anything but quiet. Sitting near an open door, I hear crickets. Cars going by on the road outside the gate. Dogs barking. The ever present rooster crowing. There is a bird which makes this incredible laughing sound as it flies through the palm trees. Our guest hostess, Gail Buck, tells me they call it the "monkey bird". It is easy to see where it got its name.

This evening we had a most delicious supper, full of dishes I did not recognize that all tasted wonderful. Some sort of salad with sliced chicken, garbanzo beans, bits of pineapple and fresh tomato. Another dish with chunks of grilled fish and vegetables. The most popular item looked like black oatmeal. Honestly. We have all become adventurous in our culinary habits, and knowing how good everything else tastes at the guest house, we tried it. Many folks had second and third helpings. It has a Haitian name, but "black bean risotto" is the most apt description I could come up with. There is a shaker of seasoning on the table with the name "Habanero Harmony". I love spicy food, so that sounded like just the thing for me. The label describes it as "inspired salt". It makes everything taste fantastic, from eggs to salad to the "black bean whatever". Maybe I can find some today at the market. We hope to go to an arts/crafts market today discovered by Ruthie online.

After supper many of us sat together and shared stories of the day, stories of trips past. Margaret told me a story I had not heard before, about something that happened to her in April 2010 when we went to Montrouis shortly after the earthquake. The kids had been evacuated from St Vincent's, which was in ruins, to a village on the coast where there is an old seminary campground. The grounds are right on the beach, and in the mornings and evenings we would sit on the stone wall looking out over the ocean. One morning Margaret was there, enjoying the peace and beauty of the shore and the water, watching the fishermen work their boats. Jean Robert was playing his violin, a beautiful sound above the gentle waves. One of the St Vincent's staff was sitting with 2 of her children, talking to Margaret. She had a two year old girl in her arms. Suddenly she put the girl in Margaret's lap and said, "Take this child", meaning of course, Take this child to the States. She was crying when she said this. Margaret started crying as well and told the woman, "This child needs to grow up in Haiti, because she will become a lawyer and work in the courts to help her people".

Margaret's story reminded me of baby Margaret, who was abandoned at St Vincent's 2 years ago while we were at St Vincent's, at the school before it fell down in the earthquake. It was November, Advent. I thought then about the tears of the mother who had to leave her child in the hopes she would be cared for. What must it be like to try to raise a handicapped child in Haiti, where food is scarce, medical services expensive. Raising a child with special needs is difficult even in the States, with all the resources we have available. We saw baby Margaret today, brought to the school by her foster mom who is caring for her and another disabled child named Vincent. Vincent was abandoned at the school last year during our trip to St Vincent's, again during Advent. We were blessed to be part of the baptism of each of these children. The intense experience of being in Haiti brings to life the message of Advent, that God loves this weary world still, that he has not forsaken us. Seeing a brilliantly blooming bougainvillea with pink and white flowers growing out of a collapsed building, speaks to me of God's faithfulness, God as Emmanuel.

Susan Nelson

Day 4 in Haiti - Face painting

2011-12-02T19:50:00.000-06:00

We have seen about 150 patients over the past 3 days. The children are healthy, gaining weight, and almost no anemia. We have a vitamin program where every child gets a multivitamin with iron every day. The West Tennessee Haiti Partnership has supplied the vitamins and St Vincent's has hired a pharmacy tech to supervise not only the school pharmacy but the daily vitamin program. The pharmacy tech, Madame Fortil Noel, goes to each classroom every day with enough vitamins for every child. We measure hemoglobin levels on every child that comes through the clinic. The hemoglobin level is a way to measure iron levels, in other words, anemia. 2 years ago it was common to find children with hemoglobin levels of 6 or 7 (normal is >12) and very rare to find hemoglobin levels of 11 or 12. This trip we found only 3 kids with low hemoglobin levels. Interestingly, they were all teenage girls. I asked the girls if they were getting their vitamin every day. Like teenage girls everywhere, they cant be bothered with taking vitamins (or anything else directed by adults). I scolded one girl, " I work very hard to bring these vitamins to Haiti, you'd BETTER start taking them every day!" I am so happy to see the children healthy and happy. John Mutin even suggested to me that we might not need to check hemoglobin levels on every kid anymore since they are all normal now. What a testament to the power of the vitamin program, the power of a small idea pursued with diligence, supported by many people bringing their bottles of vitamins for us to transport to Haiti.

After we finished clinic today, we planned time for Tess Cannito to organize face painting for the children. Not only face painting, but nail polishing and coloring. Picture Dr Randy McCloy and his son, Kellar, organizing the coloring book activity. Dr Jennifer Holbourn, Ruth Lentz, Keisha Land and Asha Cooper (the latter two are our pharmacists) painted nails on boys AND girls. The kids would get their nails painted, then go outside and scratch off the polish so they could return and have them painted again. The boys lined up to get their toes painted also!

Another fun activity was decorating aprons. Tess set up pans with acrylic paint, for the children to put their hands into. Then PRESTO handprints on the canvas aprons. They are drying tonight, so we can give them as gifts to some of the adult staff tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the Feast of St Vincent, which celebrates the International Day for Handicapped Persons. We will have a "Grand Fete" with a worship service in the morning, followed by kids singing and dancing. Tess plans to organize the kids to make macrame bracelets with beads. I am looking forward to celebrating with the kids, having a fun day without working in the clinic and "sticking their fingers" for blood tests.

There were many joyous and more sad moments today, material for later blog entries. For now I will say thank you again to all of you who make this trip possible. I wake up every morning in Haiti thinking, "I can't believe I'm in Haiti" and can go to work every day taking care of these children and staff at the school. I am starting to feel the regret of leaving, even though we are here for 2 more days.

Susan Nelson

Day 2 in Haiti- WHERE ARE THE MEDICAL CARDS?

2011-11-30T18:59:00.001-06:00

I slept wonderfully last night, which is saying something in Haiti. The temperature is a cool 70 degrees at night, with a lovely breeze. Even the constant barking dogs did not keep me awake. How wonderful to escape the world of alarm clocks and cell phones.....ummmm....what is that ringing sound!!! Everyone in my room (there are six women in one room) awakened at 5 AM to the sound of a cell phone ringing.... two of us stumbled out of bed, trying to find the ringing phone in the pitch dark. It sounded like it was coming from under the bed next to mine. Jennifer helpfully found a flashlight while I was staring at the bed where the sound was coming from. Except that the person in the bed next to mine is deaf. Why would she have a cell phone alarm ringing at 5 AM? After what seemed like 5 minutes, the ringing stopped. I climbed back into bed, blissfully covering my face with the sheet, and RING. ..... there it goes again. Now it was funny. Hope started giggling, and now I was fully awake. About every 5 minutes after that, the phone would ring briefly.

Eventually we figured out the phone was in the room NEXT to ours, so the ringing was coming from just on the other side of the wall at the head of my bed. The owner of the cell phone was, shall we say, "sufficiently disciplined".

After breakfast, we were picked up by Pere Sadoni to go to the school and set up the clinic. How grand to drive throught the gates of St Vincent's, and see familiar smiling faces. Jo Jo greeted us as always. Jean Robert had his big grin and warm welcome. Drew and I set off right away with Jean Robert to find a local pharmacy, to purchase medicine for malaria and worms. We can't really buy these in large quantities for reasonable prices in the US, so we always buy them in Haiti. We were offered a driver, but I preferred to walk. However, after walking for 45 minutes and finding 3 closed pharmacies, I was beginning to wonder if we should have driven anyway. But the ever capable Jean Robert found us a pharmacy near the University Hospital, and we found what we wanted. Jean Robert taught me a new phrase today, "mwen bra dwat" which means "my right hand". Fortunately the 4th pharmacy was only 2 blocks from the school, so the walk back was a lot shorter.

We returned to St Vincent's, expecting everything to be set up to start clinic and run the pharmacy. It was, except that John Mutin could not find the medical cards. These are 5x7 cards, specially printed for our trips, which we use as both medical record and prescription card for patients to carry to the pharmacy. The cards help us stay organized in the clinic, help identify patients and keep track of what diagnosis, what medicine was prescribed, etc. John had searched through 2 dozen suitcases, unpacking all the other medical supplies, but no cards. After much fruitless searching we decided to use notebook paper instead, which basically functions but is more fragile and does not have the pre-printed information that the cards contain. At any rate, we got through clinic without them. We saw about 30 patients today, and Dr Jennifer Holbourn (the flashlight helper from 5 AM) worked in the physical therapy clinic. She is a doctor of manual therapy, and I have been very excited to bring her to St Vincent's to work with the handicapped children. Today the most wonderful thing happened. I saw Diana Vincent walking, using the parallel bars. Diana has cerebral palsy and is an orphan, having been abandoned by her mother at the age of 2 at St Vincent's. The first time I met Diana in 2008 she was so sick with pneumonia she couldn't lift her head off the pillow. Now she is growing and getting regular physical therapy and is actually learning to walk. We called several team members to come see, and cameras flashed like she was Jennifer Lopez. Many tears of joy were shed at seeing this darling girl with the beautiful smile take a few steps. We are inspired by the hope that she will not end up like some of the other children we know, confined to a wheelchair all her life.

Back at the guesthouse, after supper and determined to find those medical cards, I looked in a suitcase which was sitting by the door. Apparently it had been overlooked when we took our baggage to the school with all our supplies. Yes, there were the cards, along with rolled gauze (which John had been looking for in the clinic earlier) and several injectable medications, boxes of gloves, soap, and a host of very useful supplies! Ah well, at least we found it before our last day in Haiti.

We are planning to have Compline soon and close the day in thanksgiving for the progress we see at St Vincent's, the joy in the faces of our Haitian friends and the sheer delight at being in a place where God's blessings are so evident.

Susan Nelson

Arrival Nov. 29 2011

2011-11-29T20:43:00.000-06:00

We have safely arrived in Haiti and are now at the guest house, having enjoyed a tasty Haitian meal with fried plantains, black beans and rice, and my favorite dish, piclise. Our day in Memphis began at 4:30 AM arrival at the airport. We took off on time despite the snow in Memphis and connected easily in Charlotte. The Miami airport was an adventure as always, with 3 team members having to obtain boarding passes which for some reason were not issued in Memphis. We also encountered a very intense security guard at one point who threated to call the police to arrest us for walking past a barrier. But despite the anxieties, we met up with folks from Connecticut, North Carolina and Wash DC and got safely to Haiti with all our bags! A miracle in itself. The second miracle is how we fit 16 Americans into one minivan (2 of us went in a separate vehicle). Pere Sadoni told us the van was supposed to carry 18 people. It must mean 18 Haitians, because 16 Americans could barely squeeze in. Its a good thing we like each other. Thanks to all for the many prayers that got us here safely. It is about 72 deg now, breezy, and we are all very tired but happy to be in Haiti.

Trip to Haiti Nov 29-Dec5

2011-11-28T05:15:00.000-06:00

We are going to Haiti in less than 24 hours. So naturally I am up at 4 AM thinking about it. We have 19 folks traveling with us this time, from North Carolina, Connecticut, Washington DC, New Orleans and Memphis. The love of God which is so evident at St Vincent's, draws people from all over the country. I am even taking a set of letters from a boys' school in Canada, written to the kids and handcarried by me. The letter exchanges started about a year ago, and I will bring letters back from the St Vincent's kids, to mail back to Royal St George's College in Alberta. I always feel like I am transporting great treasure when I carry these letters from one set of children to another.

So the last few days have been full of excitement, early morning awakenings, and flashes of momentary panic. Calls to John Mutin "I forgot to buy lollipops!!!" (for the children who come to the clinic). Do we have enough batteries? Where is the -FILL IN NAME OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT HERE-"
Calls to Sherye "Did you tell everyone to bring a bathing suit? Did you get stickers for the kids? Do the team members have everyone's phone number? Did you tell them to take their malaria medication..." Each of these questions was a SEPARATE phone call, mind you.

Sitting at my computer yesterday morning, I suddenly couldn't remember booking my flight to Haiti. Of course I did this in September, but for a long 10 minutes I was searching my email for the CONFIRMATION email from Orbitz. Couldn't remember it was from Orbitz, so it took a while to find it. What happened to the days when they MAILED you an actual ticket!!! My brain is not conditioned to keep up with all this digital stuff. My kids shudder when I hand them a piece of paperwork to keep up with. They keep everything in their phone.

I realize that my anxiety is mostly founded on the feeling that I am not prepared for this trip, that I am not bringing enough supplies, that somehow despite months of planning I will fail to use all the resources available to me to do the most possible good for the children of St Vincent's. Of course, there is no way to meet the vast needs we will encounter. We can only bring what little we have and offer it in love. But I still worry that I am not doing enough.

So to all of you wonderful Haiti supporters who pray for our safety and our work in Haiti, get your knee pads ready. We depart early Tuesday morning and return late Monday, Dec 5. Pray for the safety of our medical supplies (no diversions by customs agents or anyone else) and especially for the Haitian people we will see in our clinic. Pray that my Kreyol is better than it actually is. Pray that our team members will be able to offer all the love and gifts we have been given, to share with our Haitian friends.

I hope to send posts to the blog while we are in Haiti. If you are not already a follower, you may want to add your email to the "Follower" list.

Thank you all for your endless support

Susan Nelson

Dieumene update

2011-11-28T04:43:00.000-06:00

Soon after my last post regarding Dieumene, I received a call from Christina Porter, she is with Child Springs International which is an organization in Atlanta which brings Haitian children to the states for surgery. Turns out they did Dieumene’s original surgery when she was 8 years old! And they are willing to arrange for her followup surgery. If that is not a miracle, then I don’t know what is.
I forwarded the x-rays and other information to Child Springs. They have experience with obtaining the passport/visa and other paperwork and everything else required to arrange this type of operation.

The xrays were reviewed by Dr Carl Fackler, a scoliosis specialist who offers his services to Child Spring International. He determined that Dieumene does NOT need emergency surgery. They will keep in touch with Dr Beauvoir, the orthopedic doctor at St Vincent's, to monitor Dieumene's situation. And when I get to Haiti (in 2 days) I will give Dieumene a medical checkup to see what else might be causing her shortness of breath. Apparently it is not related to her spinal problem.
Many thanks to those of you who quickly offered your help for Dieumene. And please offer thanks to our amazing God who moved this process forward at warp speed, it seems.

Susan Nelson

Dieumene needs surgery

2011-11-14T19:47:00.003-06:00

We have received news from Dr Georges Beauvoir, the orthopedic surgeon who is now on staff at St Vincent's School. Dieumene had surgery on her spine, for scoliosis, when she was about 8 years old. Recently she has developed pain in her upper back and some difficulty breathing at times. According to Dr Beauvoir, the Harrington rod in her spine has separated from the vertebral column and needs to be repaired. He does not think she can get this type of surgery in Haiti.

Please start praying for a way to help Dieumene find someone to do this surgery for her in the United States, or possibly Canada.
Everyone who has visited St Vincent's knows Dieumene Cloristin, she is a vibrant personality and has big plans for her future. I hope somehow our Haiti partnership network can help her. If you have any ideas or connections to recommend, please post a comment on the blog for me to review.

Susan Nelson

Making Nutrition a Sustainable Business in Haiti - NYTimes.com

2011-11-02T21:07:00.003-05:00

Paste this address into your browser to read about Abbott pharmaceuticals sponsoring local Haitian workers to sort peanuts and help in manufacturing of Medika Mamba, a nutritious peanut based food supplement that can save lives of severely malnourished children.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/giving/making-nutrition-a-sustainable-business-in-haiti.html

Partnership program- letter from Pere Kesner Ajax

2011-10-31T12:57:00.007-05:00

From: Kesner AJAX [mailto:kesnerajax@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2011 5:31 PM

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Greetings from Haiti from the Partnership Program of the Diocese of Haiti!

I want to begin by thanking all of you for the contributions of time and treasure that you have made to our partner churches, schools, clinics, sanitation programs, reforestation programs, feeding programs, microcredit organizations, and all of our other ministries.

School in Haiti has begun, despite financial difficulties in most districts. School was scheduled to begin in September but was pushed back until October in many places for those financial reasons. It's heartening to see the children en route to school in the mornings now.

We hope that our children will have a happy and blessed year, and thanks to you, we think that will be possible.

I am still using the Agape Flights account address listed below to receive mail, gifts and support for your Haitian partners.

I would like to especially thank Roger Bowen, who does so much from the United States to connect your schools with our schools. I would also like to thank Angela Galbreath for her continued hard work in organizing your visits and experiences inPort-Au-Prince. Mr. Sikhumbuzo Vundla, the Chief Operating Officer for the Diocese of Haiti, has been an integral part of our work as well. These people, and so many others, work tirelessly to serve the people of Haiti. Thank you.

Your gifts are in large part responsible for the successful start of many of our schools. Thanks to you, we've built new classrooms, hired experienced teachers, bought school supplies, and generally equipped these schools to provide the best service possible to their students. Again, thank you for this!

We welcome you as you plan visits with your partners in Haiti. We look forward to greeting you, learning with you, and growing in faith together.

Hoping this finds you well in all the many places where you live, work, and worship.

Please continue to offer your prayers for the strength and faith of the Diocese of Haiti.

In Christ,

The Rev. Kesner Ajax

Executive Director, Bishop Tharp Institute (BTI)
Partnership program coordinator, Episcopal Diocese of Haiti
Priest in Charge, Ascension Church, Beraud.

Mailing address:
c/o Agape Flights acc# 2519
100 Airport Ave
Venice Fl. 34285

Tels. 011-509-3445-3346
011-509-3724-8376

Sienna at the beach

2011-08-13T22:22:00.003-05:00

Hello!! I'm so sorry I missed so many days. The beach had no internet, then when we came home the internet was busted. I meant to catch up this afternoon but instead spent a frustrating two hours completing an alcohol edu thing for school. Anyway...(just so you know this keyboard has no enter key. So one big wall of text for you guys. Enjoy) I left off at the beach. The night before we left Shelley mentioned that she would love to leave around seven, but realistically we probably couldn't get out the door until eight, just know that fifteen people and their stuff and food would have to be packed up first. The three youngest and most impatient children on the trip were sitting in the back of the pickup asking "when are we leaving?" way before the adults had finished packing, unpacking, and repacking the four coolers full of food several times. I could include many details of our long battle to get out the door, but just know that all fifteen of us, our backpacks containing 3 days' clothes, and enough food for all of us for three days all drove to Zanglais in one medium sized pickup truck. The bed of the truck had a layer of all the backpacks, then we sat on top. Nine of us, anyway. Did I mention this was a five hour drive? Every few minutes water, bread, and fried plaintains were passed back through a window. It was nice for about 90 minutes...after that I tried to pretend I didn't exist.

But man oh man was it worth the permanent damage to our tailbones. We stayed in a house at the top of a hill overlooking the shore. It was probably 20 degrees cooler than Port au Prince and gorgeous...trees and grass (grass in Haiti!) When we first walked down to the beach I was surprised to hear a BLEH-H-H-H coming from some disgruntled goats who didn't like having to share their beach with us. The sand there is darker than most beaches, but fine and soft and free of shells and rocks. I spent most of my time in Zanglais at the beach (gee, really?) On our second morning there we saw several boys pulling in a fishing net. It took them forever, I mean hours. They were reeling in more and more and more rope for the entire morning. Gradually more people came to help them pull in an endless amount of rope. It wasn't until the afternoon that they finally pulled their net in, which had 300-400 sizable fish in it, including a swordfish!

The boys' (and I mean the Tlucek boys: Dom who is eight, Ben and Joe who are ten, and a friend Jeff who is fourteen. Oh and their 12 year old sister Katie) favorite activity is bogey boarding on the waves. I was their chaperone for most of the time because the adults wanted some quiet time. So I jumped over waves, or sometimes they jumped over me.

So the beach wasn't EVENTFUL, really, but it was marvelous. I forgot to tell you how my face was black with dirt and sweat and sunscreen and bugspray after the car ride and I was STILL burned to a crisp, but I photographed it and will let the world know later.

Friday, the day after we went to the beach, I got to go to St. Vincent's at last. It was bittersweet because it was only a one day visit, and usually I get to spend several days there. But I was very grateful to be able to visit at all. Pere Sadoni (the director, and my mom and I's friend) told me that it was the last day of a camp for the deaf kids that some Americans had organized. Marvelous! I was very excited to talk to them about how it went, which activites they had planned, how they organized the program, but my lack of knowledge of sign language caught up with me again: the Americans were deaf. They read lips pretty well but I didn't pursue a lengthy conversation. I spent most of the day playing the violin for anyone who cared to listen. My friend Mackenson, who plays guitar, had an essential elements book one with a lot of easy treble clef stuff in it, so we played several songs together for a few hours; it was great. I talked to Clauricianne for an hour or so, a much needed practice session for my creole. Frenel told me that he has la grippe, something I feel like I recall him saying last time also...

Pere Sadoni took me out to lunch at the Plaza hotel, a place I've never been before, but my mom and her medical team are planning to stay there in November. It was truly luxurious: indoors, so many fans it felt like air conditioning, real paper menus instead of handwritten posterboard scrawl, and soda. With ice. To die for.

When I returned to the school in the afternoon, after a few more hours of music and catching up with Clauricianne and Mackenson, the Americans had a party for the deaf kids. It was quite a feast: every kid and parent or guest got a full meal with rice and beans, chicken, potato salad, lasagna, and noodles, and a drink of choice, and a generous slice of cake. The volunteers who had run the camp said a few words; the one American who wasn't deaf told the deaf American, in English, what he wanted her to say. She signed it to the group, then Pere Sadoni translated her sign into Creole for the non deaf guests. So english to sign to creole. It was very St. Vincent's. I was sad to leave but so grateful that I had been able to visit my friends at the school, even if just for one day.

Finally caught up to today, Saturday! Slept in again, this time until eight (I really am getting atrociously lazy). The Tluceks have a new building that they want to get ready so that some of the Haitian children that are living in their house can live in the new childrens' home instead, get some good structure, and hopefully give the Tluceks a little more peace (ha, ha). So today we cleaned. We went through bins, boxes, and duffel bags. We sorted, folded, and threw out a ton of stuff. Shelley hires a staff to help her clean and organize the house, except much of the time that staff apparently crams things into boxes and hides them in a corner to get them out of the way, hoping Shelley won't notice. That's how the Tluceks got their growing corners filled with mystery items: bags and bags of huge bolts of fabric, missing drills, rosters from camp, music books, coloring books, science books, beads, did I mention TONS of fabric?? I also went through hundreds of bathing suits today and carefully arranged them according to gender and size before cramming them back into a bin again. I also offered to make curtains for the new childrens' home, with assistance...let's hope that goes well tomorrow.

In the midst of writing this note I had to stop and kneel by the two little girls sleeping on the floor of my room and try to coax them to sleep with some hymns, which did NOT work so I uprooted myself and the borrowed computer into the foyer in the hopes that the darker lighting would get them to sleep. Of course at this point I still haven't taken my shower, so I'll have to either turn the light on in there and risk waking them up or search for my clothes and soap in the dark, which is what I'll likely do...

Last fun tidbit of the evening. I cut up mangoes for dinner tonight...MAN is that a sticky, messy job. Mango up to my elbows. The front of my shirt is still COVERED in the stringy yellow stuff. I tried to take a picture but it looked like a myspace angle shot, so just use your imagination.

When I am doing something here in Haiti I imagine ways to get various friends involved. I just want to include everyone so they can enjoy it as much as I do. I think, I could think up some prograo do with this, and get this person to help...Or, wouldn't she be good at this? This person would love playing with the baby, Onaldia. This person could pick up Creole really well. This person could cook for the whole house. May sound strange, but I miss you guys and think of you constantly!! Careful, I may try to drag you down here with me next time.

P.S. during closing prayer after dinner the baby started banging a pot on the floor, lol

sent in by Sienna Nelson

day 2 in Haiti- Sienna

2011-08-11T08:18:00.004-05:00

Editor's note: Sienna posted this on Facebook and I am just now getting it to the blog. Apologies. This post was from Monday night, I believe, Aug 8.

I slept in today. Until 7:30 that is. Everyone else woke up at four so I was a little behind. I made my first pitcher of powdered milk and then did dishes for two hours or so (it's amazing how long it takes with so many people). I also scrambled eggs for three of the boys. Let's just say cooking on a propane gas stove in Haiti gives meaning to the phraose slaving over a hot stove. I tried to keep my sweat from dripping into the food, although the boys did mention the eggs were a little salty, so...
The most eventful part of today was grocery shopping, which may sound trivial, but Tlucek/Haitian style makes you feel like you've just done a triathlon. We went shopping in Petionville, which is about ten miles from the house. So, a two hour drive in 5:00 traffic (yes, they have it here too). We warmed up by going to a gas station, then trekked further up the mountain to a store called Giant Supermarket. May not have been giant by our standards but it was certainly high end, looked as clean and organized as any Kroger. I learned a bit about the cost of living in Haiti: double, triple what it is in the states. Everything is imported and it's outrageously expensive. A jar of mayonnaise? Eleven dollars. (Interruption - everyone is currently frantically running around trying to deal with a bird that has gotten stuck under one of the boys' beds, ha) But ELEVEN DOLLARS? I was shocked. I couldn't believe living in Haiti could cost more than living in the US. I asked Shelley about it and she said they spend about $30 a night just keeping the generator running...and that's just at night, for fans I guess. But power, water, food, everything cost a ton. The Tluceks live entirely off donations...yikes. Being a missionary is tough.
I also learned a bit about the history of some of the teenage boys staying with the Tluceks. They all moved in after the earthquake. One boy, who is fifteen now, was injured in the earthquake, and after a week of no treatment his fracture got infected. He spent nine months in a hospital in the US and had no less than 11 surgeries. He's fifteen. I never would have known because he looks perfectly healthy. I asked him how to cut a mango today actually and he looked at me like I was joking. Perhaps it was deserved.
Oops, power is flickering.
ANYWAY. We didn't just go to the Giant Supermarket, which had products written in French, English, Spanish, and Arabic, but no Creole...we also went to two other grocery stores and a bakery. No big deal, right? Well you try it. BIG DEAL. Especially since the mountain roads are sort of terrible and my head was consistently banging against the side of the truck. That was more amusing than anything, though, and I was glad to see Petionville again. Oh, they also have a guard with a full sized rifle outside every grocery store.
Tomorrow we are going to Zanglais, the beach! I had a semi difficult time packing just two days of clothes in my little backpack, since 15 of us are going and we don't need my giant suitcase taking up all that room. Hot dogs and mangoes for dinner tonight...I might have some follow up mangoes before I go to bed. Love those things.
In case you guys are wondering when the productivity will begin, when we get back from the beach we're going to start moving into the children's home...I think the Tluceks have a new building they need to set up. So I won't just be lounging...mostly not anyway. Orevwa pou kounye a! (byebye for nooooow)Sent from my iPhone sent in by Sienna Nelson

Sienna Day 2 in Haiti

2011-08-08T20:07:00.000-05:00

Despite much anxiety the flight(s) yesterday were completely smooth. My bag was right there at the baggage claim, and Shelley, the lady whose family I'm staying with, was right outside the airport exit to pick me up.
The Tlucek house is a little crazy. There are Shelley and Byron, the couple who run the house, and their six children. There are also two sisters, a one year old and five year old, who arrived just yesterday too. Then there are four other boys...one five year old and three teenagers. Plus the group of thirteen people that has been here for a week already, and two teenage girls who work and live in the house also. Plus at least two local friends who are visiting. Oh and I forgot two other volunteers who have been here all summer, and another girl who just arrived on Tuesday...yeah... last night we had 38 people for dinner! and apparently the week before I came it was 48. Keep in mind this house is about the size of mine.

I just missed English camp, a six week program where they had 250 kids here every day! The people here are exhausted. I wanted to find a way to be helpful so when I woke up this morning I washed dishes for what seemed like four hours. I did all the dishes from dinner the night before, and then we had lunch and I did those dishes too. But every time I walk in the kitchen the sink is still piled high!We went to a metal works village today, which is not actually a village but a gated area with about 20 shops full of handmade metal pieces. I was glad to hear we were going somewhere because I was eager to get out and see the city but I didn't think I would be too impressed by the things I saw or want to buy anything, because I'd seen a lot of this stuff before in the cathedral giftshop and street vendors' wares. But I was amazed. The first room I walked into, all four walls were completely covered in metal arkwork: trees, lizards, mermaids, suns, animals, everything. Some were purely decorative but some had hooks for hanging stuff, or mirrors, which I fell in love with. I walked into every shop looking at the different mirrors: circular, rectangular, heart shaped, with birds on the border or palm trees or sun rays. Small mirrors, HUGE mirrors (which I loved but no way I could fit in a suitcase), everything imaginable. I was really annoyed that I had only brought twenty bucks with me. But I got a wonderful chance to practice my Creole and another important Haitian skill: bargaining. I never had to make an offer; I just squinted and said Map panse, I'm thinking. The average asking price I got was about 25. I told all the shopowners I might come back later in the week. I didn't get a mirror, but on the way out I did spot a big sun with swirls for rays that I got for fifteen bucks, which the veteran hagglers congratulated me on.Tomorrow morning the group of thirteen is leaving, so it will be a little quieter around here (but not too much). The day after tomorrow we are going to the beach for three days, which I didn't even know about! I'm so excited, the only Haitian beach I've been to was fabulous. So I'm not industriously building houses or checking blood pressure...I'll just say that I'm learning more about the country. By going to the beach.

Ach I know I'm writing too much but there is so much to say! Funny story...last night I wanted to take my shower so I went into the room I'm sharing with another girl named Grace to get my clothes and soap, etc. But I walked in to find the two sisters passed out on the floor. This is the one and five year old, and because it was there first night sleeping in the Tlucek house, I had been warned not to wake them up. So I couldn't turn the light on, but it was pitch black in my room, plus the combination of fans, cords, bunk beds, and suitcases made walking really difficult. Once I finally got to the shower, the bathroom was tiny. Absolutely miniscule. The whole bathroom was not wide enough for my wingspan, and the shower itself was maybe half the size - maybe - of your average bathroom stall. And you have to climb over the toilet to get into the shower. It was a little difficult.I could tell more stories about navigating my bedroom in the dark without stepping on children but since I've already written a novella I will stop here...or not because I have to talk about how much I miss my friends and family. It didn't hit me until I got here that I'm leaving them for real.

sent in by Sienna Nelson on Sunday, August 7, 2011 at 9:01pm

Sienna in Haiti

2011-08-07T21:54:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all of you for your prayers for Sienna. I talked with her on the phone this evening. She is safely settled at the orphanage and happily practicing her Kreyol. She told me that she and her American host family are taking a handful of Haitian children to THE BEACH later this week. A friend of mine commented, "I thought she was going down there to alleviate pain and suffering...."

I am so jealous. The Haitian beaches are, of course, beautiful just like any other Caribbean beach you have ever been on. What a wonderful way for Sienna to experience the joys and wonders of Haiti, not just the devastation. As missioners we sometimes get tunnel vision and think everyone in Haiti is destitute or starving and needs our help. Of course, there are treasures there that the usual missioner never gets to see. Pere Sadoni, the priest in charge of St VIncent's School, has been telling me all along that if you only see Port au Prince, you dont know Haiti.

My dream is to one day travel in Haiti outside the big capital city. Maybe Sienna and I will get to do that together.

sent in by Susan Nelson

Hope Lennartz visits St VIncent's School in July

2011-08-07T21:47:00.000-05:00

MY PERSONAL REFLECTION:

MY JOURNEY BACK

To start my story, I need to tell you who I am. My name is Hope Lennartz, the Volunteer Executive Director of the Friends of St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Fifteen years ago, I founded a non-profit 501 c 3 to provide service and support to the children and staff at the Center. St. Vincent’s Center is the only residential school for handicapped children in Haiti.

January 12

Where were you when you heard about the Haiti earthquake?

A moment of time….I was at work as a RN in a detoxification center when my partner called. I rarely received calls at work. She told me the news that Haiti had a BAD earthquake. I did not know how bad it was until I heard the National Palace had collapsed and part of The Montana, a five star hotel on the side of the mountain, had fallen and some of it slide down the side of the mountain destroying houses in its way.

So we waited to get any messages about how bad it was at the Center. It was very bad. Seven of our children and three of our staff died and most of the major structures were gone. To rubble … bright blue shiny painted pieces of cement.

I felt powerlessness over this event. I felt the pain of our friends and the earthquake stories went on for weeks and weeks.

I received messages from all over the world asking questions, requesting information and extending help.

For years I had taken groups down to Port-au-Prince to work with the children and staff at the Center. Due to my personal health and the earthquake, I had not returned to St. Vincent’s for a while. It had been 1 ½ years since the earthquake. Physicians for Peace asked me to return to see what steps were next for the Brace Shop and Physical Therapy program.

St. Vincent’s Center is a very special holy place where handicapped children and adults are celebrated and helped to be the best they can be. It is a tight family who invites you in so you can use your talents and give your love. It was time for me to return.

My first hours in Haiti included the AIRPORT experience which does not seem to change over the years. I saw and smelt the gray haze hanging over the city caused by the burning of the trash. I knew I was in Haiti again. We were taken to the center of where the national government had functioned… We looking through the green metal fence to see the National Palace toppled over and I heard myself say “Oh my God”. I had seen pictures on CNN for months. I knew it was real in my head but now it was real in my heart. I felt the sorrow in my soul upon seeing the city of tents … blocks after blocks… one and half year old tents with logos …. USAID, Republic of China, Save the Children and many others. The green parks were gone. My memory of the old Haiti was a ghost. I had trouble figuring where we were but only after seeing the tip of a historic statue over the tents did I get my bearings. Some folks estimate there are 500,000 people still in tents.

I had embarked on an incredible, wonderful journey to see old friends. I finally let go what was and turned it into what it can be. I let go of the old memories and faced the new reality that we can still make a difference. We, together in partnership, can move programs forward and help the handicapped children in Haiti.

sent in by Hope Lennartz

Sienna travels to Haiti

2011-08-05T02:33:00.000-05:00

Many of you know that my daughter, Sienna, will travel to Haiti on Aug 6-18. She is volunteering to work with HeartLine Ministries, in Tabarre (suburb of Port au Prince). Sienna has been determined to go to Haiti this summer and has relentlessly been asking me and asking me and asking me for permission to go. Despite much misgivings, I agreed to let her go. Everyone I talked to who has been to Haiti told me I should let her go.

She will work at a children's orphanage, helping the center get ready for the beginning of school, and perhaps taking a trip with the children to the southern part of Haiti. She told me she is not exactly sure what her duties will be, but she doesn't care. She just wants to be in Haiti.

I am very proud of her and Mildly Terrified, of course. That might explain why I am awake at 3 AM writing a blog entry instead of sleeping.

August 20 we take her to Tulane for college. Her childhood is over in an instant, it seems.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers for her safety and in thanksgiving to God who has inspired her to love the people of Haiti.

Susan Nelson

Haiti Report from Dr. Bheki Khumalo

2011-08-05T02:25:00.000-05:00

June 14th, 2011
I would like to begin this report by thanking all of you for your prayers and support for the mission to Haiti. The people of Haiti are grateful for all the support and love we have shown them through the years especially after the recent disastrous earthquake. Our trip was a success. We traveled to Port-au-Prince without any difficulty. Our team from Memphis was joined by two others from the Red Thread organization. We hit the ground running in Haiti. I will mainly focus my report on the days we held clinic, with occasional digression to my observations of the mood of the people, the politics of the land, and the contrast between destructions and the beauty of the land.

Our team members consisted of the following people: Dr. Susan Nelson, our fearless team leader; Drew Woodruff; John Mutin, paramedic; Sherry Fairbanks, educator and sign language interpreter; Amy, physician’s assistant, and her daughter Hanna; Sienna Nelson; Wade Shields, physician’s assistant; Wes Savage, pharmacist; Nick Pesce, physical therapist; Sonya Yencer with the Red Thread; and myself.

We traveled safely to Port-au-Prince, arrived at the makeshift airport, were greeted and picked up by our gracious host, Father Sadoni, Rector of St. Vincent School. He shuttled us "Haiti style" to the guest house where we dropped our baggage and waited for our bunks to be set up. We rested that night. Next morning we went to St. Vincent to set up the pharmacy and the clinic to be ready for the next day. Driving through the rubble and collapsed structures was, in a strange way for me and my team members, a time of reflection and a strong reminder of why we were there—to help, heal the wounds, bring comfort and hope, to share the love of God in the midst of the turmoil and destruction that has affected so many lives of the people of Haiti.

Day one: When we arrived at the temporary St. Vincent School, the children and the staff were expecting us and it was a great reunion for those of us returning and a wonderful introduction to the new team members. We toured the new clinic and brace shop. We immediately began setting up for work. We actually began to work minutes after arriving. Our arrival date coincided with the clubfoot clinic and pediatric orthopedic physical therapy day. So, my friend Nick Pesce, the physical therapist, and I went to work immediately with Madame Michelle Bazelais, the veteran physical therapist and long time supporter of St Vincent. Our work consisted of evaluations of children with developmental issues and deformities. Most of the children this day were infants ranging in age from two months to two years; a few slightly older children were also seen on this clinic day. I helped Michelle with Ponsetti casting for clubfeet. I performed minor procedures to assist in the correction of clubfoot deformity. We helped with recommendations to improve the condition of the children. Recommendations included further consult with pediatric neurologist, orthopedics, bracing, physical therapy, medications, and in some cases nutrition. This was a very important day for it helped define future projects for St. Vincent.

Susan Nelson and her team also started working this day. Their work consisted of evaluating and treating children of St. Vincent as well as staff members. They dispensed medicines and vitamins and helped continue the work already in progress to keep the children healthy and nutritionally balanced.

Our second day began with our normal routine of morning preparation and transport to St. Vincent. As I stated in previous paragraphs, this always serves as a time of reflection as we drive through Haiti’s traffic, shanty towns with dilapidated buildings, and the hustle and bustle of the Haitian people. As we drive we take pictures of people, buildings, and everything around us which tells a remarkable story of the people and the land of many hills—their resilience, their hopes and their fears, all in a endless motion picture. This work day started with our usual set up and preparation for clinic. In contrast to the day before, Nick and I were consulting older children this session. These children had advanced deformities. Some of them were beyond rehabilitation. This was a major shift from our previous day with infants. Nick and I were challenged and disturbed by this day—we realized that these children were once like the babies we consulted the previous day. Lack of resources and their birth circumstances led them to these irreversible deformities. We talked at length amongst ourselves and with Michelle about what we can do to improve the lives of these children, and more importantly what we can do to keep the smaller children from deteriorating. Nick and I were charged and ready to work harder in helping the children at St. Vincent.

Dr. Nelson and her team, the pharmacy, and Drew were all engaged in various activities in clinic and out of clinic—St. Vincent was bustling with life. We all worked hard. Our drive back and our evening rest hours were full of stories and ideas to improve the health, education, and overall well-being for the children.

Between our clinics we had an opportunity to visit the countryside and beach areas of Haiti. The beauty of the mountains and waterside was like a rainbow at the end of long hard storm. Somehow, I was inspired and actually overwhelmed with a sense of hope for fractured Haiti.

On the political side, we witnessed the return of Betrand Aristide, which somehow posed a threat to the scheduled election. He came back from exile from South Africa and nothing of significance came of his return. There was heightened security and UN troops everywhere. The elections took place peacefully. I suppose this was a major disappointment to the critics of Haiti. We were elated that we were not going to be trapped in Haiti. We did however encounter a few groups at the guest house who were under evacuation orders from their US agencies on the eve of Aristide’s return and elections.

On our last day of work we were back working with infants. This time we were more vigilant than ever, noting every possible thing we can do to keep the infants from permanent deformities. We realized then that if we intervene now we can help save a lot of steps. Overall, our recommendations were to train ancillary staff people, including the older children, to help with mobilizing, physical manipulations, and stretching the smaller children; develop braces that will afford gradual correction without any need for surgery; fit children with walkers and wheelchairs that will keep them active and mobile as much as possible on a more frequent basis; and lastly, continue with our nutrition and vitamin program. (Many thanks to GSL for the vitamin donations!) In conclusion, we are hoping to decrease physical disability through therapy and bracing, improve overall health, and improve education for the children of St. Vincent. I hope that we are creating a self-sustaining environment that will keep the school going past our tenure.

Thank you for your support of this ministry that is near and dear to my heart.

"Mayibongwe Inkosi" ( Zulu for thanks be to God)

Bheki Khumalo

Camp Jake update

2011-08-05T02:21:00.000-05:00

The organizers of Camp Jake have had to postpone their plans. Serious health issues among the family members of the camp leadership have forced this difficult decision. The Red Thread Promise has a more detailed post on their blog @ redthreadpromise.org, for your information.

We continue to support the valiant efforts of the Red Thread Promise to organize this wonderful camp for St Vincent's kids. All donations received will still be used to support the camp, but the dates have been moved to December 2011. Please keep the organizers in your prayers.

Susan Nelson

Camp Jake is a summer camp for St Vincent's kids

2011-07-26T22:38:00.001-05:00

Red Thread Promise: Camp Jake is around the corner!: "We are SO thrilled about the progress being made on CAMP JAKE ! For those who may have missed this exciting news, The Red Thread Promise is..."

Red Thread Promise: Dust and grime at St. Vincent's

2011-06-01T19:50:00.000-05:00

Red Thread Promise: Dust and grime at St. Vincent's: "The dirt was flying at St. Vincent’s (SV) today. After making the short trek from the hotel, three of our volunteers dove into a large, mess..."

john mutin's reflections

2011-05-06T21:12:00.000-05:00

I have been asked to write to you about how things are going in Haiti. In considering this task, I feel one of the biggest questions in my mind is - Are we making a difference? The answer is definitely yes! We have helped to improve the children’s lives thanks to your help. They are showing a big improvement in their hematocrit (blood iron) levels although they are still not up to the equivalent of an American child’s level. The multivitamins they are getting every week day are improving their general health along with the food and clean water. Their health was much improved; their weight is up slightly and all they are growing taller. They are in a safe clean place where they are cared for and loved very much. It never ceases to astound me just how happy they are and the love they exhibit. In a place where one would expect self-pity, I see then striving to help their friends.

One of the biggest new events that came out of this trip is that there are some children that are currently in wheelchairs that could, with physical therapy and casting, be able to walk. What an amazing gift this would be that could change a child’s life forever. We need to develop a full time physical therapy department that can work with the foot clinic and give these children back there mobility. Currently a child with a club foot is placed in a wheelchair to give them some mobility, but this weakens their leg muscles and contracts the tendons to the point where they will never walk again. We can make a huge difference to these children if we can provide a properly trained staff to work with them on a regular basis. The children are coming from all over Haiti for the foot clinic, so this is chance to change their young lives. It wouldn’t be that expensive and the impact we would have is nothing short of a Miracle. With God’s blessings and your help, we can do this.

Nick Pesce's photos Haiti trip March 2011

2011-05-06T21:09:00.000-05:00

Nick with a patient in therapy clinic

Auguste

Riding in a TapTap to church on Sunday

For more of Nick's photos click here.

Photos from our March 2011 trip

2011-05-01T16:58:00.001-05:00

Sonya Yencer of Red Thread Promise (www.redthreadpromise.org) has sent us her extensive photo library from our March 2011 trip. Thank you to Sonya for these beautiful pictures. If you click on the link to see more photos you will also have access to photos from other trips to Haiti by the Red Thread Promise volunteers. We are fortunate to be partnering with them in our efforts to support St Vincent's School for Handicapped Children.

Amy and Wes in the medical clinic

Drew with Diana in her new red wheelchair brought by Red Thread Promise

John is checking a hemoglobin with a fingerstick test. Except this child has no arms, so John is checking his earlobe

Sonya shows kids her camera

Susan in clinic

For more photos from our March trip to St Vincent's, click here.

reflections from Sonya about children's orthopedic clinic at St. Vincent's

2011-05-01T15:11:00.001-05:00

The Club Foot Clinic

The central hallway that runs through the clinic building was lined with
mothers holding babies, soothing crying children, nursing infants,
shushing toddlers—all waiting for their turn at the club foot clinic.
Parents came from miles around with their children, displaying an array of
leg and foot abnormalities. The lucky ones were able to walk on their own
or with limited assistance. But the majority were non-ambulatory, relying
on a parent or relative to carry them.

It was on the first day of the clinic that Dr. Bheki Khumalo, a podiatrist from Memphis (originally from South Africa) performed his first outpatient surgery of the
week on the very first patient. In a small square room with light blue
walls and a cement floor stood a single table covered in a white sheet.
Surrounding that table was a talented medical team that would change the
course of this child's life forever.

She was an infant, no more than 1 year old—the sweetest little girl with
smiles for everyone and tiny laughs. With a simple set of surgical tools
and skilled hands, the tension was released on the child's Achilles
tendon, the foot carefully set in the proper position and finally casted.
When one leg was complete, they set to work on her other leg, casting it
as well before the appointment was over. All the while, she cried little
and we were amazed by her cheerful temperament. (Author's note: I cannot
imagine how incredibly hot and itchy her little legs must be in those
plaster casts in the Haitian sun. But what a small price to pay to have
the opportunity to walk someday. I had the honor of holding her after both
casts were applied while her mother went to the pharmacy—the highlight of
my day!)

Hour after hour, infants and toddlers came to have their feet and legs
examined. The team consisted of Dr. Bheki Khumalo, Nick Pesce (a physical therapist from
Memphis) and Michele (a Haitian physical therapist).
Together, the team discussed each case in detail, determining how to best
treat the child within the means of the clinic. X-rays were studied
through the light of a single small window on the only exterior wall.
Debates ensued, weighing the pros and cons of each treatment plan (i.e.
would putting a child in a brace for the right leg cause damage to the
left hip). Many casts were applied and many referrals to hospitals and
specialists were made. Each appointment was complex and lengthy,
exhausting work in the heat.

As Dr. Eric had predicted during our trip to St. Vincent's in February,
even though the clinic had few supplies, in the hands of properly trained
people, small miracles could be performed. And that's exactly what we
witnessed day-after-day in St. Vincent's clinic. Children who may not ever
have been treated were seen by a very talented group of physicians. Each
case was handled as if they were full paying clients in the United States.
Every effort was made to do the very most for each little person, to
provide the optimum care given the circumstances.

Imagine how much more can be done for these children when the permanent
clinic and surgical center are rebuilt on St. Vincent's demolished
property.

FW: 150th Anniversary Diocese of Haiti

2011-05-01T15:01:00.000-05:00

From: Kesner AJAX [mailto:kesnerajax@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2011 4:01 PM
Subject: 150th Anniversary Diocese of Haiti

Dear Partners and Friends,
I would like to personally thank you for all the support you have provided to
the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti thus far; and furthermore for you continual
support of the Diocese of Haiti. Without committed and generous partners such
as yourselves we would not be able to touch as many lives as we currently are.
Because of such help, The Diocese will be celebrating its 150th anniversary of
successful operation. We invite all partners and friends to celebrate with us
in any manner or location you see fitting.

The 150th anniversary of the diocese will be celebrated in the five
archdeaconries on the following dates:
               May 8th – Central Plateau Archdeaconry at the church St. Peter
in Mirabalais
               May 22nd – South Archdeaconry at the church St. Savior in Les
Cayes
               May 26th – West Archdeaconry at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in
Port au Prince
               June 12th – North Archdeaconry at the church Holy Spirit in Cap
Haitian
               September 11th – Leogane Region and Southeast Archdeaconry at the
church Holy Cross in Leogane
The staff of the Partnership Program, myself and Angela, along with your partner
priests will be happy to help you arrange a visit to celebrate with us.

In other Diocesan news, before January 2012 there will be a suffragan bishop
elected and consecrated to serve the needs of the growing number of
Episcopalians in Haiti.
We are also blessed by a new addition to the diocesan staff, Mr. Sikhumbuzo
Vundla, who starting in March serves as Chief Operating Officer for the Diocese
of Haiti.

Schools in Haiti have just completed their second trimester of the year and will
be have a break to celebrate Easter.

To all of you who are supporting the reconstruction efforts as well as all who
have made plans to do so, I profoundly express my gratitude on behalf of the
Partnership Program and encourage your sustained efforts. The needs are
enormous.

I wish all of you a wonderful Easter holiday and know that you are in our
thoughts and prayers.

The Rev. Kesner Ajax

Executive Director, Bishop Tharp Institute (BTI)
Partnership program coordinator, Episcopal Diocese of Haiti
Priest in Charge, Ascension Church, Beraud.

Mailing address:
c/o Agape Flights acc# 2519
100 Airport Ave
Venice Fl. 34285
Tels. 011-509-3445-3346
011-509-3724-8376

She has done what she could

2011-04-10T16:13:00.002-05:00

There is a story in Mark's gospel (Chapter 14) about a woman who brings an expensive jar of perfume to the house of Simon the Leper, where Jesus is having dinner with his friends. The woman anoints Jesus with the perfume, an act which is later seen as anointing him for his burial. At the time, the disciples were upset, asking Jesus why he let this woman "waste" this expensive perfume when the money could have been used to feed the poor. Jesus responds "She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you will, you can do good to them; but you will not always have me. She has done what she could."

Dr. Mitzi Minor, a professor at Memphis Theological Seminary, taught a Sunday school lesson about this passage last week. She emphasized the fact that the woman understood the suffering Jesus was going through and knew what was going to happen to Him, even though none of His friends seemed to get the idea. She did something for Jesus that was an act of kindness and did not ask Him for anything in return, in contrast to the other people surrounding Him. The woman could not stop what was going to happen to Jesus; she could not prevent His suffering, she couldn't fix the problem with the Romans or with the Jewish high priests. But she offered comfort to Jesus and He was no longer alone.

This struck me as an insight into our mission work in Haiti, and for that matter anytime we offer comfort to someone who is suffering. We may not be able to fix the bigger problems, or to stop something terrible from happening. But we can give what we have; the love and support we can offer to another human being is sometimes all we have but it is our greatest gift. All God asks of us is to give the tiny gift we have, and He will bless it and make it into something wonderful.

Lenten reflections

2011-04-03T03:08:00.002-05:00

St. Vincent's School was founded in the late 1950s by Sister Joan Margaret, of the Society of Saint Margaret, an anglican organization based in Boston. Several of the sisters still live and work in Haiti. I just discovered an amazing journal account of the earthquake in Jan 2010, written by Sr. Marjorie who was living at the convent in Port au Prince. Click on the link below. If it does not work, visit their website at: www.ssmbos.com and look for their newsletter from Lent 2010.

http://www.ssmbos.org/sites/default/files/Epiphany%20Lent%202010.pdf

Living Water

2011-04-02T11:05:00.002-05:00

This past Sunday the gospel reading was about Jesus talking with a Samaritan woman. He tells her He will give her living water (John 4:3-42)

I always wondered what that living water was exactly, or if Jesus was just using a metaphor. I thought maybe He meant something spiritual like the knowledge of eternal life. I confess I often thought the Samaritan woman must have left feeling empty handed, or at least puzzled by a confusing answer.

I realized during Andy's sermon (Andy Andrews is our priest at St. Mary's Cathedral in Memphis) that by speaking to her as a woman, as a Samaritan, Jesus gave her the gift of recognizing her value as a person.
The living water is the gift of being valued
Of being given your dignity
Recognizing you have the freedom to be loved
To hold your head up and thank God you're alive

The Samaritan woman walked away from that conversation with something that couldn't be taken away from her.

This is the gift God gives to the Haitian people, a gift we Americans don't always see at first. We see the devastating poverty most Haitians endure all of their lives, and we ask, How can they love God? Why arent they angry all the time? The Haitians know that God loves them even though the world ignores them most of the time. They have a treasure inside that can't be taken away.

Wes's experience (our pharmacist)

2011-03-26T15:07:00.001-05:00

My experience in Haiti was fraught with first-time experiences. Prior to this trip, I had never experienced a third world country. I had no idea what to expect as we landed at the Port-au-Prince airport, but the moment we stepped outside the airport the reality of how much poverty there is in the country was immediately apparent. You want to help everyone you see. You want to give them the money/food/clothing you have on you. I constantly felt guilty for all the things I had that they didn’t and probably never will. It seemed like no matter what you did it would just be a solitary raindrop falling on a thirsty desert, having little effect on the greater problem; but the following morning at St. Vincent’s showed me just how big an impact twelve people can make.

We weren’t supposed to have clinic the first day we arrived but I soon learned to expect the unexpected in Haiti. I owe a huge debt to Miloine (we all spell and pronounce her name differently), the nurse that is now in charge of the pharmacy there. Even though neither of us was fluent in the other’s language, we were able to communicate through the magic of medicine. She let me know if the directions I was writing actually made sense in Kreyol, and in the beginning – they didn’t. Thankfully my English to Kreyol improved as we went along with help from her, the other members of the team, and my iPod (there’s an app for that!). I think I will have “bwe yon grenn chak jou” (take one tablet every day) ingrained in my memory forever.

There were so many memorable moments at St. Vincent’s that it’s hard to list them all. Everyone on the team was always in motion. There was one day where Sherye was being pulled in every direction to interpret for the deaf children. We had two exam rooms with three providers all needing Sherye to interpret for them plus my need for her to interpret directions for the medication… she handled it in stride and I’m not sure how we would have done it without her. Everyone has a role even if it’s not necessarily medical. You will find your role once you enter St. Vincent’s.

I guess I’ve rambled on a bit so I’ll close by saying (typing?) that one month ago I had no idea the West Tenn. Haiti Partnership even existed and now here I am back in Memphis after experiencing something that will forever change my world outlook for the better. I made some great friends whether they live in Memphis, Haiti, or New Orleans. I am thankful for the privilege that this organization has given me to serve a people that need our help. Once your eyes are opened to the plight of those less fortunate, it is impossible to close them again.

sent in by Wes Savage, a pharmacy student at UT

See-through toilet paper

2011-03-26T14:57:00.000-05:00

There are many things about visiting Haiti that are memorable and unique, and some are downright funny. Like the toilet paper that is so thin you can see through it. Really. Also the experience of washing off all the dust and dirt in a cold shower, so you can come out and cover yourself with sticky bug spray. Then there is the terrifying ride through Port au Prince when Ronald is driving. Ronald Noel is one of the school administrators, and he was one of our drivers, along with Lionel, who also works for the school. It took 2 vehicles to shuttle us back and forth between the guesthouse and the school every day, and everyone preferred to ride with Lionel if at all possible. Ronald would slam on the gas pedal anytime there was more than 10 feet between him and the car in front of us, then slam on the brake just before running over a pedestrian or the back of another vehicle. Ronald also loves to drive on the left hand side of the road, especially if the cars on the right hand side of the road are not moving quickly. He would somehow manage to squeeze back into the line of cars just before driving straight into an oncoming vehicle. He takes turns at tire screeching speed, throwing all the occupants to one side of the vehicle. Amy suggested that he must be making a bet with Lionel to see who got to the guest house first. It was usually a 50-60 minute ride, and Ronald could do it in 35 minutes. Evidently the only rule for drivers in Haiti appears to be this: if there is an available space, fill it.
Some of the facts of life of Haiti are even more obvious upon returning to the states. This morning I took my second HOT shower in 12 hours. I swatted a fly earlier and didn't immediately think of grabbing the bug spray. There are trash cans in all the bathrooms and even one in the kitchen! (there appear to be no trash cans in Haiti, they seem to dump all the trash directly into the street).

Here are some memories from our recent trip which may be funny only to those who were there at the time, if you know what I mean:
Nick Pesce was the only team member to bring his own beer cozy

Famous quotes from team members include the following:
Nick: "Did I tell you I only work with adults? Susan--Did I tell you this was an orphanage?"

Wes: "Its like when you're in college and you wake up in the morning and you have beer and you have cheerios, then you have beerios...and you realize it wasn't such a good idea."

Sonya - after being patted down at the airport, "Dude, I don't even let my husband touch me like that!"

Amy - looking through her many suitcases, "I know I have it somewhere."

A surprise customer

2011-03-23T16:00:00.001-05:00

The first night we stayed at the Heartline Guest House in Haiti, there were other visitors as well. Some folks were working at a local orphanage and they brought one of the Haitian children back to the guest house that night. His name was Gabriel and he was about 14 months old. He was quite ill with fever and cough, so the workers were worried about leaving him behind at the orphanage, which they said was not taking good care of its children. They found out I was there, a family doctor, with medicine in our many suitcases, so naturally they asked me to take a look at the child. After examining him, I could reassure them that he seemed to have bronchitis but not pneumonia or an ear infection, and we had medicine to treat this condition. Next step was digging through TWENTY TWO suitcases to find the amoxicillin and a syringe to dispense it with. Wes, our pharmacy student, found the medication right away. It was in powder form, so he mixed it up with water and Voila! we had the remedy. We also found tylenol for his fever, and cough syrup. I dont think Wes expected to be put to work quite so soon, but it was typical for Haiti. It is always very satisfying for me to be able to help a child who is sick, especially in Haiti where the poor have very few options for seeing a doctor, much less buying medicine.
To all of you who sent in donations to the West Tennessee Haiti Partnership, please know that your contributions helped pay for our $1500 worth of medication which we used on our trip. Actually, we only used a small portion of our supplies, intending to leave the rest for use by the Haitian pediatrician who works at St. Vincent's 3 days a week.
St. Vincent's has hired a full time nurse, Marilaine, to run the pharmacy. This is great news, especially since one of her duties is to supervise the distribution of vitamins to all the children every day with their lunch.
She will be training Samuel Elizaire to help her as a pharmacy tech over the next few months. Samuel is a graduate of St. Vincent's school. It's great to see the school slowly rebuilding itself after the earthquake.

Dont open till you can cry: Elisme Time 3-23-2011

2011-03-23T15:45:00.001-05:00

On Friday February 11 2011 when I saw the email from Susan Nelson saying sad news I knew I needed to pay attention. My heart was saddened when I read that we had lost one of the (Time) identical twins Cebien Time. (pronounced "Tee-May"). I first met the twins a little over two years ago, I tried to have only one of them come in to the small exam room. I learned that that was not an option; that because they were blind and identical they stayed within arm’s reach together all the time. I quickly adapted and proceed to take vitals on the two men. No easy task with their blindness, first their weight one got on the scale then the other you guessed it they weighed exactly the same. Blood pressure same, pulse same, temp same, they were so much the same that there was nothing different on their cards except for the name. All the time I was doing this they sat smiling and holding hands. I watched them walk off after their exam and realized that I had just witnessed one of the strongest brotherly bonds I have ever experienced in my life. The flowing song kept going on in my mind and at first I thought the Song writer's Bob Scott and Bob Russell must of written it for them, then I realized it was written before they were born but it sure fit them .

The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where
Who knows when
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
So on we go
His welfare is my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there
For I know
He would not encumber me

If I'm laden at all
I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart
Isn't filled with the gladness
Of love for one another.

It's a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share
And the load
Doesn't weigh me down at all

He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
He's my brother
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.

This song kept going in my head as the days passed and I prayed for the surviving brother that God help him cope with his loss. Well God has indeed answered my prayers I saw Elisme Time and he was walking around and at one point on our last day he was sitting by himself smiling that same smile swaying with the music we heard coming out of the dorm enjoying the beautiful weather . I thought he was lonely so I went over and sat beside him and gave him a hug and held his hand. He them proceeded to ask me if I could take him in my vehicle to see his brother in the hospital? Needless to say I wasn’t expecting this I held him and said no I can’t take him to see his brother . But it is apparent that God's helping Elisme cope with his loss; it was a little different then I envisioned. Re read the words to the song

Elisme and Cebien had closeness and love that few people get to experience: God continues to love them.

sent in by John Mutin

Last day at St. Vincent's

2011-03-21T22:09:00.001-05:00

Today we had clinic for the last time, then we handed out some of our goodies to the children. Lots of photos of kids in hats and bandanas and Mardi Gras beads, I will upload these later. My favorite part of the day was sitting on the concrete steps with Frenel in my lap, next to Sienna and surrounded by kids.

Frenel is blind and about 6 years old. He is very sweet and gentle, unlike some of the other boys his age who push and shove to get attention (just like little boys everywhere). Frenel usually winds up in my lap and he will sing little songs to me if I ask him to.

We had a large picture book with basic english words in it, like dog-ball-bed-table....and Sienna was going through it with Mackenson, one of the older boys. His brother, Jobson, and his mother, Naomi, were both killed in the Jan 2010 earthquake. He is a sweet boy and we traded english and creole words back and forth.

There was music playing on a radio, solo guitar with a quick rhythm to it, and most of the kids would bounce and sway to the music, especially Maille who has a pretty smile although she cant speak. She is about 17 years old.

When Pere Sadoni told us it was time to go, it was really hard to leave those children, knowing I will not return for 8 months. In fact, Frenel asked me when I was coming back, and I told him in November, so he asked me how long was that. A long time, I said.

Tap Tap

2011-03-20T22:40:00.002-05:00

This morning, NIck, Sherye, John and I accompanied Adrian to the local Catholic Church. Adrian works at the guesthouse, he is Haitian and is an "aspirant" for the Franciscan seminary. He also plays drums for the choir at Guatemalca, a nearby Catholic Church. To get to the church, we had to catch a Tap Tap. If you have been to Haiti, you know this means a pick up truck with benches along either side, covered by a roof. Usually about 12-15 people ride in the back of this vehicle, and when you get to your destination you tap on the driver's window to let you out.

We waited while several TapTaps passed us, too full to accommodate 5people, especially 4 Americans (Americans are generally much larger than Haitians in girth as well as stature). We worried that we were going to make Adrian late for church, and we did. But he kept telling us, "Pa pwoblem" ( no problem) and eventually he asked us to walk to an intersection where there were more TapTaps available. This "walk" was a brisk trot on broken dirt/pebbled road, but we did get to a place where we could climb onto aTapTap and off we went. There was a toothbrush tied with a dirty rag to the back of the window of the driver's cab. We did not know what it was for, and Nick said, "That's what you tap on the window with". Sherye and I said "No way!" until about 5 minutes later when sure enough, someone tapped on the window with the toothbrush. You never know in Haiti.

We arrived 30 minutes late to the service, but in Haiti this means we got there just in time for the first reading. The entire service was in Kreyol, and I could catch about every 10th word, but we knew the order of service and could follow pretty well what was happening. The gospel was from Matthew, about the transfiguration. The priest preached about asking God to change our lives because we have " no food, no job, no house" and God has already changed our lives through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Pretty powerful stuff when you're in Haiti, and they truly have no food, no job and no house.

The music was delightful, with Haitian voices and their rich quality. When you go to church in Haiti, you know you've been to church.

The priest was Father Ramon, who greeted us afterwards. No english, so we spoke in a combination of Kreyol and Spanish. He is Canadian and has been in Haiti for 23 years. Many people greeted us during the Peace, and we felt very welcome.

Back to the guesthouse by Tap Tap. This one was a BIT more crowded, 14 people in all. Sherye and Nick held on to the back of the truck, and I told Drew to hang on to Sherye because I did not want to leave her in Haiti. 5 gourdes per person per ride (about 12 cents). Not much to spend for a vivid memory.

Hannah and Sienna

2011-03-20T22:36:00.002-05:00

On the second day of clinic we had, as I mentioned, about 50 people at once coming in to see the doctor. John Mutin taught Hannah and Sienna how to take blood pressures, check hemoglobin and glucose levels with a fingerstick test, take temperatures with an ear thermometer, and they helped us get the patients checked in. They are now officially our clinic assistants. Sienna complained at first that she could not take blood pressures because she could not hear the sounds, but she eventually became more comfortable with it. She told John she could not hear one patient at all, and thought it was her fault. Turns out the lady's blood pressure was 240/180! Another patient had a glucose of 480 (normal is about 100).

Hannah insists she cant speak French or Kreyol, but she ends up telling the other team members what is going on when the patients are speaking Kreyol.

Amy observed that we used every available person on our team to make the clinic work. This always happens; we soak up every asset we have to make the most of our time at St. Vincent's. Our pharmacist, Wes, is in his second year of pharmacy school. He was a little nervous before the trip, making sure I knew he was not a licensed pharmacist. I told him dont worry, in Haiti you will be a pharmacist. He has learned to say "Take one pill every day" in Kreyol. (Pran yon grenn chak jou) Then he has to figure out how to say "Put two drops in each eye as needed for itching" Try that one!

Sienna is the Pied Piper, wherever she goes she attracts children. Even at the guesthouse, when we walk down to the neighborhood bar (Casa de Cerveza- otherwise known as George's place). Sienna was giving english lessons tonight to about a dozen Haitian children.

Tomorrow night will be our last night and we will take some pi wi li (lollipops) to the children of the neighborhood. The last day is always hard, saying goodbye.

Elections in Haiti

2011-03-20T20:57:00.002-05:00

The elections are today. There are two candidates for President. Michael Martelly, a musician, who has the vote of the young people and many of the poorer population, and Madame Manigat, a teacher and professor of political science who was the First Lady some years ago. Her husband was president and was ousted by a military coup. Pere Sadoni tells me he is voting for Manigat because she is educated, she is professional and he thinks she will represent Haiti well in dealing with other nations; also she values education highly. He thinks Martelly is uneducated (no college degree) and is a rough character who thinks he can say whatever he wants to whomever he wants, even if he uses foul language as he does in his music. He tells the people he will give them money and food and housing, and they believe him, but Pere Sadoni does not. His campaign posters say "Tet Kale #8" The candidates are chosen according to their position on the ballot, so Manigat is #68. The literal translation of Tet Kale #8 is "Bald Head #8" which I think is hilarious.

Most of the other Haitians I have spoken with support Martelly. They say he is more for the people than Manigat, whom they suspect is connected to the French elite and will not help the poor as much.

Today we saw several polling places; all were full of people in line to vote. The UN has peacekeepers everywhere lining the streets, and there are international observers as well. We asked to go inside one of the polling places, but two Haitian policemen (with guns) told us we could only go in if we had a certificate for voting. "That's okay" we said, and did not argue!

Please pray that the elections are certified as fair and the result is the best for the Haitian people. They need a leader to coordinate the relief effort and get Haiti's people out of the tent cities and into safe housing. Haiti has no garbage pickup (it piles in the streets and is basically an extension of the sidewalk). It has no postal service. People have to buy clean water. There are few schools for the children. Only 3% of the population is over 65; actually 38% of the population is under 14. Haiti's greatest strength could be her young population if they can get an education. This is why St Vincent's school is such a treasure. Nowhere else in Haiti could a deaf or blind person get educated. Next time I want to complain about politics in the U S, I will remember Haiti and be thankful that we have a functioning government at all.

Lunch in Haiti

2011-03-20T17:37:00.001-05:00

Our guesthouse provides sack lunches for us, but on the first day we realized it consisted of PBJ sandwiches, chips, an apple and a bottle of water. So we decided to skip the sack lunch and eat from our stash of granola bars instead. When you work in 90 deg temperatures all day, you dont have much appetite anyway. Not to mention the fact that after I see several kids with stomachache because they have not eaten all day, I dont feel the need to eat myself. But some of us have gone to a restaurant close to the school, where the piclise is tasty and they have cold drinks. Piclise is a Haitian dish, somewhat like cole slaw, but very spicy with vinegar and peppers. It is delicious, and apparently takes hours to prepare because our Guesthouse hosts told us they dont serve it since it takes the staff too much time. We meet lots of friendly folks at the restaurant and can practice our Kreyol. Also I occasionally meet someone who speaks Spanish, which is a treat since I can speak that fairly well. I never think my spanish is very good until I am in Haiti struggling to say basic sentences in Kreyol. My words come out like "open--door---key?" Then I meet someone from the Dominican Republic and we can have a fabulous conversation! Sienna of course is learning to speak Kreyol VERY QUICKLY, amazing all of us. We now frequently use her as a translator. Must be the advantage of an 18 year old brain compared to a 50 year old brain.

Bheki Khumalo, our podiatrist, is vegetarian AND allergic to peanut butter. Unfortunately the guest house hosts have not been very accomodating in this respect, serving meat dishes every night for supper. When the only alternative is PBJ sandwiches, that does not leave Bheki many options. One day this week we managed to find a restaurant that served grilled fish, and all of us were glad to see Bheki eat something besides rice and hot sauce.

Today (Sunday) a few of us went to a Catholic Church (more on that later) and got back to the guesthouse in time for lunch. All the restaurants and markets are closed today because of the elections. So we had stale breadsticks and peanut butter, plus Sherye provided us crushed oreos for dessert. The oreos get rather damaged in transit from the US to Haiti. Nonetheless, they taste pretty good when you are hungry.

Eating in Haiti, I am always mindful of the people who dont have the luxury of a suitcase full of granola bars and oreos for emergencies.

He is deaf

2011-03-20T17:33:00.003-05:00

There are now many more deaf students at St. Vincent's, about 80 I think. On Thursday, our second day of clinic, we asked the teachers to bring the children to the clinic, one classroom at a time. Unfortunately they sent all the deaf kids at once. This is a problem because we have 2 physician assistants, one MD and one podiatrist seeing patients, and only one Sign Language interpreter (Sherye). She shuttled back and forth from room to room and to the pharmacy to try to help. At one point I believe we had 50 deaf people either in the hallway waiting to be seen, in one of the exam rooms or crowded in front of the pharmacy waiting for prescriptions. At this point Amy came out of her exam room and said "I cant do this!" She speaks fluent Kreyol but that doesnt help with the deaf kids! It's the closest I have ever seen Amy to a meltdown. We asked the staff to bring us some hearing kids to balance out the logjam, but anytime you ask to have something done in Haiti it takes 3 or 4 conversations and much lapsed time before your request is granted. Meanwhile I learned how to say "My name is Doctor Susan" and "Take a deep breath" in sign language, I could also ask a few basic questions like "fever? diarrhea?, etc" Several of the kids had no obvious or visible malady, but came in to tell me their problem was that they couldn't hear. Yeah, I get that. Sherye says they think the doctor is there to fix their problem, so they tell me their problem is they are deaf. Also the blind kids would say "I have trouble with my eyes". Dont I wish I had an eye doctor to help them? The best I can do is offer them some eye drops for relief from itching or burning.

On a lighter note, Sherye says one of the kids, Remy, is hearing but he has so many deaf friends that he signs fairly well. She talked to him for several minutes in Sign, until one of the other kids told her "He can hear." She said she rarely gets fooled by a kid pretending to be deaf, but Remy apparently was very good at it!

So if any of you know someone who can sign, please tell them about our work. We have a job for them! Sherye is as important to make the clinic run as the doctors are.

First news from St. Vincent's Mar. 20, 2011

2011-03-20T17:31:00.001-05:00

From Susan Nelson:

All arrived safely minus one bag full of granola bars. We are staying at Heartline Ministries Guest House, which is under new management since the last time we stayed. Not quite as charming, but still comfortable beds with plenty of fans and cold showers. For some reason the new hosts prepare things like Mexican food (ground beef with tortilla chips) and lasagna rather than Haitian food, but oh well. Amy complained one day to Madame Marc, who is Pere Sadoni's mother and the chief cook at the school, that we had had no fruit for 4 days. That day at the school we stopped for lunch, expecting to eat from our usual stash of granola bars and salted peanuts. Instead we were taken to Pere Sadoni's office where there was a feast of pineapple, papaya, mango, tomatoes and watermelon. Delicious, although some of us had a few intestinal rumblings after all that fruit at one time. Nothing serious.

The internet connection at the guest house is spotty at best, so I have not been able to send any messages home, and for that I apologize. To all of you praying for us, I thank you. We have seen about 200 kids so far and most of them are quite healthy, they dont seem to have as much anemia and appear to be gaining weight. It was somewhat disturbing one day in particular when I saw 3 or 4 kids in a row with stomachache; they told me they had not eaten anything all day. We questioned the staff later about this, because I thought lunch was served every day to the kids. Apparently these boys had not gone to lunch because they did not like the food. Classic teenagers; my daughter does the same thing. Except that in Haiti you dont have a lot of reserves; if you miss lunch at the school on Friday you may go home and not get another meal for a day or two. There are 275 students at St. Vincent's now; about 80 live at the dorm and the rest live at home. It is interesting to note that if we find a kid with worms or with anemia, it is always a kid that lives at home rather than the school. That tells me the kids who live at the dorm are getting clean water and regular meals.

It is also good to know that the 6 months' supply of vitamins we sent last fall on the shipping container (along with the Stop Hunger Now food) are being used. Pere Sadoni has hired a full time nurse to work in the pharmacy, her name is Nomil and she has been helping Wes every day. He speaks no Kreyol and she speaks no English, but somehow they work it out. One of her duties, Pere Sadoni told me, is to give one vitamin to every student every day at lunch. One of our team members told me they actually saw this happen. So all of you who donated vitamins for this trip, please know that you are helping a child at St. VIncent's. Drew brought about 100 lbs of vitamins in his suitcase on this trip. Tomorrow I hope to find out how many vitamins are actually left from our original shipment last fall.

more later..

Haiti by moonlight

2011-03-19T22:32:00.002-05:00

I wake up like its 6 AM and after tossing about for many minutes I get up to check the time, hoping its almost time to get up. Trying not to disturb everyone else while digging through my suitcase trying to find my watch. I walk outside on the patio and read the clockface by the light of the full moon. 2:15. Ah well.

The moonlight brightens the patio like a flashlight.. There is music playing of course, its Haiti. Sounds like a band or radio with drums and keyboards and lots of singing. From the patio I can see the lights of Port au Prince at a distance and the stars of Orion above me. A cool breeze blows through the mango trees all around the guesthouse where we are staying (and where some of us are sleeping at the moment).

We haven't had internet connectivity all week so this is my first message to write about our trip. I typed this into my blackberry, hoping the message will get through at some point. What else is there to do at 2 AM but think about the kids we have seen?

So much to say about our work at St Vincent's. Tonight after supper our team shared a bottle of Glenfiddich Scotch whiskey and shared stories. Bheki Khumalo is a podiatrist on our mission team and we have Nick Pesce, a physical therapist. They have worked steadily for 3 days with the Haitian therapist, Michel, seeing kids with developmental delay, rickets, and a variety of leg problems. The first day (Wed) was the clubfoot clinic. Dozens of babies and children under 2 years old with developmental delay and foot problems. At lunchtime on the first day, Nick said to me, "Did I mention I dont treat children?" To which I replied, "Did I mention we would be working in an ORPHANAGE?"

They could not finish seeing all the children who came that day, so Michel agreed to return the next day. And the next, even though she normally comes to St Vincent's on Wednesdays only. She will return again on Monday, which I find remarkable and a credit to the dedication and talents of Nick and Bheki. Nick was inspired this evening as he talked about seeing babies the first day, not sure how he could help, then seeing teenagers the next day with permanent deformities because they had not received adequate PT. The light came on as he realized that he has a chance to develop a program, working with Michel, to keep kids like Diana Vincent from becoming permanently crippled. We met Diana on our first trip to St. Vincent's in 2008 when she was so sick she could not pick up her head off the pillow. Each trip she grows bigger and stronger, although she still cant walk and has trouble holding her head up straight. I think she is about 4 years old now. We brought a child sized walker with us from Memphis, donated by Abby Nichols whose son has cerebral palsy and grew out of his walker. My husband had collapsed the walker so it would fit into a suitcase; we took it out with the bolts/nuts attached and John Mutin took it into the brace shop looking for tools and a wrench to put the walker back together. The men in the brace shop promptly took the walker from him and had it together in about 2 minutes.

Nick worked with Diana and some other young children at St. VIncent's and showed the other therapist how to help these children learn to use the walker. It will be a miracle of God's creation if these kids can learn to walk and get out of their wheelchairs, and Nick and Bheki believe they can do it, with continued help from Michel and an ongoing program of physical therapy. Also Bheki plans to make some braces for a boy named Levinsky, to help his legs straighten out so he will be able to walk. Now that's something worth investing yourself in.

Drew with Levinsky (blue shirt) and blind child at St. Vincent's

NY times article-Haiti Cathedral Murals

2011-02-24T23:45:00.000-06:00

By DAMIEN CAVE

Published: February 22, 2011

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Colorful and sad, beautiful but cracked, the three remaining murals of the Episcopal Trinity Cathedral received the soft afternoon sun after last year’s earthquake only because the rest of the church had collapsed.

Haitians walking by looked heartbroken. All 14 murals had been internationally treasured. Painted in the early 1950s during an artistic renaissance here, they depicted biblical scenes from a proud, local point of view: with Jesus carrying a Haitian flag as he ascended to heaven; and a last supper that, unlike some famous depictions, does not portray Judas with darker skin than the other disciples.

“All of this was painted from a Haitian perspective,” said the Rev. David César, the church’s main priest and its music school director. He marveled at the image miraculously still standing: Judas, with the white beard and wavy white hair often assigned to God himself.

It was his favorite mural, he said, and now, it is being saved.

In a partnership between the Episcopal Church and the Smithsonian, all three surviving murals are being stabilized and carefully taken to a climate-controlled warehouse in Haiti where they will be protected until they can be redisplayed in a new home.

The painstaking 18-month project began in the fall, with conservators analyzing how the paintings were bound to the walls (weak mortar) and the materials that were used to paint them (egg tempera). It was clear that they were fragile. A portion of one painting near the former altar faded to abstraction during the rainy season.

The other collapsed murals seemed to disappear. Perhaps portions were pulverized by the earthquake; perhaps some were stolen. But when conservators and Haitian art students separated the fragments from the rubble, they found only tiny pieces, usually the size of a hand or smaller, that could not be reassembled.

“We have only about 10 percent of the 11 murals that fell,” said Stephanie Hornbeck, the chief conservator with the Smithsonian, whose master’s degree focused on Haitian art. “When you have that little left, there’s nothing you can do.”

For the murals still standing, she said experts had higher hopes and immediate plans. For the past several weeks, Haitian workers in what was once the sanctuary have been carefully constructing scaffolding. A web of wooden beams now holds up tin and vinyl to protect the paintings, supporting both the art and the workers trying to carefully chisel it away.

Simply hearing hammers and seeing scaffolding — what smiles they bring here in a city where reconstruction is practically non-existent. No less soothing is the classical music — the high wail of trumpets, the smooth pull of violins — that frequently comes from behind the church, where Mr. César teaches outside. He is one of the many in Haiti who learned his first bars of music at the church’s music school. “My whole identity is here,” he said, and on this campus at least, reconstruction means more than architecture: a full artistic life is also being rebuilt.

The effort to save the murals is a visible extension of a little-known cross-border bond. The Episcopal Church of Haiti was founded by an African-American named James Theodore Holly, who led about 2,000 black Americans to Haiti in 1861 as part of a wider emigration movement. He and his sons played prominent roles as professionals and scholars after founding “what was actually Haiti’s first national church, and the first Episcopal church founded outside of the Anglophone world,” said Laurent Dubois, a historian at Duke University.

The eight muralists, while Haitian from their toes to the tips of their paintbrushes, also had American ties. Many trained at an academy founded by an American artist, DeWitt Peters, who came to Haiti in 1943.

Credit for the work, though, must also be shared by the Haitian bishops and priests who “gave them the liberty they needed,” said Mr. César. Some of the unconventional images would later become controversial for Christians who saw links to voodoo, but for many Haitians and art historians, they represented one of this country’s proudest cultural moments.

The earthquake ruined much of that. Only The Last Supper, Native Procession and The Baptism of Christ survived — and each work bears the wounds of the vicious tremor that killed 300,000 people. The paintings’ winding cracks, running through legs, through torsos, and through the neck of a dark-skinned woman in the baptism scene who seems to be screaming, are violent and painful.

Ms. Hornbeck said that conservators and the church are still discussing which damaged elements must be fixed.

But Mr. César, standing near the church’s former entrance, said he had little doubt about whether the paintings would be fully restored, or left how they appeared after the quake. He said that instead of rebuilding the church, religious leaders are planning to create a garden for the murals, in which they can reside in nature, earthquake scars and all. He said it was the only way to remember, the only way to move on.

“We have to live with it,” he said, staring at the roofless sanctuary and piles of rubble. “We have to learn how to live with it.”

To see the original NY Times article with photo, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/world/americas/23haiti.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Update on St. VIncent's from Bill Squire

2011-02-22T22:32:00.000-06:00

Dear Friends,

I have recently returned from a visit to St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children and the Diocese of Haiti. Since the earthquake early last year, there has been considerable support for St. Vincent’s, and of course, the Diocese as a whole. This report, as you will see, is an attempt to show what is being done by the various groups committed to helping Father Sadoni care for the children of St. Vincent’s. I have included here those persons known to me to be involved with this effort – obviously there are others, but I have attempted to send this to persons heading organizations aiding St. Vincent’s. It has of course be disseminated to the members of the Board of Directors of CMMH. I have no pride of authorship and encourage you to share this information with others. Also included here is a brief report I submitted to Bishop Duracin on my last trip to Haiti in December of 2010. Again, it is for information, so that all who are reading this will be better informed. May God continue to lead us in our shared ministry.

Bill

MEMORANDUM

To: The Rt. Rev. Jean Zache Duracin, Episcopal Bishop of Haiti
From: The Rev. Canon Willard S. Squire, Jr.
Date: December 2, 2010
Subject: My activities regarding St. Vincent’s since the January earthquake

1. I have traveled to Haiti on six different occasions since the earthquake:

(a) January 15 to January 18, 2010 (I was accompanied by the Rev. Joe Diaz, Diocese of Southwest Florida – and we had to travel through the Dominican Republic).

(b) February 19 to February 23, 2010 (Margaret joined me on this trip, and again we had to go through the Dominican Republic).

(c) April 11 to April 14, 2010.

(d) May 31 to June 2, 2010.

(e) September 6 to September 8, 2010.

(f) December 2 to December 5, 2010 (accompanied by Margaret).

2. I have met with or been in communication (by telephone or via email) with the following people and/or institutions:

(a) The Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Shori and her Haiti Team, the Rev. Rosemary Sullivan and the Rev. Joseph Constants.

(b) ERD representatives to include Abigail Nelson, Katie Mears, and Michael McIntyre, ERD Consultant.

(c) Gary Shaye and Thomas Myhren, Save the Children and representatives in Haiti.

(d) Stephen Rothstein, Perkins School for the Blind, Boston, MA.

(e) Evelyn Margron, ICCO & KERK IN ACTIE, Haiti (I wrote a paper for a grant consideration regarding the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti and St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children being Advocates for Human Rights).

(f) Presbyterian Church, USA.

(1) Bill Simmons, Medical Benevolent Foundation (grant request pending)

(2) Randy Ackley, Disaster Relief

(3) Bob Ellis, Church Headquarters

(4) Pix Mahler, Haiti Coordinator

(g) Project Hope (I wrote a proposed partnership between St. Vincent’s and Project Hope).

(h) Hope Lennartz and Bill Harris, Friends of St. Vincent’s, West Hartford, CT

(i) Association for Aid and Relief, Japan

(j) Marvin Fourreaux, FourreauxProsthetics, Huntsville, AL (they made new prosthetics for JoJo).

(k) Ron Sconyers, Physicians for Peace

(l) Al Ingersall, Healing Hands

(m) Jack Victor (President Emeritus), World Rehabilitation Fund

(n) Erica Waasdorp, Wereld Nood Hulp,Amsterdam, The Netherlands

(o) The Rev. Susan Kent, Durham, England

(p) John McGee, Lunenberg, NS, Canada

(q) Erin Snyder, Catholic Medical Mission Board

(r) Margaret McLaughlin, Washington, D.C. (who has now created a coalition of Episcopal and Presybterian Churchs in our Capital city)

(s) Numerous contacts in churches throughout the United States who were supporting St. Vincent’s in the past or who now support St. Vincent’s.

**************************************************

Trip Report
to St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

February 9-11, 2011
The Rev. Canon Willard S. Squire, Jr.

On this particular trip I tried to focus on “full disclosure,” attempting to discern just what various organizations and groups were doing in support of St. Vincent’s Center for Handicapped Children. I am hopeful that this report will assist in future plans regarding the needs of St. Vincent’s and that groups will not be at cross-purposes. As I do often, I remind everyone reading this report that St. Vincent’s is an institution of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti and is the responsibility of the Rt. Rev. Jean Zache Duracin. Bishop Duracin has appointed the Rev. Sadoni Leon as the Director of St. Vincent’s (as well as the priest-in-charge of Church of the Epiphany, Port-au-Prince). Father Sadoni is the person Bishop Duracin looks to for the care of the children of the institution. Those of us in the United States who have committed ourselves to help Father Sadoni in his ministry are challenged to insure that what we do is in accordance with the needs of the institution as determined by him. Please be aware that the following is not all inclusive. I am sure that some groups are involved in ways I have not indicated here. What follows is the result of discussions between me, Father Sadoni, and Bishop Duracin (with input from persons from most of the various groups mentioned). So, please do not be offended if I omitted a part of your ministry; I just thought it important to at least get some of this information in “one place,” so that we can find ways to cooperate and together help Father Sadoni in insuring the well being of the children we all love.

Organizations/Groups Currently Supporting St. Vincent’s

1. Children’s Medical Mission of Haiti. CMMH is a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It began in the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee but is now a national organization with members of the Board of Directors from throughout the United States. CMMH supports the Operating Budget of St. Vincent’s; currently sending $8,500 a month (with a 13th check being sent in December because in Haiti an additional month’s salary is given at the end of the year). More on the salary issue later. Since the earthquake, CMMH has provided funds to build a large wall, with both a vehicle and pedestrian gate, fronting the main campus in Port-au-Prince. The wall is complete, securing the grounds, where two security guards are present. Funds were also provided to repair the brace shop, and the three classrooms above it; as well as repairing the surgical suite. All of this construction is soon to be completed. A member of CMMH is on the Board of Directors of the Friends of St. Vincent’s (see below).

Primary contacts: The Rev. Canon Bill Squire, Mr. Ken Quigley.

2. The Friends of St. Vincent’s. The Friends, also a separate nonprofit organization, are from West Hartford, CT. This organization has been in existence for a number of years and has provided assistance to St. Vincent’s in wonderful ways. The Friends fund specific projects and since the earthquake have provided funds to renovate a building at the Boy’s Foyer (around the corner from the main campus) which is used as the temporary school; provided funds for desks, chairs, and other needed furniture for the classrooms; funded the purchase of school supplies for the children; provide scholarships for four of the young adults to continue school beyond St. Vincent’s; and are funding a proposed water purification system at the Foyer. A member of the Friends of St. Vincent’s is on the Board of Directors of CMMH. Primary contacts: Ms. Hope Lennartz, Mr. Bill Harris.

3. Presbyterian Church, USA. The Presbyterian Church has supported St. Vincent’s in the past, and has committed to doing so in the future. A group visited St. Vincent’s earlier this year to determine just how they might help. At this point, they are hopeful, through their Medical Benevolence Foundation, to provide significant funding for the reconstruction of St. Vincent’s. They will be sending another group to continue their discussions with Father Sadoni in March of this year. Primary contacts, Ms. Pix Mahler, Mr. Bob Ellis, Mr. Bill Simmons.

4. West Tennessee Haiti Partnership. This group is relatively new in their commitment to St. Vincent’s. It began as a group of Episcopalians from Memphis, TN, but is now more ecumenical. For several years they have sent a medical mission team to St. Vincent’s twice a year. They also maintain a partnership with St. Paul’s Church in Montrouis. They have sent two containers of food (one arriving just before the earthquake and was so very helpful in providing food for the “tent city” set up at College St. Pierre in Port-au-Prince at the time. They have had several fund raising events and recently sent $10,000 to the Friends of St. Vincent’s toward the $30,000 needed to install the water purification system. A member of this group is now on the Board of Directors of the Friends of St. Vincent’s. Primary contacts, the Rev. Ollie Rencher, the Rev. Drew Woodruff, Dr. Susan Nelson.

5. Washington, D.C. Haiti Coalition. This group was organized in 2010. It began at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Capitol Hill and has become an ecumenical effort in our nation’s capitol. It has recently had a “service to serve Haiti” event where people from various church denominations and nonprofit organizations shared their concerns and showed their willingness to enter into partnership with their brothers and sisters in Haiti. We look forward to their being involved with St. Vincent’s. Primary contact, Ms. Margaret McClaughlin.

6. The Red Thread Promise. This ecumenical group has recently committed to supporting St. Vincent’s. They invited Father Sadoni to New Orleans, LA in mid-2010 to enter into discussions on how they might help. They have just completed an exploratory trip to Haiti with five of their members. They brought with them medical supplies, to include a new child’s wheelchair, a cast cutter, and six stethoscopes. Two of their members will accompany The West Tennessee Haiti Partnership on their medical mission to St. Vincent’s in March. Primary contact, Ms. Kathy Korge Albergate.

7. Aid and Relief, Japan. AAR, Japan built a temporary medical clinic on the grounds of the Boy’s Foyer – it is now operational. The building includes rooms for: eye clinic, physical therapy, club foot, orthopedics, pharmacy, temporary brace shop (to be moved soon back to the main campus, at which time this space will be used for a dental clinic), and a restroom. They also provided funding for staff and faculty for several months, and bought some material for the clinic. Primary contact, Father Sadoni.

8. World Rehabilitation Fund. This group has supported the Brace Shop in the past and has committed to providing new equipment for the brace shop once it is operational at its permanent location. Primary contact, Mr. Jack Victor.

9. Perkins School for the Blind, Boston, MA. On several occasions Perkins has provided training for Father Sadoni in the caring and education of the blind students at St. Vincent’s, on trips to the United States sponsored by Dr. Harriet Epstein. They have committed to providing materials (all blind students currently have access to a brailler), and training faculty and staff. Primary contact, Steven Rothstein.

10. Catholic Relief Services, Haiti. CRS is a local organization in Port-au-Prince that provides food to St. Vincent’s; primarily wheat, oil, and beans. Primary contact, Father Sadoni.

11. Food for the Poor, Haiti. This local organization provides rice on a regular basis, and sometimes provides other food items as well. Primary contact, Father Sadoni.

12. Save the Children, Haiti. Save the Children provided a temporary shelter on the grounds of the foyer which can be used as a temporary classroom or office space; it is eventually to be used for typing classes. They also have an after school program at the Foyer and have committed to the purchase of mattresses and beds. Primary contact, Father Sadoni.

13. World Vision. This group has committed to provide training for the Montesorri Program, if it can be restarted. They will also provide training materials, etc. Primary contact, Father Sadoni.

14. Diocese of Haiti. The Diocese has an emergency relief agency, CEDDISEC, which often can provide materials to the institutions of the diocese. There is no specific program providing anything to St. Vincent’s at this time, but they have been supportive in the past. Primary contact, Father Sadoni.

15. Haitian Government. The government of Haiti does provide salaries for some teachers and professional persons in schools and medical facilities. Currently they pay six teachers, a doctor, and a nurse at St. Vincent’s (those persons are not included later as part of the operating budget of St. Vincent’s).

Current Activities at St. Vincent’s

1. 80 residents at the dormitory at the Boy’s Foyer.
2. 275 students in the school. All blind students have braillers. One brailler was sent to Archaie for a former St. Vincent’s student who is in secondary school there. Two braillers came from a priest in Honduras! The deaf students will take the official examination at St. Vincent’s at the conclusion of this school year for the first time.
3. 89 persons on staff and faculty, 81 of whom are paid from the operating budget (Father Sadoni is paid separately and presently the Haiti government pays the salary of seven people). The total number of employees has been reduced from 125. Only qualified, trained teachers are being rehired.
4. 40 teachers (and assistants) on the operating budget payroll. There are two volunteer teachers from France.
5. Medical Clinic operating three times a week, Wednesday being the most active.
6. Main Floor of the Temporary School: Director’s office, administrative office, one classroom (that will eventually become an office), a storage room, and toilets for students. Second Floor has seven classrooms and a toilet facility. There is a usable wheelchair ramp.
7. Six temporary small classrooms (concrete) in what was once the courtyard at the Foyer.
8. Currently there are adequate supplies for the children in school (obviously, more will be needed in the future).
9. The following musical instruments have been sent by various people: a saxophone, a trombone, two flutes, a clarinet, a trumpet, several guitars, two keyboards, 3 violins, and the bells for the bell choir, (which were saved from the music room after the earthquake). Father Sadoni is negotiating for a music teacher from the music school so that students can learn on the wind instruments. There is a volunteer art teacher that comes in the afternoon that is helping with some of the stringed instruments.
10. A water purification project, not unlike what was installed at the seminary grounds, is being proposed at the Foyer. Father Sadoni is working with the Friends of St. Vincent’s to accomplish this.The brace shop, which is currently housed in the medical clinic at the foyer, will soon move back to its original location on the main campus. Pierre Guy is to return to work at the brace shop one day a week. The upper grades will be using the three classrooms above the brace shop on the main campus, as soon as the renovation of that building is complete (expected soon – they were painting while I was there).
11. I spoke with Dr. Phil Caldwell from NC, a dentist who supplied equipment for the dental clinic at St. Vincent’s in the past, (we stayed at the same hotel).He has offered to again be involved with the institution. Once the brace shop is moved back to the main campus, space will become available for a dental clinic.
12. Four former St. Vincent’s students have scholarships to secondary schools; they are all orphans. There are children who qualify for secondary education whose parents cannot afford it – yet there are not scholarships available for them at this time.
13. Father Sadoni is the priest-in-charge of the Church of the Epiphany in Port-au-Prince. He does the Sunday services, two 6:30 a.m. services during the week, and a Friday afternoon Bible study. He sees to the pastoral needs of the congregation.
14. Salaries of St. Vincent’s employees remain an issue. For instance, the teachers are paid an average of $95 U.S. a month (3345 goudes), and the government required minimum salary is $170 U.S. (6000 goudes). These figures are based on an exchange rate of 35 goudes to a U.S. dollar. Father Sadoni wants to raise the teacher salaries to the minimum required salary. To do so he requires an additional approximately $3,000 a month. Realizing that is not feasible at this time, he is hopeful to increase the budget’s income to a point where he can at least raise the salaries of the most experienced and qualified teachers at St. Vincent’s. The teachers at St. Vincent’s that are paid by the government are being paid the minimum required wage. This obviously creates a morale problem among the faculty. The economy has of course gotten considerably worse since the earthquake and income at St. Vincent’s has been reduced accordingly. Many more families can no longer pay tuition at the school; the medical clinic has a reduced income level; the guest facilities are no longer available and consequently are not producing any income; and the brace shop produces very little income, if any, at this time. So, the only hope for increased income is from the U.S. partners at this time. Eventually, it is hoped that the school/medical clinic/guest facilities/brace shop will again produce income, at least at the level before the earthquake. This challenge needs to be addressed by U.S. partners and solved!

Diocesan Activity
1. Health Committee. A Health Committee is being organized by Bishop Duracin to serve the diocese. It is designed as a supervisory board. Mike McIntyre, ERD Consultant, is assisting the bishop in this endeavor. St. Vincent’s, Hospital St. Croix, Darbonne, and the Nursing School will be represented on the committee. Each institution will have its own advisory board (appointed by the bishop) with Haitians constituting the majority of each board. Father Sadoni has been appointed to Chair the Diocesan Health Committee. Each institution’s Advisory Board’s chairperson will be on the Health Committee. There will two at-large members and four representatives from the U.S. partners/friends group. The specifics are not yet determined; it is planned to have an eleven member committee at this time. The bishop and a medical advisor will be ex-officio and sit with the committee.
2. Hospital St. Croix. Bishop Duracin is satisfied with the progress at Hospital St. Croix, and its director, Dr. Gladys. He said that the Presbyterian Church is working on the plans for reconstruction. There is a team going to Leogane later this month.
3. There has been construction outside of Port-au-Prince (i.e., Leogane, etc.). The government is still trying to discern who owns what property in the capitol city. There is still talk about Episcopal institutions gaining more property in the city. There is no visible construction in Port-au-Prince (with the exception of the large wall fronting St. Vincent’s). A governmental office has been established to approve all construction before it commences.
4. A financial administrator has been hired and is now working at the diocese office. He is from Zimbabwe, and has worked in Haiti in the past. He will be working with all institutions regarding budget and construction costs, etc.

Conclusion
I know this is a long report, but I hope you all find the information helpful. I know I have left out some things, but have done my best to get all this information on one report so that we can find ways to cooperate in our supporting the ministry of St. Vincent’s. May God continue to bless the children of St. Vincent’s, and may our cooperative ministry with Father Sadoni, his staff and faculty, be directed by God.

contributed by Fr. Bill Squire, president of Children's Medical Mission of Haiti

Sad News from St. Vincent's

2011-02-22T22:16:00.000-06:00

Dear all,
It is with my a very sad heart I send this message to you. Cebien
Time, one of the twin pass away this morning. He was sick yesterday and
this morning he went to see Dr Ferdinand who diagnose him and his
sickness is due to a food poison. and he recomand to send him to the
Hospital. As Ronald finish to prepare him for the hospital and in
front of the gate, ready to go in the truck, Cebien pass away.
Cebien is a 25 years old. He always with his brother Alisme. As twin
they never separate from ech other. Cebien will be always in my heart.
while we were in Montrouis I had this change to discover their talent
as singer. They will miss the children and the staff.
Please remember him and his brother in your prayer.
Fr Sadoni

PS: I hope I am clear in my language

sent by Pere Leon Sadoni, priest in charge at St. VIncent's School

Tim's experience in Haiti

2011-02-10T19:52:00.001-06:00

I went to Haiti with no apprehension or fear, but just knew I was to go and really had no idea why. Then the finances worked out so that I could deal with my out of pocket expenses. When I got there I realized that I had a real experience ahead of me and that was just because of the ride from the airport to where we stayed.

Coming into Port au Prince the day before a national election also created enlightenment. Because of incidences in years past Haitians did not move around. Everything was closed and the streets were basically clear. Commercial vehicles could not move around but some did just because they needed the money. Monday brought a whole new dimension to the awareness of life in Haiti.

Traffic is horrendous and they have no apparent driving rules like lanes, direction, weaving in and out, horn honking, turning procedures, motorcycle weaving, or load restrictions, etc. Pedestrians cross and weave in and out of traffic and cross wherever they decide to cross the road. They do have a solution to overcome the chaos hand that is who can weld on the biggest, strongest bumper or knee pads etc for the driver of the motorcycle but not the two passengers. White knuckling it with 12 to 13 folks in a small pickup truck for two hours definitely gives you an idea of the stamina of who you're with and a clear view of the streets of Haiti.

Arriving at St. Vincents orphanage changed my entire outlook and emotions. What a welcome of love, smiling faces, souls just out there with no apparent feelings of disabilities about their bodies. Blind, no arms or no arms or legs, deaf, deaf with other disabilities. They knew nothing else to do but ignore the disabilities and learn to do whatever they wanted to. The young girl that interpreted for the pharmacy where I mostly worked had no hands but spoke beautiful English and wrote beautifully with her foot. She even signed to the deaf with her feet. Work with what you have with joy seems to be the answer at St. Vincents. Experience no shame and be proud of who you are. What a lesson for our team.
I can honestly say I received more love than I put out. No matter how I tried putting out more the person or the situation gave me back more love than I could give.
How can you leave such a place so devastated, so primitive, so chaotic, and experience the strong knowing that God is good?
When we landed at the Miami airport as an exhausted team. A wonderful group of souls themselves, I knew I needed to be alone to process all this. Not just the experience of the place but the experience of all the amazing souls in Haiti and on the team. At this moment arriving in Haiti I knew my God like I had never known him before. God does speak!

Some of Allie's Photos from Nov. Trip

2011-01-29T18:17:00.001-06:00

Mission Team with St. Vincent's Kids

Mission Team @ Grocery Store

Diana Vincent

Sienna with Wichmene

Keisha runs the Pharmacy with Tim and Dieumene

Dianne Reddoch

Drew Woodruff with Wichmene

To see all of Allie's Nov. trip photos. click here.

Fwd: aerial view: Haiti, before the quake, shortly after, and now NY Times, 9 Jan 2011

2011-01-29T17:37:00.000-06:00

Follow the link below to see aerial views of Haiti before and after the quake

Subject: FW: aerial view: Haiti, before the quake, shortly after, and now NY Times, 9 Jan 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/flash/newsgraphics/2011/0109-haiti-map-html/?hp

sent in by Hope Lennartz

Sean Penn and Haiti: Love in time of cholera - Entertainment - Celebrities - TODAYshow.com

2011-01-29T17:35:00.000-06:00

Follow this link to read about what Sean Penn is doing in Haiti:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40928936/ns/today-entertainment/from/toolbar

sent in by Sherye Fairbanks

Fwd: St. Vincent's Center - One Year after the Earthquake

2011-01-29T17:33:00.000-06:00

Dear Friends of St. Vincent's Center,

On January 12, 2010, an earthquake hit St. Vincent's Center at 4:53 pm. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake's epicenter was just 16 miles west of Port-au-Prince. The buildings collapsed and walls fell over causing the death of seven students and three staff members. One hundred and thirty children were taken to the soccer field at College of St. Pierre to a makeshift tent city. About two weeks later, Fr. Sadoni moved the children to the former Episcopal Seminary at Montrouis, about 30 miles north of the city. The children have since returned to Port-au-Prince are living in an undamaged building next to the Boy's Foyer. The Friends provide funds to re-model office space for 15 classrooms and purchase new furniture including desks, chairs and tables. The total library was lost so we also purchased new textbooks, school supplies and an office computer.

After the earthquake "The Friends" received funds from the Diocese of Connecticut for emergency food and staff salaries. The Diocese of Chicago sent funds for the prosthetic program. Also during 2010, "The Friends" continue to address the needs of the older orphaned students to move out into society with useful skills by providing scholarships to attend local high schools and colleges. The prejudice barrier that prevented handicapped children from attending secondary schools has been broken. Our students are competing well in regular classrooms, making us proud and providing role models for others by their academic and social success.

Recently, Dr. Susan Nelson, a Board member of the Friends, led a medical team down to treat the students and staff at the Center. We provided some of the funds to purchase medications to stock the pharmacy.

A Japanese non-profit funded building temporary space for the medical clinic, the Director's office and the Brace Shop. We are working on repairing the "old" Brace Shop building so we can move back to that space at the Main Campus. Another major project is to reestablish a functional potable water system. The Cholera outbreak continues in the city and at this point in time some 3000 persons have died in Haiti from this epidemic.

Projects that remain to be addressed include the need for orchestral and band musical instruments to reestablish the music program and providing non-electric typewriters. The development of musical ability provides a marketable skill that helps graduating students to become self-supporting. Typing services are needed and marketable. Since electricity is unreliable in Haiti, use of non-electric typewriters is mandatory. Anyone with musical instruments or manual typewriters in good working condition can contact "The Friends".

"The Friends" are dedicated to doing all they can to improve the life and lot of the handicapped children who depend so completely on the Center.

God Bless you all,

Hope Lennartz RN MSN
Volunteer Executive Director of the Friends of St. Vincent's Center

You can contact us at:

E-mail:   hopelennartz@comcast.net
Phone- 860-233-8366
Address: Friends of St. Vincent's Center
                  c/o St. James's Episcopal Church

                  West Hartford, Conn. 06107

19 Walden Street

FW: Thank you for your encouragement and support

2011-01-29T17:28:00.000-06:00

From: Director, The Haiti Connection [mailto:Director@TheHaitiConnection.org]
Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2010 1:06 PM
To: The Haiti Connection
Subject: Thank you for your encouragement and support

Thank you for your encouragement and contributions for all the individuals and organizations that support the educational, medical, water and construction projects in Haiti. We are privileged to work with many of them that improve the lives of children and adults. We give the give of Hope.

Blessings for the New Year

Bonnie

Bonnie Y. Elam

The Haiti Connection

206 New Bern Place

Raleigh, North Carolina 27601 USA

001 (919) 786-4478

E-mail: director@thehaiticonnection.org

http://www.thehaiticonnection.org/

O Holy Night

2010-12-24T16:03:00.006-06:00

I HESITATE TO WRITE ABOUT THIS. But something stronger than me pushes the words out. Music speaks to me, and as we drove to St. Vincents, I heard " O, Holy Night ' AND REALLY LISTENED TO THE WORDS. " Long lay the world in sin and error pining…" If ever the world was in sin and error pining, I was in the midst of it. A bleeding , suffering world, one full of destruction and pain, with no real end in sight. This was the real world..the world God sent himself into in the form of Jesus to save. This was no dress rehearsal..this was the real thing..here, now, close, heavy and so in need of love and redemption. This seems like a philosophical thought as I rode slowly down to the ones He came to save, to the chosen children, to our precious children of St. Vincents. But all the rest of the people. Those walking, almost running to find work or food or someone who cared. They too were the ones He came to save. And all this filled my head as this beautiful song came from the radio. Why now? Why think about this? In Haiti, of all places. I must be losing it. Yet, I felt more like I was really getting it than losing it. There, bouncing in and out of pot holes large enough to do serious damage. And so I let it fill me. " Le Redempteur". & "Voici, le Redempteur."Advent has never been more meaningful. May your Advent and His coming be real to you and those you love.
Sent in by Diane Reddoch

John and Tim in Haiti

2010-12-24T14:46:00.000-06:00

For more photos from the November trip, click here.

More Photos from our November Trip

2010-12-24T14:45:00.000-06:00

For more photos from the November trip, click here.

Photos from November Trip

2010-12-24T14:42:00.001-06:00

For more photos from the November trip, click here.

Message from Rev Kesner Ajax

2010-12-24T14:28:00.009-06:00

Date:December 20, 2010
Subject: Haiti
Dearest friends and partners of the Diocese of Haiti
2010 has been one of the darkest years in Haiti's history. The earthquake,
Hurricane Tomas, the cholera epidemic and political unrest have shocked the
Haitian people. Their hope for a better tomorrow has been weakened. However,
their determination to fight will allow them to overcome any obstacle presented.

On behalf of the Diocese of Haiti, and the Partnership Program I would like to
Thank you for your immeasurable support. 2010 has also been a year of great
friendship and partnership, and because of this it has been a year of promise
for Haiti.
Haiti, of course is not the only country in the world with problems. And yet,
the passion and investment you all have shown for Haiti reveals that, God has
not forgotten the people of Haiti and that he will indeed support each of us
through his trials.
On behalf of the Diocese of Haiti, and the Partnership Program, I wish a Happy
New Year to all of you – our very special friends and partners! Let this be a
fruitful New Year of peace, love, prosperity, and collaboration!
Love and Thanks during this Holy Holiday season!

Très Chers amis et partenaires du diocèse d'Haïti,
L'année 2010 aura été l'une des plus sombres pour le pays : tremblement de
terre, cyclone, cholera et troubles politiques ont traumatisé le peuple haïtien
jusqu'à vraiment affaiblir son espoir en des lendemains meilleurs. Cependant,
son acharnement à lutter et à combattre va lui permettre de triompher de tout obstacle.

Au nom du diocèse d'Haïti, la coordination du programme de partenariat vous
remercie de votre support impossible à mesurer. L'année 2010 a été aussi une
année consacrée à l'amitié, au partenariat, donc c'était une année d'ouverture
sur Haïti.

Et pourtant, on n'est pas le seul pays dans le monde qui a des difficultés.
Cela nous montre qu' à travers vos œuvres de bienfaisance, Dieu n'a pas oublié
le peuple haïtien et qu'il le supporte à travers ses épreuves.

The Rev. Kesner Ajax
Executive Director, Bishop Tharp Institute
Partnership program coordinator, Episcopal Diocese of Haiti

Mailing address:
c/o Agape Flights acc# 2519
100 Airport Ave
Venice, FL 34285
Tels. 011-509-3445-3346
011-509-3724-8376

St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral - Memphis - Sermon by Rev. Drew Woodruff - Dec. 12, 2010, 8 AM service

2010-12-24T14:28:00.002-06:00

Follow this link to a sermon by Drew Woodruff at St Marys Cathedral in Memphis on December 12, 2010 at 8 AM service. He preaches about Advent and being in Haiti.
http://www.stmarysmemphis.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=177&Itemid=198

In Memoriam

2010-12-23T09:31:00.008-06:00

On our recent trip to St Vincent's we learned one of the children had died this summer. Her name was Yolande Jean Baptiste.
Apparently she had pneumonia and went to the hospital, but was very sick and did not recover. We were shocked and saddened by this news. I guess we all thought that after the earthquake, nothing else bad could happen to our children. We also had the selfish feeling that someone should have told us about it, that somehow we have a special relationship with those children and we deserve to know when one of them is sick or goes to the hospital. We Americans really don't understand how sickness and death are part of everyday life in Haiti. Although our hearts and minds are at St Vincent's every day, reality means we are only with them 2 weeks out of every year.
Yolande is in many of our photos with her big smile and pretty hair bows. I remember she could not speak but always greeted us with a friendly smile and bright eyes. She was there in Montrouis with the children who were evacuated from the school after the earthquake. Drew sat with her under a tree by the ocean, playing with the "Four Musketeers"' Yolande, Yolende, Auguste and Diana. These four children are crippled and confined to a wheelchair. None of them can speak. Auguste is blind and deaf. Yet they love attention and Drew has spent endless hours playing with them, hugging them and holding them in his lap. These children are always together; one of my memories from our April trip is seeing them sleeping together on the floor of a tent, guarded by Madame Merita who is their faithful caregiver.
This trip when Drew went to check on them, shortly after our arrival, there was someone missing. Now there are "Three Musketeers".
I wondered to myself if something could have been done to save this child. I have treated several children for pneumonia on previous trips, including baby Diana who was so sick the first time we met her she couldn't hold her head up off the pillow. Lifesaving antibiotics did their magic, and now Diana is growing up so we have to stop calling her baby Diana.
Always there will be this question of what else could be done to help these children. Even in America, children die from pneumonia, but somehow that doesn't make me feel any better.

Haiti memories from Diane Reddoch

2010-12-15T20:54:00.007-06:00

On a warm December afternoon, I had the privilege to know what it feels like to be part of " Dancing with the Stars ".
Precious Dieumene asked me if I could dance, I said sure and she then asked me to teach her a dance. I first did a little of the Charleston, but quickly decided that was not the dance for us. I chose the waltz, and as I placed my hands on her shoulder I began to count, " One, two,three,one,two,three". She picked it up quickly and soon I was humming the Blue Danube waltz! We even tried a twirl!!. Her sense of rhythm and eagerness to dance made this a joy. There we were, following one another's lead, and having a wonderful time. We used the parts God gave each of us, and we became one. I'll always cherish this opportunity, especially since I didn't get to know her well the year before.
Another special memory was playing "bat the balloon" with Samuel. We tapped this half filled balloon all over the room and laughed out loud at the sudden moves of the other person. It was like tennis/badmitton/volleyball all rolled into one. After a long time, I noticed Yolene smiling and indicating that she wanted something. I tried several things unsuccessfully and then finally sat down next to her and place a small plastic toy in her hand. Her eyes lit up! She let it slip through her fingers onto the bed. I picked it up, placed it in her hands and she repeated the drop. She and I were doing what I had done with Samuel, only tailor-made for her, She loved it! As we played, I saw her happiness blossom and my heart overflowed with joy. We were sharing something just between us. Her smile said it all. I'm so glad I didn't miss this chance to be fully engaged with her. Miracles like that don't come along very often! I was in the right place at the right time and hold this memory close to my heart.
sent in by Diane Reddoch

Yeowch!

2010-12-13T22:25:00.004-06:00

One of the important things we do in our medical clinic is check hemoglobins (iron counts) on many of the patients. We try to check all the adults and any kid who is sick with fever or who looks undernourished This means just about everybody. The unfortunate soul who gets to stick everybody's finger is John Mutin. For such a nice man and big teddy bear who loves kids, it doesn't seem fair.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Sherye was a big hit with the deaf kids and staff. I realized as I watched her that I don't think many visitors to St Vincents can sign to the deaf. Imagine how isolating that is. It was clear that the deaf students, especially the teenagers, were thrilled to be able to communicate. Sherye was a little overwhelmed, I believe, with all the attention at first. Also the rush of clinic can be confusing, with translators trying to be everywhere at once, patients crowding the door, children running everywhere and multiple languages spoken (and signed!) I tend to get into my "zone" I call it. Focusing on the patient in front of me. Trying to use my Kreyol. Kisa m'kapab fe pou ou? What can I do for you? Depi kile ou gen pwoblem? How long have you had this problem? Gen tous? do you have cough? And so on. I find that the question of when or how long seems to be irrelevant to most Haitians. Even with a good translator, I can't get people to tell me how many days or weeks they have had a sore throat or rash. They just repeat the complaint. Do you have cough? Yes. How long? I have cough. Yes, but how many days? You know, cough. Sherye and I got tickled after she kept asking the deaf patients these questions. She would look at me after several attempts and say, He has a cough! Yeah, I got that part...
So while I'm in my zone, I don't pay much attention to what goes on outside the door. John Mutin, bless him, comes by frequently to remind me to drink water and to refill my water bottle. On our second day in clinic, Sherye had discovered the power of using one of the teenage girls to help her. No one can organize and boss people around like a teenage girl. Sherye enlisted the help of Blenda, a deaf girl who attached herself to Sherye very quickly. Sherye explained to Blenda that we needed patients to line up in order; each patient is given an index card with a number to make this easier and try to reduce the amount of "cutting in line". Blenda went right to work in the crowd and soon had everyone seated, in order, waiting their turn.
Sherye was so impressed with Blenda that she kept bragging about her all day. John, however, kept asking if we could get someone else to help with bringing patients into the clinic. Finally we got Sherye and John together to sort out the problem. John explained that when he stuck Blenda's finger for the hemoglobin test, she hollered like she was dying! Thereafter she told every kid, in the dramatic sign language she is so good at, how much that test was going to hurt! John would greet a small child with his big friendly grin, and the child would erupt into screams! Before he even touched their finger with an alcohol swab, they were terrified. After we all got a good laugh, Sherye assured John she would take care of it. Apparently Blenda got the message, because after that John's patients were a lot more cooperative.
The next day John told me all the deaf kids came up to him and held their index finger out.
Susan Nelson

Bits and Pieces from our week in Haiti

2010-12-12T17:12:00.004-06:00

Every mission team has it's own particular personality. This trip I was delighted to have along one of my best friends in the world, Sherye Fairbanks. Sherye is fluent in American Sign Language, and was an instant celebrity with the deaf kids and staff at St Vincents. I don't think she believed me all these years when I told her how much good she could do at the school.
Sherye also has the ability to see humor in almost anything, and she kept us laughing all week. At the end of our trip, she helped me make a list of some funny sayings that commemorate our experience. Some of these may not make sense to anyone outside the mission team, but I offer them here for the team members as a humorous remembrance of our week together in Haiti.

Flushing the toilet in Haiti is an act of faith.

There are 3 trash cans in Haiti.

Have you met our friend in the sink?

Laughing Geckos.

In a Haitian restaurant we greet the owner, "Hello!" He responds, "Shalom!"
In this same restaurant we try to order off the Kreyol menu, with Jean Robert's help. He explains one menu item this way: "You know, when you cook your goat with bananas...and then you add piclise (hot Haitian relish)". We decided to have the chicken and rice. (Of course despite our earnest efforts to order off the menu, we were all served the same thing anyway).

Amazing things said by Bev, our guest house manager, include: "Back when I got my pilot's license...". and "Back when I was searching for babies in abandoned ravines..."

Working with Sherye in the clinic one day, I commented on one of the children I recognized, who was wearing a name tag that said "Samuel", I said "I could have sworn this kid's name used to be Peter" . IT WAS. I never have been able to figure out Haitian names!

After talking to a kid for 5 minutes in her earnest Kreyol, Sienna is told by JoJo, "He is deaf!"

Blind kids put their hands on Tim's stomach and exclaim, "Teem!"

Kiesha, our pharmacist, says to Tim, her assistant, in the chaotic rush of trying to fill prescriptions, "Hold on, I'm trying not to kill anybody!"

Kiesha was known for her calm demeanor and serene expression throughout the week. At the end of a 2hour ride in the back of a pick up truck over Port au Prince pothole crazy roads, she gets up and pulls out a rolled towel from underneath her. "Kiesha, you're brilliant!" everyone exclaims. 10 people riding for 3 days couldn't figure that out.

Also in the back of the truck, we have frequent visitors asking for money or food. "Pa gen lajan" or "Pa gen manje" says Sienna, about 50 times. "Pa gen lanje" says Tim. (there is no such Kreyol word). Then when the crowd starts to disperse and leave us alone, Tim tries English. " We're not traveling in the back of this truck because we have MONEY!" Of course the only word they understand is MONEY so they all crowd around the truck again. This makes for very long rides in heavy traffic.

The kids name for John Mutin is "gwo gason". (big boy)

Kiesha had a LARGE bag she carried back and forth with her every day. One day she said "You all make fun of me because of my bag, but everyone asks me to put stuff in it"

Another Kiesha story. There was a local bar some of us would go to in the evenings after dinner. it was basically a small store which sold beer and juice and set up chairs outside for its customers, since the store itself was about 10 by 10 feet. It also had a boom box playing ?Haitian ?Dominican music at jet engine decibels. Our first night there, when I mentioned I thought it was time to go, Kiesha who had not said more than 2 words all day responded "OH THANK GOD"

And the last memory which will truly be understood only by team members:
"I too was attacked by two men with machetes, when I was in Tanzania"
Susan Nelson

The Rooster and the Dogs

2010-12-12T16:22:00.002-06:00

Sleeping in Haiti is always a challenge for me and many of the team members. The usual travel worries compounded by the excitement of being in Haiti makes it difficult to relax. This trip we were blessedly cooler than in April, with backup generators to power the fans all night. However the roosters in Haiti crow all night. I suppose roosters everywhere crow all night, but I am a city girl and I stupidly believed roasters crow only at dawn. In Montrouis last April the roosters were particularly annoying! But 2 tablets of benadryl and some good ear plugs can block out the crowing pretty well. (Things One Learns to Survive in Haiti).
Not so the dogs. Apparently the "rich, quiet neighborhood" of Village Theodat has it's share of dogs as pets. These are unheard of in most of Haiti. The dogs we have seen before have been cowering, stringy animals who eat out of garbage piles in the street and couldn't manage a loud whimper, let alone a good bark. Chris and Bev have 2 large bull mastiff dogs, whom Sienna called horses, and who became friends with the visitors quickly. Their neighbors also have dogs, and apparently nighttime is their social time. Chris and Bev swore to me it was not their dogs barking, but the other dogs across the street. They bark, says Beverly, at other dogs, at cars going by, at lizards, you name it. Through our bedroom window we heard them, incessantly. Makes a dog lover like me remember a line from the play about Tuna Texas, where Aunt Pearl makes dog treats with her "little strychnine pills" to poison dogs who get into her garden.
Speaking of sleep in Haiti, Bill Squire told me a nice story about being in Haiti 2 days after the earthquake. He somehow used his Episcopal church connections through the Dominican Republic to get transport to the soccer field in Port au Prince where the St Vincent's kids and 3000 other people had evacuated, along with Bishop Duracin. As they were trying to rest that night in their tent, they could hear folks singing hymns all around them until about midnight. Bill told his friend, a dominican priest, that the hymns would start up again about 4 AM. His friend didn't believe him. Sure enough. Bill has always told me that Haitians don't need as much sleep as the rest of the world. I guess they have more time for praising God in difficult circumstances. So when I remember that story and I can't sleep in Haiti, I try to thank God that I am alive and blessed enough to be able to share a little of their lives with these wonderful people.

The Luxury of Towels

2010-12-12T15:56:00.003-06:00

This trip we stayed at a guest house run by Chris and Bev Plourde with Heartline Ministries. Our team is used to staying at St Vincents school with the kids, but the guest quarters were destroyed in the earthquake. We found out about Heartline Ministries through Amy Chanin who worked with them in April 2010. Apparently the guest house is in the former residence of one of the Haitian government ministers who fled the country after the earthquake. It is located In Village Theodat, and appears to be in a rich neighborhood by Haitian standards, (see earlier post).
The house has several large bedrooms which have been converted by putting bunk beds in each one. There are MULTIPLE bathrooms, as opposed to the St Vincents quarters. They had 3 bathrooms but usually only one worked at any given time, which can mean 13 people using one bathroom!
The first indication I had that we had made an UPGRADE in our living accommodations was the piles of clean towels on the counter in every bathroom. I had told everyone to bring an extra bath towel, because I remember using one towel all week last trip and by the end of a sweaty week in Port au Prince, things were getting desperate. Not only were there clean towels at our new guest house; they were washed and replaced daily. Oh my goodness.
The second realization that we were in high cotton was when Chris came into our bedroom as we were getting ready for bed, bringing extra fans. He told me he wanted to make sure each bed had it's OWN FAN. Now those of you who went to Montrouis with us in April remember sleeping in a room with 5 people and one fan, which turned off at midnight when the generator turned off. I just couldn't believe the blessing. Jill Bullard and I agreed we were in the Haiti Hilton. They even have laundry service for $5 per week. Of course my friend Sherye aptly pointed out that one of the things you give up in Haiti is your personal privacy. When you pick up your clean laundry in the morning you must sort through ALL the clean laundry to find yours. Boxers size 36, anyone?

Susan Nelson

Re-Entry

2010-12-12T08:26:00.004-06:00

Coming back to my American life after a trip to Haiti is always difficult. It has been a week now since we landed in Memphis and had to put on warm winter coats, shocked at the temperature change. My daughter walked around the first few days wrapped in a blanket complaining, "it's cold in this country!"
Returning to work, I would manage to finish the day, come home and fall asleep in my food at the dinner table. I wanted to post my photos, write stories for the blog, tell everyone about our experience. But sleeping from 8 pm til 6 am cuts out a lot of free time!
Finally Saturday morning I awoke feeling a little more energy. Managed to have a conference call with some very nice folks from Red Thread Promise (check them out on the web) who want to help rebuild St Vincents and have already sent a shipment of wheelchairs to Haiti. Of course their container is still sitting on the dock; I could have told them we know all about that!
Also long talk with Margaret McLaughlin yesterday, who went with us to Montrouis in April and has a continuing correspondence with Jonas at St Vincents. Margaret describes their conversations in French over the phone; you can imagine some of those difficulties. Can you hear me? Yes. Repeat. Are you there. Yes. Repeat, louder this time. Apparently Margaret's husband can tell when she is on the phone to Haiti because he can hear her shouting. In French.
So i send my apologies to all of you who want to hear about our trip. I promise to stay up past 8:30 pm this week and get my photos into the blog. Thanks to all of you for your prayers which protected us while we were there. Our children looked safe and healthy and happy.
Susan Nelson

The Patience of Job

2010-12-11T21:45:00.000-06:00

That’s what comes to my mind as we travel in the back of the small pickup truck we travel for miles and miles and as far as my eye can see there is tent after tent one on top of the other siting out in the flood plain barely a path between them. My eyes tear up as I tell myself we have seen them before last April and there is no noticeable change except most now have tarps draped over them because they must leak. I have had to do the tarp thing over the tent because of leaking and the problem with doing that is you just made yourself a new sauna they tent no longer breaths and the heat in it just builds and builds. I honestly can’t imagine how hot it must get in that tent in the summer last April I visited the tent city and it felt as if I was in an oven and that wasn’t the hottest? How does a father protect his family while living in a tent? The thought crossed my mind as we drove by this and that was, if we were in America and we had dogs outside tied up and lived like this the Animal Control would come by and take the animals away. How do we help our friends here in Haiti how can the aide money be tied up in Congress may be the senator should spend some time in the tent city? These tent cities are a stop gap measure at best and only for a short term we, are coming up on a year and have yet seen any significant improvement. We have to do better we are all God’s children the People of Haiti have shown restraint and patience it has to be changed before it explodes. Please God help us and them we must do better.

sent in by John Mutin

More pictures

2010-12-07T10:22:00.001-06:00

Susan Nelson and Pere Sadoni

Sienna and Remi

Photos from St. Vincent's Trip Dec 2010

2010-12-07T09:52:00.007-06:00

Here are a few photos from the Dec. trip.
Jill Bullard holds Viki Vincent, an infant boy with club feet and the newest orphan adopted by St. Vincent's School. He was baptized during our December trip.

Sherye Fairbanks and Jean Robert

Sherye's journal from December 2010

2010-12-05T14:34:00.003-06:00

Haiti Journal

November 2010
My dear friends,
It was impossible to get access to a computer every night, so I wrote everything but the first paragraph when we returned on December 5. Enjoy!
November 27:
We have arrived safely. Words cannot describe the drive from the airport to the house we are staying at. No lanes on the road and all the drivers are playing chicken! We are sooooo grateful to be alive after the drive here. Our first surprise was getting off the airplane and on the open-air shuttle. Half way across the tarmac our driver slowed down and pointed to the left. Sean Penn was standing there! More tomorrow if I can get to a computer.
December 5:
About Sean Penn—He has built a hospital here on what used to be a golf course before the earthquake. He hires Haitian workers and they are trained to be assistants in medical facilities. There have been a few times when he has flown patients out of Haiti in emergencies on his plane. He uses his own money and some donations. The Haitian people seem to really appreciate what he does.
I was relieved to find that there was an internet connection at the guesthouse and it would be possible to communicate with you all, but Haiti has its own rules and way of doing things and that was only possible one time. After the first night, we lost internet and electricity most evenings, making it difficult. This will be a long letter to you all to play catch-up. We were staying at a guesthouse that those in our group who had made this trip before called the “Haiti Hilton” because it was so much nicer than the place they stayed last time. This included a generator for emergency use when we lost electricity.
I found that the thing I missed the most about nights without electricity was that it interfered with taking a shower because of the water pumps that ran the well. We did figure out that if we all cooperated, there was enough water for everyone to take a shower. First you turn on the water, get wet, turn it off, soap up, and turn it on again to rinse off really quickly!! That way we all got that much needed and much desired shower. One of the most important things for us all was to cooperate and behave as a group. This was necessary not only to get things done, but to stay safe.
On Sunday, our first full day, we stayed at the guesthouse and organized all the medicine and supplies. There was a genuine scare about our safety because of the elections. The schools and most businesses were closed and what we thought were crowded streets were actually pretty sparse. Many people stayed home during and a few days after the election.
On Tuesday we were able to get to St. Vincent’s. Imagine if you will 10 adults crowded (and I do not use the word “crowded” lightly!) into the back of a pick-up truck and traveling through the streets of Port au Prince. You cannot believe how dusty the streets were. We were no more crowded than anyone else traveling, but everything about us screamed American! Our clothes, our skin color—most of us were white--our hats, our haircuts, and especially our size. Most of the people in Haiti are desperately thin. We were not.
Upon arriving we managed to untangle ourselves and were greeted by smiling faces, hugs, and many, many “bon jour’s!” Kids were jumping up and down and dancing around. The craziness of just getting to Haiti and then to the orphanage, was all worth it at this moment.
We eventually set up the clinic in a Quonset hut and saw about 30 patients that day. I was the interpreter for the deaf who sign a combination of about 80% American Sign Language and 20% something else that I could not identify. That was enough to communicate pretty well. The doctors were remarkable. We were in a room measuring about 15’ by 15’. In this hut there were 2 doctors, 3 interpreters (1 for sign language to spoken English and 2 for Haitian Creole to English), 2 chairs for the patients (the doctors and interpreters rarely sit down), 2 tables covered with sheets used for examination tables, a small table to hold the supplies which included suckers to give out to each patient (these are as important to the adults as they are to the children!), a screen covered with a white sheet to separate the tables, 2 fans on stands, several extension cords, 1 trash can, and 2 patients. And no one complains.
The patients wait outside in the heat until they are called. Everyone gets a hematocrit to determine if they are anemic—which they quite often are. Everyone gets weighed and their blood pressure is measured. These stations are set up outside. After all this, the patients walk over to the “pharmacia” to get any medicine that has been prescribed. This is actually the front of the director’s office. The books have been taken off the shelves so we can use the space for supplies, which means that the director is relegated to a space behind the bookshelves barely big enough for his desk. He does not complain and is truly more than willing to allow us this space. We were lucky enough to have a real live pharmacist come with us on this trip and she sat at a small table labeling the containers and measuring out pills and medicine. One of the students who speaks pretty good English helped write directions on the labels in Creole. She has no arms so she writes with her right foot. I dare say her handwriting is more legible than most in our group! No one complains.
The whole process for 30 patients lasts about 5 hours. It is around 100 degrees in the tent and hotter out in the sun and no one complains. The range of problems was enormous. Some were simple and others would break your heart.
There is no telling what is required of anyone. Everyone must be flexible and willing to do whatever is needed at any specific moment. The doctors take out the trash, the interpreters carry babies where they need to be, and running over to the pharmacy can be anyone’s job. There is great effort made to make the process as efficient as possible, but we try to stop each time and greet the patients and there is a great deal of laughter and smiling. When there is a problem, something doesn’t work, or there is confusion, you just stay calm, smile, and fix it. No one complains.

Every day after clinic was over we went out and played with the kids for a couple of hours. This is an orphanage for handicapped children. The ages are from about 6 to 19, but there are 2 babies that were abandoned there that are taken care of. They all have some handicap—deaf, blind, missing limbs, cerebral palsy, the list goes on. But when you look at this group of children you really see just children. They play and are happy and tease each other like all kids do. In some manner or the other, they are mostly all mobile and laugh a lot. They love to sing and dance. Music is everywhere. The teenagers are like all teenagers. They are trying to be cool and the boys are interested in the girls and the girls are interested in the boys.
Most of the time, our driver was Renauld. At first we thought all Haitian drivers were terrible, but came to realize that they were actually extremely good. There is not enough room for all the cars. Being in the back of the truck gave us a whole new perspective on traffic in Port au Prince. One inch space from the vehicle next to you on either side was enough. Passing, when possible, put you close enough to swap spit with the person in the next car. No one complains, but a lot of people honk their horns!
Renauld is a hero to those in the orphanage. When the earthquake hit, he went back into the shaking and collapsing buildings and brought out many of the children who could not walk because of their handicaps. He went back several times and saved many of the children who might have died in the falling rubble. There are so many stories like this one--stories of people who just performed these incredible acts of bravery and are quite humble about it. Renauld says that he believes God put him in that place on that day to “help get the children out.” I am honored to know him.
Wednesday and Thursday we moved the clinic to a building built for the orphanage by the A.A.R. This is, I think, the Association for Aid and Relief, an organization based in Japan. The story is that they came to Haiti after the earthquake and found out about the destruction at St. Vincent’s Orphanage. (What was not completely destroyed was completely looted.) They came and asked how they could help. They had an engineer and wanted to build a clinic. This is such luxury for the doctors who are used to having 2 examining tables with a sheet hung to divide them. They still share one examining room, but there is more space and the patients can wait inside for their turn. There is also a bathroom at the end of the short hallway and a small room with upper shelves and lower cabinets that will become the new “pharmacia.”
Friday was a very special day. We were honored to be there at their annual celebration of St. Vincent, the patron saint of the handicapped. There was a lot of singing and dancing. It opened with a prayer service. The AAR was honored, as was our group. The new clinic was dedicated, even though we had already used it! The kids all ate a great lunch with rice and sauce, a chicken leg, a vegetable, and cake. This is a special meal. Usually they eat rice with Haitian peas or some kind of bean, or sometimes rice with some kind of sauce on it for flavor. They normally eat 2 meals a day. Each child got a stuffed animal. We brought the animals, so those of you who donated to this trip helped to pay for them! Merci!
The evenings were calmer back at the guesthouse. As one large group, and in smaller groups of 2 or 3, we talked about the things that happened each day. The things that touched our hearts and the things that made us laugh. This is very productive. It keeps you sane and it is interesting to get the perspective of each person. We all come from different backgrounds and are different ages. One of the doctors was 88 years old. She is from Holland and was in Europe during WWII. She compared the destruction that you see everywhere in Haiti to that in Europe after the war. I have only seen pictures of Europe after WWII, but I think her point is well taken.
If I had to use only one word to describe Haiti, I would have to say it would be “dignity.” On Wednesday when we arrived all the children were dressed for their school day. This is cultural. They were wearing cotton uniform shirts that were ironed!! (I don’t iron!) Their hair was all combed and put up. The teachers and other people who work there all wear clean ironed shirts and pants or dresses. The children shower every day and their clothes are washed by hand by 3 ladies with wash tubs and hung on a clothes line to dry, then the uniforms are ironed. They are proud and dignified, and they are very humble. And they do not complain. The other word I would choose is “polite.”
Jean Robert was our guide and took great care of us. He is what you might call the grounds keeper for the orphanage, although he has more than one job there. He also helps to make sure the children are alright and that they behave and are polite. He invited us to visit his very small house which was condemned after the earthquake. He and his family sleep in one of the many tent cities we saw. He is in charge of three tent cities and manages them well. The most amazing thing we did was to take a tour through one of these tent cities which is a short walk from the orphanage. This is a memory I will never be able to let go of. Everyone was polite and nodded to us and to Jean Robert as we walked past. He is very well respected there. They said “bon jour” and smiled. It was very touching that in this unbelievably poor place, people are managing to raise their children and sleep in conditions that I find indescribable. There are no words. If there are words, I don’t know them. And they grow potted plants. I believe this to be a sign of hope. Anyone who feels hopeless does not take care of a potted plant.
After 6 days I was as tired as I have ever been. Leaving was joy and heartbreak at the same time. When we boarded the truck on Friday to leave for the last time, I cried. The children were waving and pretending to take pictures of us—a way of teasing those of us who took pictures of them the whole time! It was an incredible relief to arrive in Memphis after 13 hours on planes and in airports and see my husband waiting for me. At the same time it was incredibly sad to leave the kindness of the Haitian people, the laughing crickets and starry nights (there are no lights to get in the way of the stars) and these beautiful children.
We do what we can. We cannot do it all. We did the best we could with each person who came to us. We tried not to complain. Thank you to everyone who was kind enough to help and for the many, many prayers. I felt them all.
Sherye’

sent in by Sherye Fairbanks, sign language interpreter for our team

the container has made it

2010-12-02T18:25:00.002-06:00

John Mutin reports the food container from the Stop Hunger Now packing event is in the hands of the Diocese and off the docks.

And glory to God no more money changed hands - John Mutin

Arrival at the school, Rejoicing!

2010-11-29T21:01:00.002-06:00

Nov. 29, 2010

Last night I asked everyone on our team here in Haiti to send emails and start a prayer chain to everyone they know to get us to St. Vincent's today. Thank you to all of you and to God because at 9:30 AM Pere Sadoni called to tell me he was on his way to pick us up. Our listless, pouting group sprang into action and of course then had to wait another 45 minutes for Pere Sadoni to arrive. That's Haiti, as my friend Amy would say. Hurry up and wait.

At any rate, we had a wonderful day at the school. Sienna made name tags for many of the kids. Sherye is the new star of St. Vincent's since she can talk with the deaf kids. She told me she learned a few new signs, some of which she was not sure were proper classroom material!

We took snacks with us for lunch, including several boxes of granola bars and cheese crackers pooled from our own private stashes. Of course, we put Diane in charge of the food and after she got to the school she immediately gave all the food away to Jean Robert. So much for our lunch. So we went to a nearby restaurant and tried to order off the menu. They were out of bread, so no sandwiches. DONT EAT THE TOMATOES I told everyone, but we had beans and rice and piclise (Haitian dish, very spicy, my favorite) and wonderful mango juice. So far no ill effects on the team. Of course, after spending 20 minutes trying to figure out the menu in french and submitting our orders to Jean Robert, we were all served the same dish. I ate it and was grateful.

After lunch we visited Jean Robert's house, where his family stays during the day. His house has been declared unsafe, so the government has told them not to sleep there. They sleep in a tent city down the street where Jean Robert is a manager. He tells us they plan to rebuild his house in March.

Then we visited the girl's dorm, where a new front wall has been erected although no gate is built yet. Most of the original buildings have been torn down, including all the classrooms and the guest quarters. The brace shop is still standing and apparently can be used again. Also the part of the building that contained the operating room is still standing, but we did not go inside to see the conditions.

It was hard for some of our team who have not been here since before the earthquake. Lots of memories in piles of rubble and concrete. The old school bus is parked inside the courtyard as well. Several of us have particular memories about that bus breaking down in the middle of Port au Prince at night.......

At what used to be known as the boys' dorm, there are many new classrooms, a new medical clinic that will be dedicated on December 3, and the temporary site of the brace shop. For our clinic we will be in a tent, and our pharmacy is in Pere Sadoni's office. We brought our dozen or so suitcases full of meds and supplies and tried to set them up in shelving units. Except that these units have no shelves (you have to have been in Haiti to understand how this could be possible). Dykiesha, our pharmacist, will be assisted by Tim Geske who has appointed himself director of crowd control. He should be good at that!

It was so DELIGHTFUL to be at St. Vincent's, to see Marie Carmel and Evie and Ronald and Madame Merita and the children, Frenel, Wichimene, Jean Marc, Rosemelaise, Judith, baby Diana, baby Margaret, and so many others. Diana is sitting up and can stand with support and take a few steps. She looks healthy and has some meat on her thin bones. Allie got to cuddle baby Margaret, who recently had to go to the hospital with anemia and pneumonia. She is apparently doing much better, although she still can't hold her head up and only coos, no words. Dykiesha got her to smile and maybe even laugh? a little bit. Sienna remembers all the children's names and she has taught me to learn them as well. Sienna taught me to remember the children by their names, rather than "the kid with one leg". She is their friend and they light up when they see her. When I visited some girls in the upstairs dorm today, I said my name and then said I was Sienna's mom. That always elicits a smile of recognition from the children. Drew sat in a chair with a coloring book next to JoJo, and soon had 5 or 6 kids in his lap as usual, and that big silly grin on his face. He becomes a different person when he is in the midst of the children

We had to tear Sienna away from St. Vincent's when it was time to leave. She was watching Beauty and the Beast in French with the older girls and was not ready to go. I think she would have stayed at the dorm tonight if I had let her.

We all rode back to our guest house in Pere Sadoni's truck. That's 13 people in one truck. Got the visual on that? Its about a 30 minute ride through Port au Prince. We saw no angry riots, no demonstrations, no signs of anything other than the grinding poverty and dusty streets, women carrying huge baskets on their heads, Tap Taps honking and motorcycles zipping in and out of traffic, chickens wandering across the street.... in short, what we have come to expect from Port au Prince. I confess it is a relief to pull into the gates of our Guest House, which is in what Sienna refers to as "The Germantown of Haiti". Germantown is where "the rich people live" in Memphis, and the houses are bigger and nicer and the lawns are well maintained. Village Theodat, which is a gated community neighborhood where our guest house is located, is amazingly beautiful and quiet just a few minutes away from the city center.

So no worries about us, despite what you hear on CNN. There are many disputes about the election but they appear to be peaceful for the most part, and certainly we were in no danger today riding in the back of a pick up truck through Port au Prince. Life goes on in Haiti, and I am so glad to be here and be a part of it.

Susan Nelson

Concerning the safety of travelling to St. Vincent's

2010-11-28T22:06:00.004-06:00

Nov. 28, 2010

Our mission team is safely housed at a guest house in Port au Prince. The problem is that Pere Sadoni (the priest in charge of St. Vincent's) is worried about us travelling to St. Vincent's tomorrow due to demonstrations in the capital today after the election.

PLEASE PRAY that God will make a way for us to go to St Vincent's and do the work we came here to do. I understand Pere Sadoni wants to take care of his American friends. But I think if we all have to spend another day doing nothing we will be very sad and frustrated and feel like we are wasting our time here.

So I have decided to take things to a higher power. This is where you come in, please pray tonight and tomorrow morning for God to protect us and get us where we need to be.

Please forward this message to everyone you know who might be willing to pray for us.

Thanks,

Susan

First news from the team Nov. 28, 2010

2010-11-28T21:44:00.002-06:00

We all arrived safely with all bags intact, Hooray!

The guest house we are staying in is luxury accomodations. 4 people to a room, each larger than our bedroom in Memphis with bunk beds and a bathroom. So we dont have to share a bathroom for 13 people, which is a definite plus. Also there are stacks of towels in each bathroom, not just one towel one square meter size for each person.

Last night Chris (the owner) brought us each our own fan. Joy. The temp is 31 C which feels like about 80 deg or so.....quite comfortable and way below the boiling point temps we experienced in April.

We have clean water, from their well and filtered with chlorine added. Which means we can eat the salad, with fresh tomatoes and lettuce; something I thought we would have to avoid all week. The host and hostess weren't prepared to serve us lunch (something about advance notice which got lost in email communication between Memphis and Haiti) so we pooled our resources and shared granola bars and peanut butter crackers between us. There is coke for sale in the fridge so all was not lost!

Allie and her friend Mary Catherine arrived safely today, but no one else is going out due to the elections. I have spoken with Pere Sadoni who is in his home town to vote today. He says there is some trouble in the streets and right now does not want us to go anywhere. So we have unpacked and sorted the 20 bags of supplies we brought. A bounty of goodness for our friends at St. Vincent's. We hope and pray we can take it to them tomorrow. Resting in the guest house is great, but we are all itchy to see the children and get to do the work we came for.

Susan Nelson

MISSION TEAM UPDATE Nov 27-Dec4

2010-11-26T09:38:00.000-06:00

Please pray for our mission team members, our safe travel and especially our ability to get around while in Haiti. We are staying at a guest house about 10 minutes from St. Vincent’s school. The national elections are on Nov 28, so there is some concern this will limit our ability to get around. Please pray that God in his awesomeness puts us where we need to be while we are in Haiti.

Mission team includes:
Tim Geske (now living in Florida)
Allie Russos, RN and friend Mary Catherine Brown from Durham, NC
Dr. Jackie Harris and deacon Jill Bullard from Durham, NC
Drew Woodruff, deacon St. Mary’s Cathedral
Dr. Susan Nelson, St. Mary’s Cathedral
John Mutin, paramedic, Holy Communion
Sienna Nelson, St. Mary’s Cathedral
DyKiesha Land, pharmacist, Memphis
Diane Reddoch, Holy Apostles
Sherye Fairbanks, Holy Communion

Thank you for all your support and donations these past few weeks. We are taking a "plane load" of supplies (at least, whatever is legally allowable by the airlines for 12 people to carry) and much needed cash to Pere Sadoni for the children. I will send posts (if possible) during our trip.

Susan Nelson

MISSION TEAM TRAVELS TO HAITI NOVEMBER 27-DECEMBER 4

2010-09-30T22:42:00.000-05:00

We have a team of 11 confirmed members traveling to St. Vincent's School for Handicapped Children in Port au Prince. We will operate a medical clinic for 4-5 days and take all our supplies with us. Due to the damage at the school, which included the guest quarters, we will stay at Heart Line Ministries which is a guest house in Port au Prince.

Our team includes Sherye Fairbanks, who teaches sign language to deaf children and will be a terrific asset to our team. Also Tim Geske, former curator of St. Columba Episcopal Conference Center, is joining us. Tim brings a wealth of experience from working with children over the years; especially operating summer camps and other activities for disadvantaged kids in Memphis. Allie Russos is joining us again from North Carolina and bringing a friend with her to help us. Drew Woodruff is our leader as always. Amy Chanin, the physician assistant who speaks Creole, is coming and bringing her daughter, Hannah. My daughter Sienna will also join us again. Diane Reddoch and John Mutin, more Haiti veterans, will also be coming.

We ask for your prayers for the safety of our team and our supplies and especially for the well being of the children and adults we will care for at St. Vincent's.

sent in by Susan Nelson

HAITI: GOUDOU-GOUDOU

2010-09-30T22:32:00.000-05:00

HAITI: GOUDOU-GOUDOU
From Anglicansonline.com:
By The Rt. Rev. Pierre W. Whalon, D.D.:

“Goudou-goudou” is the newest word in Haitian Creole. “Where were you Goudou-goudou?” they ask each other all the time.

The word is an onomatopoeia, recalling the sloshing sound the earth made during the great earthquake of January 12. All who heard it on that terrible afternoon will, I am well assured, never forget it. A heretofore-unknown fault line running beneath the city of Léogane —where the Diocese of Haiti began—fractured. Buildings conceived to resist hurricanes but not earthquakes came crashing down, crushing hundreds of thousands (the exact toll is still not known) to death, and amputating arms and legs of thousands more. Despite the dreadful roar of falling concrete and the screaming and wailing of terrified people, everyone heard the low, unearthly sound of the ground slopping back and forth, temporarily liquefied by the quake.

Gou!
Dou!
Gou!
Dou!

56 seconds later, the earth once again became solid. The screams died down, only to be replaced by the keening of grief and shock. As night fell, survivors gathered together, trying to organize rescue parties, or just to hold each other up.

In July, I made my second trip to Haiti since the earthquake. This trip, I found myself seated next to the country’s Minister of Commerce, Madame Josseline Fétière. A well-spoken cosmopolitan woman, elegantly dressed, we struck up a lengthy conversation. Eventually, she told me her Goudou-goudou story. As her ministry building had only one story, she and all her personnel were able to get out unscathed. (The government was otherwise virtually decimated, with some thirty percent of functionaries killed in the quake and most buildings destroyed.) Finding her home destroyed as well as those of other family members, Madame Frétière returned to the courtyard of her ruined ministry, where a crowd had gathered.

“We began to pray,” Madame Fétière said. “But we had no words, other than to cry ‘Jézus, Jézus’ for we had absolutely nothing left but him.” Tears ran down her face, unwiped, as her eyes looked off into the distance of memory. A few dropped onto her tailored suit.

Just as Americans can tell you where they were on September 11, 2001, or November 22, 1963, Haitians each have their own January 12, 2010 story. And now they have a new word, their own private word, to express their solidarity. And it must be said that the word has an amusing sound as well, which helps Haitians get some handle on the horror that haunts them.

What struck me in July was the difference in the country from my earlier trip in March. Progress was being made, despite the media reports to the contrary. Where was the Gulf coast six months after Katrina, in the richest and most powerful nation in the world? Goudou-goudou was much, much worse, and Haiti is probably the poorest and, certainly one of the least powerful countries. The president is a lame duck, the government is trying to organize despite hundreds of NGOs doing basically what they want, and a million people are still living in tents. And it is now hurricane season.

The other part of my experience was to witness the work being done by the Episcopal Diocese, which calls itself “l’Église Épiscopale d’Haïti.” Led by Bishop Zaché Duracin, whom his clergy refer to as “Le Sage”, they have methodically been setting to work rebuilding their nation. Engineers proceed to the poorest regions, building small but solid homes for the dispossessed. When I visited the village of Mathieu, a community living in a tropical forest, I visited several and spoke with the families and building teams. “How do you pick the first people to get a house?” I asked. “We ask the community who are the worst off, and they get one first.” Through donations, Episcopal Relief and Development supplies the $2300 each house costs, and the Haitian Episcopalians provide the design, materials, and construction. Each house also is provided with an outdoor latrine and a shower as well. “We want to add a little porch for $300 more, so the families can sit outside when it’s hot,” said Bishop Zaché.

It’s always hot in Haiti.

The 254 diocesan schools have re-opened, using improvised shelters of various kinds. In March, my first visit, I saw only wreckage and corpses at the site of the École Sainte-Trinité, next door to the cathedral, which had been obliterated by Goudou-goudou. Now 600 children in uniforms study in temporary classrooms. Haiti’s first woman priest, la Révérende Fernande Pierre-Louis, is the head of the school. She talks excitedly of the future. “As Bishop Duracin says, Haiti died on January 12 and now we await the resurrection. For me, resurrection means better than before. I want our school to produce excellent students, ready for the world. We will not settle for less!”

What was the massive pile of rubble that greeted me at first is now cleared. The lone remaining mural of what once made this church a UNESCO World Patrimony site sits under a frame to keep it dry. Seeing the 1924 building now only in outline, I realized how small it was. The new cathedral will have to be bigger, as befits the Episcopal Church’s largest diocese. Resurrection indeed! (See partnerswithhaiti.info for information about the cathedral rebuilding project.)

My last Sunday in Haiti, August 1, I began by celebrating the Eucharist for a good-sized crowd at St. Martin de Tours Church, under a huge tarp stretched between the buildings of the parish’s once-large school. Later I went to the Cathedral site, where the Eucharist was just ending in what Bishop Zaché calls “our fresh-air cathedral,” a shelter with open walls. (It has been reinforced since March.) A television van was setting up for a concert. Despite the loss of their season, and many of their musicians, the Orchestre philharmonique Sainte-Trinité was going to give their final (and only) concert for the year.

“Why the television truck?” I asked. The answer was that the concert was to be broadcast live on national television. Haiti’s only philharmonic orchestra belongs to … the Episcopal diocese.

They showed off. First, a fifty-voice men and boys’ choir sang several numbers. Then a young person’s string orchestra played several pieces. A wind symphony band followed, concluding with some jazz. Finally the whole came together, an 80-piece orchestra and the 50-voice choir. The repertoire was classical for the most part, with some Haitian music.

In a former life I was a trained classical musician, an organist and composer, and I still have the critical ear I was trained to have. Musically, the long concert showed all the enthusiasm of a good amateur orchestra, no more. But Goudou-goudou was never far. The program listed the members killed on January 12, to whom it was dedicated. Most of the instruments were new, donated by American Episcopalians. I wondered what kind of determination it took to practice viola or bassoon in the tent you live in. They were making a statement.

“We Haitians know how to survive,” Madame Fétière had told me. “We have our faith. And we have l’espwa.” That is Creole for “hope.” You see it written everywhere in the country. Leading in the way of hope is l’Église Épiscopale d’Haïti. I am really proud to be an Episcopalian, when I see what they are doing. What our people are doing, with the help of their sisters and brothers in the Episcopal Church and from elsewhere in the Anglican Communion.

There is so much more to do. The Episcopalians of Haiti are doing all they can, and it is amazing. They have needs they cannot meet, however. They cannot pay their teachers, as parents cannot pay school fees for now. The clergy go unpaid as well. The diocese needs an experienced administrator to manage the crisis. They need an experienced construction project manager as well. And Bishop Zaché, in the nine years I have known him, has always needed an assisting bishop—never more so than now. There are plans to raise the money to pay for these. Later on we will raise funds to build the new cathedral, new schools and churches.

The Orchestre philharmonique performed the Haitian premiere of a piece by Jean Jean-Pierre, a prominent Haitian composer, called Terremoto. It is a fairly conventional tone poem depicting the Goudou-goudou. After a lot of pyrotechnics depicting the quake and collapsing buildings, there was a moment of silence, interrupted only by an old musician playing a large Haitian drum, the only native instrument being used. He tapped out a quiet beat, punctuated by a little slipping sound he made by sliding his thumb along the drumskin. A pall fell over the faces of the more than 180 musicians. As Madame Frétière had done, they all stared into the distance, or else at the ground, reliving the aftermath.

Seeing their faces made my throat seize up. I looked at Bishop Zaché sitting next to me. He too was seeing his Goudou-goudou. Haitians will be sharing such moments for decades to come.

And the Episcopal Church will be there to minister healing and restoration, in the power of the Spirit.

Bishop Whalon welcomes comments or questions about this article. You can write to him at bppwhalon@aol.com.

THE RT REVD PIERRE W. WHALON is Bishop in Charge of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe.

Stop Hunger Now event, July 31, Memphis - West Tennessee Haiti Partnership

2010-08-08T08:22:00.000-05:00

Message from Pere Kesner Ajax regarding the food shipment
August 5, 2010

Dear Ruthy,
Thank you very much for this update, the pictures also. I am so pleased that Pere deravil can make this trip with his spouses Fenide. I have to tell you that this food made many miracles few hours after the earthquake. There is always a reason for things happen. This food were cooked during several weeks for the people at the College St Pierre Camp few hours after the earthquake, at this moment, it was very good in the mouth of everyone.
You in Memphis at this moment, were in a hurry , it like the food should be there before the quake.
Thank you very much, we are continueing to pray for all of you for this gift that God give you to love others specially the hungers.
Sincerely,
Kesner
The Rev. Kesner Ajax
Executive Director, Bishop Tharp Institute (BTI) Partnership program coordinator, Episcopal Diocese of Haiti
sent in by Ruthie Lentz

Raymond and Father Jacques Deravil - Haiti Suitcase

2010-08-04T13:06:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone who played a part over the past few months in helping Raymond on the journey with his “Suitcase for Haiti”. When he approached us at dinner in early April with the idea to do something for the children of Haiti instead of receive birthday gifts from friends and family I knew we needed to find a way to make this happen.

Raymond’s vision to send his suitcase to Haiti quickly became a reality. Through our amazing connections at Grace St. Luke’s School, Baptist College of Health Sciences, and the West Tennessee Haiti Partnership he moved forward with his plan. A huge thanks to everyone who contributed to the suitcase. It was packed with all sorts of school supplies, craft items, puzzles, small toys, bubbles, toothbrushes / toothpastes, and even yo-yo’s.

Last Saturday morning Raymond presented his Haiti suitcase at the Stop Hunger Now city wide event at Holy Communion Church. This was such an extraordinary experience because the recipient of the suitcase was Father Jacques Deravil from Montrouis, Haiti who was in Memphis as part of the West TN Haiti Partnership efforts. He will be personally delivering the suitcase to the children at St. Paul’s Church & School upon his return.

As a parent I am extremely proud of Raymond’s heart for service to others and wanted to share these thoughts and pictures with all of you.

Thank you again for your support!

Debbie

sent in by Debbie Williams

Haiti Episcopal Connection

2010-08-02T18:34:00.000-05:00

From: Kesner Ajax

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

First, let me thank you for all your prayers, your help and support of the
Haitian people during these difficult times.

You have been our partners before the earthquake, and I know you will be our
partners as we rebuild our country and strive to build a better Haiti and better
future for all Haitians. Your support has been very remarkable and has made an
enormous difference in all of our lives.

The master plan for rebuilding the institutions of the Diocese (Churches,
Schools, Theological Seminary, University, etc.) is available.

It is in this spirit that we invite you all to the Haiti Connection Conference,
to be held in Miami, Florida, November 3-5, 2010.

Information will soon be posted on the website of the Haiti Episcopal Connection
www.haitiepiscopalconnection.org

We hope that all of you can attend the conference so that we can plan a better
Haiti together.

Please call or write with any questions you might have to:

Kenneth H. Quigley, Program Director
Endowment Management Services
Episcopal Church Foundation
New York, NY
212-716-6241
717-796-1852
717-645-2989 (c)
ken@episcopalfoundation.org

With all my gratitude to you, I greet you in Christ Jesus.
Kesner
The Rev. Kesner Ajax
Executive Director, Bishop Tharp Institute (BTI)
Partnership program coordinator, Episcopal Diocese of Haiti
Mailing addresses:
c/o Agape Flights Cayes
100 Airport Ave
Venice Fl. 34285
or
c/o Lynx Air P-au-Prince
P.O. Box 407139
Fort Lauderdale,FL 33340

Tels. 011-509-3445-3346
011-509-3724-8376

Photo of St Vincent's school after the quake

2010-08-02T18:31:00.000-05:00

St Vincent's after the earthquake

St. VIncent's School Update

2010-08-02T17:41:00.000-05:00

This information comes from Hope Lennartz, director of Friends of St Vincent's:

Currently classes at St Vincent's School have resumed for 8th graders only, about 60 kids who are preparing for the National Exams so they can go on to high school. These exams are usually in June but were moved to the fall due to the earthquake and the delay of school openings. Formerly there were 2 catholic high schools in Port au Prince which were wheelchair accessible, for our St VIncent's kids to attend. These have been destroyed, so it is unclear where our kids will be able to attend high school at this point.

There are about 30 girls and 30 boys now staying and attending classes in what was the Boys Dorm before the quake. This summer Father Sadoni plans complete renovation of the offices at the Boys Dorm, into classrooms, so that he can have about 200 students in class. This will include 100 dormitory students and 100 day students. Every day Father Sadoni gets phone calls from parents wanting to know when the school will open again. He expects that by September, he will have about 70 blind students and the remainder will be deaf or missing limbs, including children up through the 6th grade.. He also wants to reopen the brace shop in the fall.

He is limited by several circumstances, including the fact that apparently the sand found in Haiti is not compatible with rebar for building concrete structures. After the quake, the Episcopal Church hired architects and engineers to examine the church's property throughout Haiti. They found that the rebar decays in the concrete made with Haitian sand, so that sand will have to be brought in from elsewhere. Also the government has placed a moratorium on new construction until they establish a code for buildings to be earthquake proof and hurricane proof.

Also the school lost a $3000 Braille copier that fell off a table during the earthquake. There are efforts to see if this can be repaired in Haiti or sent to the States for repair. Several braillers were miraculously discovered in a locked closet and were not looted after the quake. Typical news from Haiti, heartbreaks and joys all mixed together.

The most joyful news is that Pere Sadoni is getting married! He will marry Daphine, whom some of us met in December 2009, on Dec 21, 2010. The Feast of St. Thomas. Congratulations to Pere Sadoni; many prayers offered for blessings on Leon and Daphine.

Susan Nelson

Food Packing Event Declared a Success

2010-08-02T17:12:00.000-05:00

Thanks be to God, with approximately 460 volunteers we were able to package 144,747 meals to ship to our brothers and sisters in Haiti. We also sent several boxes of peanut butter, 2 suitcases full of cloth diapers, 12 boxes of school supplies, one non electric typewriter, (donor anonymous), one flute, donated by Kelly Hamric of St. Mary's Cathedral, one cornet, donated by Linda Spivey of Good Shepherd Church, and one guitar (donated by Sienna Nelson of St. Mary's Cathedral).

The shipment should be sent to Haiti within the month. Bishop Duracin will decide how to distribute the meals among his many churches and schools. The other items were earmarked for St. Vincent's School for Handicapped Children in Port au Prince.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE

Susan Nelson

message from Father Leon

2010-08-02T17:05:00.000-05:00

Message from Pere Sadoni July 12

He is referring to the medical records of the children. I asked him if they survived the earthquake, and mercifully they did.

Susan Nelson

Dear Susan,

Glad to hear from you. I am very happy to hear that your team is packing food to send down to Haiti.

All the record had suvived from the earthquake. We're transfering them little by little to the boys dorm campus.

Thank you in advance for the milk, the pinutt butter, the music supplies, the school supplies that you will send. I desire it to see St vincent resurrected in all its Section: School, music, clinic, etc...

May God bless you,

Sadoni

Father Leon visits Friends of St. Vincent's in July

2010-08-02T17:01:00.000-05:00

The following is a report sent by Harriet Epstein

Dear All,

Report on Father Sadoni

Leon

’s Visit July, 2010

Though the first week started out slowly since the July 4 weekend had few people in town I was able to arrange a series of appointments.

Father

Leon

arrived Tuesday evening, July 6, 2010. I was able to get him to the Convent by 8 pm and the sisters were there to welcome him. (Since the convent was booked, he came to stay with me on Sunday.)

On Wednesday July 7 we met with the Arlen Fuller the policy person with Jennifer Leanings’s assistant at the FXB Center at the Harvard School of Public Health and her assistant Lauren Bateman. The FXB Center is focusing on vulnerable children. They have not had a focus on disabled children (I followed up with a call to Lauren but Dr. Leaning had not returned as yet. Gretchen, can you follow up on this with Paul Farmer since he is part of that group? FXB could bring in other parts of the Harvard community.)

On Thursday July 8, we went to the Learning Center (formerly the Framingham School for the Deaf) and spent two hours with them. If we had had all day we could have easily been there all day. The folks were MOST gracious and we met a lovely Haitian/American gentleman who is a teacher there, whose brother-in-law went to St. Vincent's ...he signs, speaks Creole and he offered to go to Haiti to train staff (if we pay his way). Sadoni was impressed with how “fluent” the children are in sign language.

Later we went to Boston Artificial Limb and they have "stuff”, old prostheses to send and they will send them when we get them the information about where to send them. Also, they also offered to fit one of the children if we bring him/her here.

(Later discussions with Hope Lennartz indicated that may not be a wise move and perhaps the cost incurred would be best in training students at St. Vincent’s in making and adjusting prostheses. Steven Leo from BAL gave me the name of the volunteer person of the VA in Boston who will have more information about training at a VA hospital.)

On Friday morning we met with Aubrey Webson and Maryann Riggerio.at Perkins in the international division and we will be meeting the President Steve Rothstein on Monday morning. (Steve will be going to

Haiti

in August so this is a very fine time to be meeting him!)

On Saturday Hope, Solange, Marie and Bill from the Friends of St. Vincent and CMMH came to Boston to have lunch with us.

Bill presented the need to capture this once in a lifetime opportunity to rebuild St. Vincent’s and the need to develop a plan and to consider which services St. Vincent’s should be offering.

Father

Leon

indicated that the government will be reallocating the land in that area and that it may be possible that St. Vincent’s will get a larger property. That area of the city will have water, electricity and services priority. (I have seen this in several of the countries that I have worked in that areas in which the government has its buildings and services, hospitals and other essential services priority is given to provide basic infrastructure, i.e. 24 hour electricity..etc. As I indicated in an earlier email, the Friends have approved a visit for Father in mid October. (During this visit at Perkins they will organize a study tour for him. Later Marcie Roth the Disability Advisor at FEMA also suggested he visit Washington during that visit. It seems that the White House has expressed interest in issues related to disabilities in Haiti.)

The conference we are going to is being sponsored by the Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities following Disasters the website is www.rebuilding.umb.edu They have the full cast of presenters and the conference schedule on the site. Marcie Roth who is the Disability Advisor to FEMA will be there as well as folks from the UN etc.

The same organization had a conference in April on

Haiti

which was terrific so hopefully this one will be as well.

On Sunday, Sadoni had the “day off” and was able to visit with friends. I picked him up at the convent to bring him to my house for the rest of his stay since the Sisters were no longer able to accommodate him.

We met with Steve Rothstein the President of Perkins on Monday morning. He will be meeting with Secretary Clinton’s disability advisor and folks from USAID on Friday in Washington. I spoke of the need to make sure that St. Vincent’s is getting food distributions and particularly for when the school opens in October they will need to be feeding over 200 children each day as well as whatever resources can be made available to St. Vincent’s. He asked Father

Leon

to send him pictures of St. Vincent’s. (We did.) He also said that he would be visiting St. Vincent’s during his visit

Haiti

this August. We discussed Father

Leon

’s coming this fall to St. Vincent’s and the year long training at Perkins for a staff member who will be replacing Madame Compas. Since their brochure indicates that they do on site training, I asked if that would be a possibility if Perkins would send down a team to train there. He said it would be possible. Afterwards we met again with Aubrey Webson and Mariann Riggio. We spoke with Aubrey about the on site training and he has two people in mind from

St. Lucia

who speak Creole and who could do the training in

Haiti

. And we had a small tour of the campus.

On Tuesday the conference focused mostly on US FEMA activities. We had a great discussion with Marcie Roth the disability advisor for FEMA. She suggested that Sadoni goes to Washington on his trip in October as well. She asked him for a “wish list”. (We have started to put one together… and will need to prioritize.)

On Tuesday evening my neighbors and friends, Nick Carter, the Brathwaites, The Nogradys, Bashi and Sadoni’s friends came for desert at my house. Leon B. and N. Carter asked what they could do through their Episcopal churches here in the Boston area.

Wednesday the conference in the morning. Steve Rothstein called the night before to say that he had a Brailler Father Leon could take with him so on Wednesday afternoon we went to Perkins again and Sadoni picked up the Brailler and a ream of Brailler paper. Steve indicated that four more will be on the way. Steve introduced a child to Father

Leon

and told the child that in

Haiti

that the children have to share Braillers and how difficult it would be to do homework if you have to share your Brailler. St. Vincent’s has 70 blind children. That evening we had dinner with Nogrady’s and Braithwaite and they made donations of the trombone and checks to sponsor two children.

Thursday, July 15, 2010.

Conference in the morning, visited Sisters to say goodbye and meeting with BU Urban Design Professor, Enrique Silva. We discussed with him the issues related to St. Vincent's property and the possibility of working with several groups that have funding and capacity to build accessible and appropriate buildings for people with disabilities.

We got back home at 3 pm to give Father

Leon

some time to pack.

Friday, July 16, 2010.

Sadoni is on his way back to

Haiti

with a Brailler, a printer, a typewriter (the manual kind), flute (the trombone will have to be sent), business cards in English and French/Creole, etc. etc.

I am delighted. We threw our net wide and we caught some fish! Hopefully more will come our way/

Harriet

Thank You Message from Pere Deravil

2010-08-02T16:54:00.000-05:00

this email was sent by Pere Deravil Aug 2

From: Jean Jacques Deravil [mailto:jackdera@hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 4:39 PM

Dear friens,
Fenie an I got back to Trenton Savely. Thanks so much for the great hospitality you have given to us. We spent a very good time at Memphis with you brothers an sisters in Christ. Thank you for inviting us to Memphis, thanks for taking your time with us an visiting many places with us, Thanks for the foods, thanks for your compassionate love to the haitian people. Father Rencher thanks you for your patience in the airport, you spent all your time with until we left. Once again thank you so much everyone for your love , youe help an support.
May God continue to bless you all in your ministry.
Father DERAVIL & Fenide

photos of St Vincent's school after the quake

2010-08-02T16:34:00.000-05:00

most of the school is intact except for the front wall which is gone, allowing these pictures to be taken from the street

photos sent by Pere Sadoni on July 22, 2010