Hello everyone! Well again I want to apologize because I
have fallen horribly behind with blogging, but I promise to get you all
updated.
These past few weeks I was actually out of country and back
in the states, but I don’t want to give too much away about that in this blog.
Warning there are pictures they aren't to bad, but if you don't like that type of stuff I would not look!!
I am going to tell you about some
medical cases I am working on here in Haiti. I am working alongside with Sister
Jackie and Katie on two specific cases. We have one little boy who has been
being taking care of before we got here in September. His name is Judlie
(Spelling maybe a little off). Back in June he got his foot caught in a
motorcycle and it got ripped up pretty badly. They sent him to the hospital in
a near town to have a skin graph done. When we arrived here in August I knew
nothing about the little boy, until I went to visit the Village. As I was
walking along the road to get there I had a women come up to me and tell me her
child hurt his foot. I told her ok take me to him and let me see. When we got
there the mother took me to her son and I couldn’t believe what I saw. He was
on crutches and the foot was just covered in dirt. It had no bandage or
anything wrapped around it. I sat the boy down and began to look at it and
discovered he still had the staples in. I literally wanted to burst in tears
because I thought that there was no way he would be able to keep his foot. It
was so infected and the bugs were swarming it. Katie and I were thinking of
ways to cover it, but we had nothing on us at that moment. So I told the mother
she needs to visit our house and talk with Sister Jackie. After we had left the
village and returned home we filled Sister Jackie in on the foot. She said she
would be more than willing to take a look at it. The next day the mother and
boy both showed up at our house. Brittany, a past volunteer, was still here and
examined the boy’s foot. She saw how the staples were still in it, and how infected
it was. We all knew we had do something or this boy could lose his foot. We
made an appointment for the boy to come back to the house for Brittany to take
out the staples, and to begin treating it. I was so excited to be helping
Brittany with the little boy. When he came back to have the staples out it
wasn’t so pleasant. We couldn’t even find all the staples, and we didn’t know
if they got buried in his skin or just fell out. Brittany looked and looked,
but we didn’t end up finding all of them. She cleaned and debriefed the wound
as best as she could without making him scream in pain. You couldn’t even touch
his foot without him crying or being in pain. My heart broke for the little
guy. After she cleaned out we wrapped it in gauze and put an ace bandage around
it. We then made him wear a man’s sock on top of that for extra cushioning.
Brittany then set up days for the boy to come back so we could continue to
clean it. I helped Brittany with the cleanings and learned how to do everything
properly, because she would be leaving Haiti soon. We cleaned the boy’s foot
around every other day until the one wound on his heel completely closed. By
the time Brittany left his foot looked amazing, expect for one concern. The top
of his foot wasn’t closing, the hole was getting bigger. I kept cleaning his
foot and bandaging it, but finally we decided to send him back to the doctors
to see what they thought. Well here in Haiti you don’t always get what you want
from the doctors, and sure enough we didn’t get the info we needed. I continued
to send pictures to Brittany back in the states, and she had people look at the
boy’s foot. They gave us advice on what to continue doing for him. We continued
to clean it and wrap it, but we still weren’t getting the results we wanted. It
was now my time to go home for a few weeks, and Katie would continue to look
after the boy. When I had returned I heard that his foot had reopened on the
back, and the front still wasn’t closing properly. When I heard his foot
reopened on the back of his heel, I wanted to puke. The back of his heel before
I left looked amazing and it was completely closed up. It was pretty upsetting
to heart his news, but all we could do was hope for the best. While Katie and I
were in the states we picked up some medicine, and bath soaks for his foot. I
was excited to see what his foot really looked like when I got back. He came to
our house the next day I returned, and we changed his dressings. I was a little
nervous to see what was under them, but when we took them his foot looked
amazing. His heel had closed back up, and the top was starting to shrink. I was
so happy, and wanted to scream for joy. This poor boy has been like this first
months and I want him to be able to start walking again soon. We started using the
soaks on his foot and we still are wrapping it up in the gauze. We are hoping
in maybe three weeks we can slowly start to get him back on his foot, but we
also know this is going to process. He has lost all muscle in that leg, and
when I saw all muscle I mean ALL THE MUSCLE. I am very concerned on how he will
do with gaining the strength back and with putting pressure on the foot, but again
all we can do is hope for the best. So I ask you all to keep him in your
prayers so that his healing process will continue to go well.
(This is Judlie)
Another
story I am going to tell about is a little boy by the name of Schnider. Now this
child is a little spitball. He is probably one of the happiest children here in
Haiti. He is a preschooler and one of thirteen in his family. For a week at
school I had noticed that he had bumps all over his neck. I kept coming home
and telling Katie that something was wrong, but I had no idea what. Then one
day it all the pieces all fell together. I had gone to school like any other morning,
but when I reached the gate I had one his little sisters running up to me
saying how sick he was. I made them go get him and when I saw him I didn’t even
know what to say. His neck was all cut open and oozing. I gathered my thoughts
and immediately started to clean it out. Now I thought for sure when I started
to clean out that he would cry, but this little guy had the biggest smile on
his face the whole time. I couldn’t even believe it. After we were finished cleaning
it out we tried to cover it as best as we could, and I thought we did a pretty
good job. We sent him back to class, but it didn’t even take 5 minutes and the
cover was back on his neck. I went to talk to Met Leny, the principal, and told
him what was going on. The teacher, Met Leny, and all agreed the little boy
should not be in school. Met Leny called the boys older sister in to his office
to explain to her what was going on. The sister said that the mother sent him
to school because she knew I had money and would take care of him. I had no
idea what to say because of course I want to help him, but I don’t have that
kind of money to help everyone here. If I did I would help everyone that needed
it. I felt horrible and I knew that the family had no means of helping
themselves. Met Leny explained to the girl that is not my job and just because
I am white doesn’t mean I have money to hand out. The girl seemed to understand
and told him that she would tell her mother. They both left the office and I
felt pretty miserable after that. I knew if I didn’t get the boy medicine his
infection would get worse, and honestly who knows he could have died from it.
When I went home I sat down with Sister Jackie and told her the story. She told
me she would give me the medicine to take out to the child. She explained to me
what to tell the parents and for them how to use the medicine on the little
boy. Katie and I grabbed a motto and out we went. We told the parents they had
to use and that it was vitally important for the child. They were so grateful and
reassured us that they would use it. I was pretty nervous because again this
happened right before I was leaving so I had no idea if they would actually use
it, but the AMAZING NEWS is that they did. The little boy ran up to me at school
and was so happy. He showed me his neck and it looks perfect. I was so excited
and filled with pure happiness. Its cases like this that make you feel as if you
are truly helping someone. I try never to take these small feeling of excitement
for granted because these are the moments we need to hold on to in life.
(This is schnider with the kin fungus and still smiling)
One
last medical story I want to share with you all is about a little girl. I had
nothing to do with her specifically, but our sisters did. I do know the little
girl because she had participated in Kan Klodin the past year I was here. She
came to our house with her uncle and her mother. She has a huge growth on her
arm I would say the size of a basketball. So the sisters had her sent to a
special hospital in PAP. This hospital is so hard to get into and you are
usually put on a waiting list, but they got her in right away. The Doctors had
told the mother the child needs surgery and they need to run tests on the
growth, so they mother called her father. Now in Haiti to give some background
on this the Father of the family is the leader of the house hold, so what he
says goes. The mother called the father and told him they advised her to have
surgery on their little girl, and the fathers response was No. He said along
the lines of “We can have another child, we are not paying for her to have the
surgery.” So in other words they can just make a new child, and to let this
little girl die. If the mother does not
listen to her husband she will be completely cut off, meaning that the husband
will have nothing to do with her. The sisters tried to advise the mother
otherwise, but she decided to listen to her husband. We have no news to weather
the girl is dead or still alive.
These
three specific cases I hold near and dear to my heart because I know this
children pretty well. It kills me to see them surviving because their parents cannot
care for them in the proper way, or they have family issues holding them back
from seeking the right medical attention. I wish there was more I could do for
them, but at the end of the day I can only hope an pray for the best. I ask all
of you to keep our children in your thoughts and prayers. I hope you enjoyed
reading this blog and I will be posting another one in a few days! I really do
mean IN A FEW DAYS! I PROMISE!
Also, please feel free to contact me at 40ratke@gmail.com if you would like more
information or just to hear more stories about what I am specifically doing
here in Haiti.
Love always,
Beth
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The computer program: Was established by our Irish
organization (UCD) and the group of volunteers they bring during the summer
program. We have a designated classroom assigned specifically just for the
computer classes. We have around 20 computers and they all have mouse’s an
keyboards that work. Each computer comes with the same programs. They programs
on the computers are math, typing, art, Wikipedia, matching game, and programs
for the professors. A typical day inside of our computer class is pretty
simple. The teachers were each assigned a day and time. They bring their
students on their assigned day and at the right time and we then get them
started on the computers. This is where things get a little frustrating for me,
but I have been getting better with keeping my patients. We have been doing
this computer class since the start off school, and not all of our teachers
have learned everything about them yet. This is frustrating for me because I
try to help and show them, but sometimes I feel as if they don’t always want to
listen to me. I think they don’t always want to listen because they think they
know better, and they don’t always realize I am just trying to help. I help the
teacher’s kid their kids set up and logged on to the computer, and they tell
them what program they want them to use. Usually the kids will use the math or
typing program. Most of the kids love the math program because there are
animals that dance on screen when they win the game. They usually get
frustrated with the typing program because it’s difficult in a few ways. We
don’t have a program in creole yet. We have it in French and not all the
children understand French, so they tend not to like it as much. They usually
are in the computer classroom for 40 minutes and are then done. The most
amazing feeling for me while working on this project is to see the kids
succeed. Their faces light up when they win a game or figure out the answer
right away. I also love being able to help the kids and see their education
grew. That is one of the most important things for me. There are a few things
we need to work on with our computer program, but it is taking amazing steps in
the right direction. In the next few weeks we will be having someone come down
to teach the professors more about the computers and we are investing in
headphones for the computers. This computer program for our children is simply
a blessing and I can’t wait to see their progress as the months go one. 
Keyhole Gardens: Our keyhole gardens were started a
few years back by a past Quest for Haiti volunteer. The program ran smoothly
for probably about a year or so after she left and then flopped. Now this is a
pretty common theme and we as volunteers have to accept it. What I mean by this
is that we start programs and we leave people in charge, but they can’t always
keep it going. It is pretty difficult for us to except at first, but we do have
to make this realization so that we do not become disappointed after we leave.
Anyways, we started the gardens back up this year for our 5th grade
class to be in charge of them. We first cleaned out the gardens and fixed up
the rocks around them. After we taught the kids how to do compost. The children
absolutely loved learning about the composting and even made their own pile at
the school. After that it was time to plant in the gardens. We started out
planting tomatoes, carrots, peas, and yellow flowers. Now, we are just in the
waiting process for them to grow. During this period of time though the
children are watering their gardens every morning and checking on them. They
also have lessons during school to continue to learn about gardening, and the
gardens. The children are beyond excited because gardens are very important in
the Haitian culture. Most children’s families own gardens and they will mostly
likely take them over when they get older. I can’t wait until our children see
what their gardens produce!! This project is a ton of fun and our children are
learning which is very important. 
Now as I said I also work on some
smaller projects here. One smaller project I took into my hands was redoing our
principal’s office at the school. It was pretty unorganized and it needed a new
paint job, so for two weeks that’s where you could find me. I first went
through every shelf that had any type of paper on it. He and I sat down and I
would ask him “ Do you need this or can we get rid of it?” If he didn’t need it
we would have it burned and if he needed it we would organize it in to a
folder. This worked wonderful and he loved it. We also went through the two
cabinets that held school books for the children. I labeled each pile and what
class it was for, so that when he goes to find a book it will be very easy.
This process took a week believe it or not because the amount of papers that
were in his office were unbelievable. Some of the papers were also ancient, and
when I say ancient I mean it. After that I had to talk with Sister Pat and we
decided that his office needed to be painted.
We asked Met Leny what color he wanted it to be and he said crème. Now
before we could even begin the process of painting the walls we had to wash
them. Yeap you read that right! WE HAD TO WASH THE WALLS! We had to do this
because they were caked in a layer of dirt. To say the least it was pretty
filthy. The walls had been painted an off green, and the dirt just took to them.
After we had washed them we had to paint the walls white for the crème to
actually show up. We had to do two coats of white and then let them dry, and
well that was a pain in the butt. It took forever for the walls to dry because there
really isn’t any air circulation in his office. When the white finally dried we
started painting the crème. Now you would think when you buy two cans of crème they
would be the same color, but that didn’t happen. So we had to mix the colors together
to make an off crème. Met Leny didn’t mind at all, he was so appreciative for
the all work that we had done for him. This project honestly made me feel so
good because it needed to be done, and he was grateful for everything. He still
thanks us even to this day.
Another small project we have all
been working on is working with visiting groups and some medical cases. We have
visiting groups here in Gros- Morne often. They are usually medical groups or
school groups. The first visiting group that we worked closely with was Global
Health. They are an organization that brings teams of doctors and nurses to
places all over the world. They bring a ton of supplies and set up mobile clinics
in different locations each day. I got to work with Global health one day. We
went up in the mountains to a small town called Garcin. We set up the clinic in
a school. We had two doctors on the team and the rest were nurses. I got to be part
of the triage team, which was so much fun. I got to help take their blood
pressure, how much they weighted, and ask them medical questions. It was such a
wonderful experience, but also upsetting at the same time. We had a bunch of
mothers who brought their babies, and they were so malnourished. I remember one
specific mother who had a two year old who weighted maybe 11 pounds. It killed
me to see things like this. We helped them as best as we could and sent them on
their way. We saw a pretty large group of people that day, and we even had to
send some people away. Sending people away was not easy at all!! It broke my
heart because you want to be able to help everyone, but at the end of the day
you don’t have enough supplies and we were running out of daylight. All in all
though it was such a wonderful experience and it reassured me that going to get
a degree in public health will be amazing.