Two Days Grace

I arrived Thursday afternoon, a few hours late thanks to poor weather in the Atlantic. I marveled at the gorgeous Caribbean water during the flight – the bottom of the sea is visible from 37,000 feet up! So incredible. As we circled over Haiti, I attempted to see the damage still evident in Port-au-Prince – but it is so difficult to gauge where you are when landing. But it was such a juxtaposition – this beautiful Caribbean water, islands in the sea, then a huge and sprawling city with tents and shacks built just outside the walls of mansions. The airport was chaotic, to say the least, and the memories of my first trip to Nicaragua came flashing back to me, when I could not understand the language and luggage was thrown all over the floor as it came through on the conveyor belt. So after a few panicked minutes of filling out forms and searching for my bags, I was on my way...the gracious woman in Detroit forgot to give me my 3^rd luggage tag, so it took a bit of convincing to let the woman checking tags to let me through...I was not going to give up my entire wardrobe that easily! Then it was a slow walk down about 50 – 75 meters to the parking lot, with a very kind and persistent gentleman who kept flashing his ID and telling me he was at my service...I walked ahead, thinking I might easily be totally lost in a land where language did not come easily, and finally saw the sign with my name on it – phew! - and Joanne, the advisor to the FWAL (Father Wasson Angels of Light) program. Such a relief to see and be recognized! Then it was a slow drive to Hospital St. Damien, with a stop at the supermarket. Pretty much anything I may need or want is available here, but at a major price increase, since it is all imported. So it will be easy to resist temptation. ($10 or more for a bottle of US brand juice, $8 or more for US brand cereal!) I am responsible for two meals a day, so I will have to budget accordingly. The mid-day meal is provided around 1 or 1:30 pm, and it is spicy – oh my wimpy tongue has some work to do!

I arrived at my temporary living quarters in a pre-fabricated house right behind the hospital and settled in. There is air-conditioning, running water and currently daily access to the internet. That may change, depending on where I am permanently placed to live. I am currently living with Joanne, the program advisor, and Sr. Kathleen, a social worker volunteering with FWAL. We are right behind the maternity ward, so we are met with the sounds of labor on a regular basis. I met Ivy and Dani, two other volunteers, and then took a little walk for a plate of chicken and fried plantains – a perfect first meal! Sleep was slow to come, but eventually did – thank goodness!

The sun comes up early here – between 5 and 6 am. My exhausted body begged for more sleep, and I had a slow morning before a tour with Joanne. Kay St. Louis is actually a temporary home, built out of necessity after the earthquake for displaced children. Investigations are done regarding each child, and NPH works with families when they are located, assisting with stable housing and the attainment of stable income, with a goal of returning the children to those families if possible. If children are determined to be officially orphaned, they are sent to Kay Ste. Helene, the permanent orphanage in Kenscoff, in the mountains high above Port-au-Prince. I am impressed with the speed at which NPH is developing their program – the property has evolved from tents initially, to a dormitory-like setting of shipping containers, each container housing 16 children and with a “Monsieur” or “Madame” of each. A permanent school is being built, which will accommodate the approximately 180 children in the FWAL program and an additional 600 + children from the surrounding areas. I saw the clinic space, where I will start work on Monday, and quickly regretted my lack of good French and total lack of Creole. I have a HUGE amount of work to do organizing the clinic, training the staff and caring for the kids. Eventually, I will assist in working 24-hour shifts at the clinic, sleeping on-site and tending to any emergencies. Yikes!

NPH has a goal of placing native citizens in all positions of authority in the programs they run, which is also another HUGE draw for me – teaching the people how to fish, and entrusting them with the care of their own children, with continuing education and assistance provided for as long as necessary. So the directors of the FWAL program are now Haitians, with non-Haitians serving in an advisory capacity. A few of them spoke English, and I was glad to meet them and learn a few Creole words in the meantime. We then went to Kay Ste. Anne, the house for the young children, aged 13 months to 5 years. Oh, so precious! They just love on you and want to play and once the camera comes out, well, it's crazy time! I could have stayed there the rest of the day snuggling with the little ones. There are about 40 of them. What a task, running that house! But all of the kids are clearly well-cared for, dressed and fed and clean.

Joanne had several meetings, so I studied French and began studying Creole for the remainder of the day, with a break for my spicy lunch. My head pounded with all of the information and attempts to retain the words – oh my goodness. Lord, help me learn! I walked with Sr. Kathleen and Ivy – a regular occurrence for them, doing several loops around the property. So exercise will be available! Then we went to a hotel for dinner – and did I mention that the UN presence here is quite visible? Currently there are soldiers from Canada, Bangladesh, the Phillipines, and Jordan, with another country moving in shortly. Their trucks are everywhere, and governments clearly spend a lot of money on their soldiers.

Today, we went to Kenscoff, with 11 children who will be moving there this week. We took them for a visit – Ste. Helene is about 25 km from Port-au-Prince, a scenic 1 ½ hour drive. Quite an entertaining ride, with vomit bags provided – the kids hardly ever ride in cars, so they become motion sick very easily (!) - and children ranging in age from 2 years to 11, I think. So well-behaved, and thank goodness no one lost their breakfast, including me. It is a gorgeous drive, up into the mountains, to a cool and humid climate which is a drastic change from the 95+ degree highs in Tabarre. We took a tour of the new place, which houses around 400 children. The kids were understandably timid – this is quite a big move for them. We ate a quick lunch, and I saw the volunteer/guest house – a fabulous little place which will be a perfect weekend away when the occasion arises. The way back was an adventure – a torrential downpour started just as we were leaving the orphanage, and not even 5 kilometers down the road, 3 large trees were over the roadway. Hence an hour-long wait for them to be cleared, and every single child needed to use the bathroom. So we parked ourselves in someone's front walkway and allowed business to be done, while stepping around the downed power line that was just outside the bus. When you gotta go... Even the youngest ones are potty-trained! We sang and played, and everyone did such a good job on a long trip. I want to explore more of the city, and want a deeper understanding of the lives and stories. I know it will come, but for now I am the new girl, a title most willingly given to me by Dani, the previous holder.

Tomorrow I get introduced to the children at FWAL at mass, and hope I can remember my Creole greeting at the right time! Monday, the nurse from Kenscoff is coming down and will help me get things started at the clinic. And hopefully soon, I will locate the coffee.

More to come! Thanks for reading. This was a long one.