Leogane Clinic Day

The rain is falling heavy here tonight in Port Au Prince.  I cannot stop thinking of all the make-shift homes we saw today that have simply a bed sheet as their roof.  Yes, some have tarps or actual tents, but many, many are simply shielded by a bed sheet and that will do little good in this weather.  Oh Lord...I have no other words to pray than that...hear the murmurings of my heart.

We traveled to Leogane today to do a mobile clinic.  Leogane is considered to be one of the hardest hit areas in the earthquake and in fact, 25% of their population (estimated to be around 200,000 people population) were killed in the earthquake.  In PAP, the death toll is estimated at 10% of the city population.  Driving through Leogane, there is few buildings standing and I saw no building unscathed amongst those that still had structure.  The damage is vast.  The large Catholic church in town is but the foundation and sitting upon it, in tact, is the altar...quite an image alone in the midst of fallen and shattered walls.

In the very centre of this photo is the remaining altar of the Catholic church in Leogane.

A "tent city" in Leogane...bed sheets as a roof, everywhere.

On the way to Leogane today, we drove through parts of PAP that we hadn't been in before.  As we drove further through PAP, the Haitian Pastor who was with us said, "you may want to roll up the windows as many people have died here and there are germs in the air".  It was a powerful statement.

I am tired tonight and so will write some highlights and maybe adjust the blog at a later time.  I just want to get some thoughts down before I forget them....

•  Driving through PAP...a man with a right leg amputation, dressed in commando-like clothes with what looked like dark paint on his face, approached our vehicle.  He drew an "X" on our windshield...it was somewhat disturbing. Watching him, it was clear that he may be dealing with some sort of mental illness.  The experience was just a bit unsettling.
• Along the road, we noted the traffic was stopped on the other side.  When we looked, we saw three people scrambling to pick up small pieces of Okra (sp?)...a vegetable sold in market.  Someone had spilled their bag and it was being run over by vehicles.  As Karen said, "that is her livelihood". It was painful to watch her livelihood be crushed.  The effort to rescue any that were left gave evidence to the reality of the source of her income.
• Groups of people in various colours of t-shirts working to clear the road and clean up rubble.  I loved seeing people working together and cleaning up the roads and streets...progress in Haiti, post quake!  I'm honestly not sure who is paying them...the Haitian government or the UN. Either way, it's just positive to see people have some access to employment.

• Signs all along the roads with the names of different tent cities.  The signs (written on bed sheets often) list the name of the community and then the needs they have: water, healthcare, sanitation...etc.  It's like new communities rising up from the broken ground.

Photo by Ben Depp

• Two buildings I saw today that were intact.  Spray painted on the wall was "Mesi Jesus" (Thank you Jesus).  That left me speechless.
• Collected a few pieces of rubble today when we stopped along the road.  Rhonda (another MCC alumni "home" to Haiti to help) spoke with the older man by the road to hear his story.  He told us the rubble used to be a church and that he was the church's Pastor. No one was inside the church at the time...they are grateful.

What remains of the "Church of God" in Leogane...the rubble of the church at the side of the road, and the rebar remaining on site, surrounding the church pews.  The walls and roof completely gone.

• In the clinic, we saw approximately 125 people today.  We were set up on the yard of a church that was destroyed by the quake...one wall stands alone.  
• In the midst of Leogane...sheer devastation, yet life goes on and oranges and limes and goods were lined up along the road under the Mango trees for market.
• During clinic..some memorable patients today: Angelle Providence!...can't WAIT to load some pictures of her and I.  She was this hilarious, wonderful elderly woman who just talked and talked in Creole and we laughed and laughed.  I walked her to the Pharmacy area after consulting her and I read her name on her card: "Angelle Providence" and she said, "PRESEN!" (present...like in a school role call)...it was priceless!  

• Murielle...a beautiful little girl in this gorgeous torn red dress.  She had a sore on her leg and a horrible looking right big toe.  She was so brave as I cleaned her wounds and dressed them.  Adorable.  

Photos by Ben Depp

• Julie...a sweet, rather shy little girl and the first patient I've met with my name!  

Photo by Ben Depp

• And lastly...this sweet little 8 month old boy who just chomped away on my stethoscope!...cleary teething (:       picture pending! (I hope)

Every fallen building in Haiti tells a story and one story I witnessed today was the cracked and battered walls of a building with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck murals.  Children were in that building and one's mind cannot help but ask how many little lives were lost there.  How the silence wails at times.

After we returned to PAP, we spent some time with Pastor Josef who accompanied us.  He is a wise man...with a strong and vibrant vision for his country and its people.  He envisions a Haiti where Haitians no longer just receive but sustain themselves.  I have heard a few Haitians speak about the mentality of Haitians to just want to receive things...have them handed to them.  It has been described by one Haitian woman as "poverty mentality".  Haitians, in one sense, have become used to being cared for by others and there is a strong desire amongst many of its community leaders to see the people gain their indepence in providing for themselves.  Pastor Josef talked about the fact that so, so many of the country's Doctors, Nurses, Teachers, Lawyers, Government officials, etc. were killed in the quake.  There is a great lack of resources to teach Haitians right now.  His vision is long term...his hopes are strong and they are echoed across the country by many.  It is complex, it not easy...there is a great need to enable these people.  He also spoke of the need for psychological treatment for Haitians...counseling, basically.  He said many Haitians wake in the morning and dress and then just stand lost, not knowing what to do.  There is a grief, a fear, a sense of trauma that they need help to journey through.

The rain is fading a bit and I can hear the songs rising again in the night.  Singing will never sound as beautiful to me anywhere else, I fear....that is a strong and beautiful memory of Haiti.

More photographs from the Clinic in Leogane...mostly all taken by Ben Depp:

These three little girls all had high fevers...each one determined to pneumonia.  Antibiotics for all!

The "MCC Team" today: L-R: Rhonda, Hilde, Janine, Me, Dolores, Paul, Edwin, Karen, Becky.

This man arrived with such severe hypertension, it is remarkable that he is walking...let alone still living!  If I remember correctly, his BP was 220/145.  In fact, I have a feeling it might have been higher, more like 240/170.  I just remember thinking, "how have you not stroked??"  We provided him with some blood pressure medication and daily aspirin and something for reflux as well (which is very common here!).  He left by horse....

Walking away with prescribed medications from our "Pharmacy".

A telling chalk board, remaining in the damaged school we did clinic in.

Why there he is!...on the left: Photographer extraordinaire, Ben Depp.

Two young Haitian men who helped translate for us: Alex and his friend. I feel terrible that I can't remember Alex's friends' name!  If I don't write names down, I forget them and here's the proof!  

A profound shot taken by Becky, while we were driving...

What you are looking at is a "neighbourhood" of temporary shelters that have been built on the median of the major road running through Port Au Prince.  Literally, there is traffic flowing on both sides of these homes and children are out playing.  The tires you see (one here) are supposed to keep a boundary, but honestly...this is just frightening.  People step outside their home and right into traffic.