November 24, 2010
Since my last trip this past March, I have had the desire to return to Haiti but was not certain of when and with whom. My anxiety to return grew with the recent news of the cholera outbreaks as I knew medical workers in Haiti would be burdened. I attended the Global Missions Health Conference in Louisville, KY a couple weeks ago (Nov 11-13th), where I learned of the immediate need for nurses from a number of organization tables. My friend Alice connected me with World Medical Outreach, a division of Samaritan’s Purse. I called the office on Monday (11/14) and by the following evening I had a confirmed flight for Port au Prince, and Samaritan’s Purse would be covering all my expenses during my time of service there! What a blessing! I wish to thank all those who choose to give to organizations such as SP as they allow willing volunteers to serve without the worry of raising funds! I will be serving from now until December 4th in their hydration clinics nursing cholera patients back to health.
I left 40 degree weather in Baltimore this morning to arrive in Port au Prince’s 83 degree weather around noon (thankful for a break from the cold)!! During our trans-Gulf flight, I took a double-take from my airplane window as I noticed some strange “land masses” I had never seen in the Carribean before. After studying them more closely, I realized I was viewing the ENORMOUS masses of oil from the 3 month long BP spill. See picture --->
Airport Arrival
When we disembarked the plane, we were greeted by the same joyful tunes from the Haitian band (my favorite part about arriving in Haiti). They appear to have now “upgraded” from their traditional bright yellow “WESTERN UNION” shirts to trendy red “Digicel” shirts! Even the airport workers had a uniform upgrade from grey jumpsuits to sharper looking khakis with plaid t-shirts. Hopefully these are all signs of economic improvement and change for the better in Haiti.
I had a little “sign” and gift from God today as the luggage worker who aided me in getting my luggage was sporting a bright red t-shirt with “I’m Crabby from Baltimore, MD” emblazoned across it! He smiled and laughed with me when I told him that I came from Baltimore… I was overjoyed to be greeted by my good friend Carline who I met on my first trip to Haiti back in June of 2009. I hardly recognized her as she had her hair short to combat the heat! We chatted in French and she gave me a few lessons on Creole as we waited for other team members (and their luggage) to arrive.
As we drove to the Samaritan’s Purse compound, I was saddened to see little evidence of new housing construction. I only saw the same swarms of tightly-packed, boiling-hot, unsanitary “tent-cities” these poor people have to live in. As we learned tonight in our orientation meeting, practically all construction projects have been put to a halt in order to concentrate on combating the cholera outbreaks. The death toll now according to my friend Carline had reached over 1015.
Samaritan’s Purse Home Base
Operations here at Samaritan’s Purse are VERY organized, the facilities are comfortable and clean, and we are in a remote area (66 acre property) with 24hr security. I’ve met a few of our 35+ team members (Doctors, nurses, NP’s) hailing from the U.S., Ecquador, and the U.K.! We have 24hr chaplain team at ours and our patient’s service. I’m looking forward to working tomorrow even though the working conditions will be difficult, as I feel surrounded by such a supportive team!
I have to be up by 5:30 so I have to end it here… I will write more when I return from work (past 8:30 pm).
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