katie loves haiti: When will Haiti ever catch a break???

Since it is Saturday, all the big kids were home from school today. I decided to do something fun and different with them. So, we used tempera paint to make hand and foot prints! I brought the kids up two to make their footprints. I made sure it was all well planned out because when it comes to paint on little hands and feet, it could potentially be disastrous! Mich wanted to be my photographer, and Rosa and Claudine were my lovely assistants. It was a blast and went smoothly!


Painting Johnny's 'lil foot

Fred washing the paint off his foot in the bucket of water. We had the system down!

Helping Fred make his hand print.

Somehow, using the bucket of water to wash the paint off their hands and feet turned into a full out bath. Notice Rosa washing Sonson's legs for him, HA!

Wilson had fun washing the paint off his feet in our bucket of water.

Around lunch time, Keziah and Marc stopped by. Dorothy asked Kez to come and teach the nannies on proper preventative action for the cholera epidemic. We got news that it has already spread to Port au Prince and several other areas in the country. However, we have not heard whether or not it has gotten to any of the tent cities. Dorothy read somewhere that the particular strain of cholera that is in Haiti is the worst. It is spread through the feces of an infected person. So, you could possibly get it just from a fly landing on your food depending on where that fly was before. If the nannies were exposed before coming to work they could bring it into the house. Because we have a house full of small children in diapers with weak immune systems, if anyone gets it at our house, all the kids will get it. We have been stocking up on antibiotics, re hydration salts, Gatorade, and IV fluids. Kez gave us the recipe for making our own re hydration fluids. I've heard that the incubation period for the bacteria can be anywhere from 6 hours to 6 days. To survive it, you MUST stay hydrated.

As I wrote before, we are not scared for ourselves. We are educated enough to know what to do if we should get sick. However, it is the rest of the country that I am terrified for. Many places do not have good sanitation or drinking water. Kez fears that if it should reach Gonaives (where we visited friends a couple weeks ago) it could easily wipe out all of Jubilee because of the lack of adequate drinking water and medical resources. We believe that preventative action is the key. Kez has been traveling all around PAP doing her best to teach and prepare everyone for it. Dottie Diehl, who many of you know as the director of TLC Barefoot school, is considering shutting down school to prevent the cholera from spreading. Dorothy and I have talked about keeping our kids home from school to protect them. We think that it is only a matter of time until all the schools are shut down.

The thing that is sad is that we do not see large organizations using good planning. Kez is just one young girl who graduated from nursing school two years ago, but she is out doing her best to educate schools and tent cities on what to do to prevent and treat cholera. She said that she has not seen any of the large organizations out doing anything. On top of that, Kez has a medical team of five doctors that are supposed to be coming in two weeks. She called them to give a list of supplies that will be needed to treat the cholera, and they told her they are thinking about canceling their trip! THEY ARE DOCTORS! What is with everyone being too afraid for themselves to help others?! When will Haiti ever get a break? Lord, this country needs you desperately.

If this post makes you worry for us, please don't. Just pray. When you finish praying, pray again.

All that being said, I had an awesome time with the kids in the afternoon/evening. I did some laundry, which as I explained before is done outside. We have to fill the washer by hose so its best to stay nearby. Mich and Chacha came out to see what I was doing. Naturally, I sprayed them with the hose. Suddenly, Johnny, Rosa, and Claudine showed up, too! We had an epic water battle. Mich was so proud of himself when he got a hold of the hose and soaked me. I guess I did deserve it, ha!

When my laundry was finished washing, the kids all wanted to help hang it on the clothesline. I believe I had six kids helping hang my laundry. Meanwhile, Rosa decided to put on a pair of my freshly washed (still wet) shorts. It didn't take long for everyone else to catch on. Dorothy couldn't believe I let them wear my clean clothes. I thought it was too comical to make them stop. Besides, they were having so much fun! How is it that I am fortunate enough to live with the coolest kids on the planet??

Look at all these helpers hanging my wet laundry!

The help didn't last too long, ha! Rosa decided to try on my shorts

So, Claudine tried on my tank top.

...Fred tried on my sports bra, hahah!

Johnny didn't want to be left out so Chacha helped him put on a T shirt.

I know that I haven't posted any pictures in a while because of the internet connection. So, some of these are a little old.

Kez and I sitting on the rooftop in Gonaives during our visit a couple weeks ago. Check out that view!

Rosa and I. I love this little girl so much!

Claudine sporting my nice pink bandanna.

Sonson, Mackendy, and Frantzo on the first day of school. They go to a special school for the handicapped.

Mackendy getting his baby lotion before school.

Mama Dorothy and Frantzo heading to school.

Frantzo getting a goodbye kiss from Mama Dorothy and Sonson sitting in his wheelchair.

Frantzo at school.

Mackendy loves school!

The lizard that I found on the wall of my bathroom.

Apparently mice like Dove dark chocolate, too!

An awesome dragonfly that was in the backyard.

This is the part of the wall that I finally finished! I think it looks great!

This is the same wall BEFORE I scraped, sanded and painted it.

I still have to paint all the way down to the red gate on the right of the picture. Luckily my mom is going to help when she comes to visit in two weeks, ha!

This is little Fred. He is our newest addition. He has HIV and is almost 3 years old. HE IS PRECIOUS!

The lovely Rue Dalia, our street. The picture doesn't do it justice. It is physically exhausting driving on these roads, ha! This is really nice compared to some roads in PAP.