Thursday and Friday Update

As usual, our internet connection has been insanely slow at best.  Sorry for not being able to post yesterday!

To recap my day yesterday.  I spent an our or so in the morning playing with the one year olds upstairs.  Then, we had three pastor's and a woman come visit.  We showed them around and explained what we do here at FHL.  Then, I spent the rest of the morning playing downstairs with the two and three year olds.  We had a great time!  I had them all up running, playing, and singing.

Around 11 AM, I went with Dorothy to one of the hospitals.  We took Se Lucianne and her daughter to get blood work done.  Her daughter, Nephtalia, has been sick.  Nephtalia had no family and used to live here at FHL.  Se Lucianne, a Haitian nanny and amazing Christian woman fell in love with her.  Lucianne is not married, but she decided to take Nephtalia to be her daughter and raise her.  She got a new birth certificate made for her naming Lucianne as the mother.  That is an incredible thing here!!  Lucianne is living in poverty herself, but because of her love for God, she took this little girl.  Lucianne makes only a few dollars a day.  This woman is truly wonderful, and she is clearly a great mother to Nephtalia!

In the evening, all the big kids sat on my bed to watch a movie.  They love that!  Then, I ended my day by praying and worshiping up on the roof under the stars.

Today, I went with Dorothy to take the boys to school.  After dropping them off, we went to the HIV clinic.  A Haitian social worker (I didn't even realize they had them) called us to come.  She had a boy named Fred with HIV.  He is three years old, and Fred's mother lost part of her arm in the quake and has been trying to take care of him.  However, his body resisted the typical HIV meds.  So, the clinic is trying an alternative treatment.  If that also fails, Fred will die.  PLEASE PRAY FOR HIM!  He and his mother came back to the house with us to fill out paperwork.  He is now going to be under our care.  He is precious!

At lunch time, Dorothy went to pick the boys up at school.  She came home with an extra boy!  She met with the social worker again, and brought home Christian who is four years old.  He also has HIV.  So, we are back up to 27 kids in the house!  Please pray for Christian and Fred's adjustment to FHL.  Christian seemed fine when his papa left.  Although that may seem better to the nannies, that is a sign that he does not have a secure attachment to his father.  Fred, was pretty distressed for most of the day after his mama left.  The nannies were not very understanding with him, and it broke my heart.  I heard one of our best nannies say, "Bon travay, Christian.  Move travay, Fred."  Which basically means "Good job, Christian.  Bad job, Fred."  They just don't understand how traumatic it is for the little guy.  Also, Christian is four years old and Fred is between 2 and 3 years old. 

The nannies are great, but they sometimes lack compassion for the kids and can be harsh.  Dorothy and I have talked about it before.  We think that a lot of that comes from being raised in a harsh place.  It goes back to my post on Haiti being a "throw away country".  The government treats the citizens harshly and does not provide, so they grow up in a country that is very difficult.  In turn the people here learn how to survive rather than thrive.  When you are just trying to survive, life is hard and harsh.  You don't have compassion for others and you tend not to be very gentle.  Being emotional is frowned upon.  It is a difficult country, and it is difficult trying to teach the nannies to change their ways.

Other news is that it has been confirmed that there is a cholera outbreak here in Haiti.  It is in Saint-Marc, a rural area a couple hours north of Port au Prince.  When we went to Gonaives, we actually drove right through Saint-Marc.  The latest that I've heard is that over 150 people have died within the past 48 hours and around 1,500 are infected.  That is a BIG problem here since there are few hospitals, especially in that rural area.  I've heard that the fear is people will travel here in search of a doctor/hospital and possibly spread the cholera.  That would be a NIGHTMARE for tent cities with thousands of people.  Please pray pray pray!  I should add, please do not worry about us.  As far as we know, it has not yet hit PAP.  If it does, we have plenty of antibiotics, clean water, and rehydration salts at the house.  We aren't concerned for ourselves but rather the millions of people here that are not as fortunate as we are.

I wanted to upload more pictures, but this was the only one that would load.  Sorry!

My girl, Gerdeline, on the porch.

ARTICLE -- Haiti confirms scores of deaths due to cholera outbreak

Haiti's president and medical officials have confirmed that an outbreak of cholera has killed scores of people north of the capital Port-au-Prince.  The victims suffered diarrhoea, acute fever and vomiting. More than 1,500 people were infected, officials said.

President Rene Preval said his government was taking steps to ensure the disease did not spread further.

There are fears the outbreak could reach the camps around the capital for survivors of January's earthquake.
The quake killed some 250,000 people and left 1.5 million homeless. Tens of thousands of people are still living in crowded tent cities with poor sanitation and little access to clean drinking water.  Cholera is an intestinal infection caused by bacteria transmitted through contaminated water or food. The source of contamination is usually the faeces of infected people.  It causes diarrhoea and vomiting, leading to severe dehydration, and can kill quickly if left untreated. It is easily treated though rehydration and antibiotics, however.  Hospitals are 'overwhelmed'

Original article can be found:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11608551

"I can confirm it is cholera," President Preval told Reuters news agency.
"Now we are making sure people are fully aware of precautionary measures they have to take to prevent contamination"

 

Hospitals and clinics in the affected areas have been overwhelmed.

 

The director general of the health department, Dr Gabriel Thimote, said the worst-affected areas were Douin, Marchand Dessalines and areas around Saint-Marc, about 100km (60 miles) north of Port-au-Prince.

Local hospitals were "overwhelmed", and a number of people were being evacuated to clinics in other areas, he added.  At one point on Thursday, hundreds of people were laid out in the car park of St Nicholas hospital in Saint-Marc, with intravenous drips in their arms to treat dehydration, until it began to rain and they were rushed inside.  Some patients said they drank water from a public canal, while others said they bought purified water.  "I ran to the bathroom four times last night vomiting," 70-year-old Belismene Jean Baptiste told the Associated Press.

Another man said three of his relatives had died within a matter hours.  The victims range in age, but the young and the elderly appear to be the worst-affected.  David Darg, a medical relief worker in Haiti, told the BBC he had visited an area near Saint-Marc which - according to local residents - was the source of the outbreak.
"After visiting the hospital and meeting some of the medical staff, they were able to pinpoint where these cases were originating from so we headed out to a very rural area," Mr Darg told the BBC's World Today programme.

 

He said it was "an area that's popular for rice production".
"There's a lot of water in that area particularly," added Mr Darg. "We started heading out along narrow roads lined with villagers begging for water, because by now they'd been seeing people dying in their communities and knew not to drink water from the river, which ordinarily would have been their main source of water: they drink water straight from the river."

There were fears of a cholera outbreak in the aftermath of January's earthquake, but none emerged.
This is the first time in a century that cholera has struck the Caribbean nation, the World Health Organization said.

The Artibonite department was not badly damaged in the earthquake but thousands of people who lost their homes have moved into camps or are living with relatives there.

"We have been afraid of this since the earthquake," said Robin Mahfood, president of Food for the Poor.
The agency was preparing to airlift donations of antibiotics, oral dehydration salts and other supplies to the affected areas.

My Birthday!

Today was my birthday! I can say this is the first time I've spent my birthday in the Caribbean, ha! In the morning, I walked the kids to school. Then, I started digging a compost hole in the garden. It was a little bit more difficult than it sounds considering the amount of large rocks that are in the ground here. I would like to try and get Se Eva, the cook, to understand why it is good to compost. Dorothy said she tried explaining it to her before, but Eva just did not understand why we wanted to bury the food waste in the yard. Before Chacha went to school, we played Twister. That was a first for him, and he loved it. As to be expected of a five year old, he didn't quite follow the rules, but it was still lots of fun.

Dorothy must have told some of the nannies that today was my birthday because they gave me hugs and kisses and wished me “Bonne Fete”. Se Rose told me (in Creole) that God is going to make me strong. I spent some time playing with the two and three year olds after Chacha went to school. They LOVE to stand on the steps in the living room, jump into my arms, and have me swing them up in the air. It was a little exhausting with four kids, including chubby little Wilson who I like to fondly call “Bruiser”.

I got to test out Dorothy's new vacuum cleaner in my room. Dianne and Staci brought it for her during their visit two weeks ago. It is SO nice to have a vacuum! Before, we just had to broom all the floors. In a big house like this and the amount of dust that is everywhere, we are constantly sweeping floors. Needless to say, Dorothy is really excited about her new vacuum (and so am I).

To celebrate my birthday, Kez, Dorothy, and I went out for a late lunch. There are not too many restaurants here especially after the earthquake. So, we decided to try going to a hotel in Petionville. Unfortunately they told us that they were not serving lunch. So, we decided to move on and try to find something different. We settled on Muncheez, a Haitian chain that serves pizza and burgers. But, when we drove past, we saw that there was some type of political rally right out side of the restaurant and we opted out of dealing with all that. So, we continued on. Luckily, Kez remembered a French restaurant, Quartier Latin, that a friend had recommended. It was so nice! Kez and I split our meals. I ordered a fettuccine pasta with peppers, onions, and tomatoes. She ordered rabbit (yes, rabbit) with prunes and plumb sauce. I have to say it was the first time I've had rabbit! It was pretty good, but I liked my pasta better. We also all had dessert since it was a special occasion. I had chocolate mousse, yummy! When we got home, Se Rose gave me some pictures that Miss Audette helped the little ones make. They were pictures that they colored. She wrote bible verses on all of them, their names, and a little note to me. I had to laugh because they way that they say Katie actually sounds more like Kelly. So, Miss Audette spelled it Kelly on the notes. It was really cute. My mom is coming to visit in two weeks so they will really be confused when they learn that her name really is Kelly, ha!

Right now, I'm snuggled in my bed watching “The Sound of Music” with Rosa. That was always one of my very favorite movies as a child. So, it is a great end to a great birthday! Thank you, God for putting so many special people in my life and for your endless blessings!

***I apologize for not posting any picture for a while.  The internet has been extremely slow and I have not been able to get them to upload.  I hope to try and add some tomorrow so make sure to check back!

Work, work, work..

Today, I helped walk the four kids to school down the road. Dorothy drove the three boys to school along with Lovensky, Myson, Se Jesula, and Se Malinya. They had to go to HIV clinic for most of the day. Luckily, the HIV clinic is just down the road from the boys' school. While she was gone, I worked on painting some more of the wall. One of the Haitian ladies that I met yesterday after the feeding program walked by. It was so nice; she got a big smile as we waved to each other. I love being able to meet neighbors and recognize people while I am out!

After painting for a couple hours, I tested out our new hoe in the garden. I worked for a while digging up the big rocks and trash. Hopefully soon, I will be able to plant some vegetables. Now would be a good time since it is rainy season. We get a thunderstorm just about everyday.

Around lunch time, Kez stopped by. We were able to sit down a talk/play with the kids for most of the afternoon. After she left, I carried a bunch of the big rocks from the garden to the road that runs along the house. I tried using them to fill in some of the big potholes, or should I say trenches, in the road. All the rain that we have been getting has just caused the roads to continue to get worse.

I have really been enjoying my time here, as you can probably already tell from my posts. Dorothy's ministry is really great, and it is hard to imagine how different these children would have ended up without her. With that being said, I'm not sure yet if it is what I am meant to do here long term. I think that God may be using this as more of a stepping stone to another ministry here in Haiti. But like I said, I'm not sure yet. I am praying about it, and as always I am open to wherever God may lead me after these three months.

ARTICLE -- Protests

CITIZEN PROTESTS, GOVERNMENT REPRESSION MOUNT IN HAITI
(CommonDreams.org) - By Beverly Bell

“I came to protest so we can find a solution. Misery is killing me,” said Mascarie Sainte-Anne, 70, at the edge of a rally in front of Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive’s office on October 12.

Haitians have been taking to the streets with increasing frequency since August in calls for redress of the economic and social crisis which has followed the earthquake. The social movements’ demands of the government include the right of those living in internally displaced people’s camps to permanent, humane housing; accessible education; and an increase in minimum wage. Rallies have also protested the continued presence of the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti, or MINUSTAH.

Throughout Haitian history, state repression has often accompanied protests, and that pattern has repeated twice in the past week. Haitian police have killed one demonstrator and beaten a handful of others.

On October 15, according to video footage and to witness Melinda Miles of Let Haiti Live, about 200 people were marching in front of the U.N. logistics base when MINUSTAH forces fired two bullets in the air and leveled their guns at demonstrators. A MINUSTAH vehicle and a second UN car pushed three foreign journalists and at least two Haitian demonstrators into a ditch.

Haitian police then began striking demonstrators and journalists, including foreigners Sebastien Davis-VanGelder and Federico Matias, with the butts of their rifles. A policeman bashed his rifle into the mouth of a demonstrator from the Kanarin camp, knocking out his front teeth.

“There was no provocation at all. The Haitian police and the private UN security guards were so aggressive. They were just looking to do violence,” said Miles.

On October 8, demonstrators were in front of the Ministry of Education, peacefully calling for education for the nation’s students, when Haitian riot police fired tear gas. Jean Louis Filbert (his name also reported as Jean Filbert Louis), a math teacher and member of the teachers’ union, was hit in the head with a tear gas canister. He died in the hospital the next day. Jean Pierre Edouard, who was not involved with the rally but had gone to the ministry simply to pick up a certificate, was also hit in the head.

One recent protest focus is also the principal concern of citizens today: permanent housing and other support for the estimated 1.5 million people who lost their homes in the earthquake and who still languish in tents or under tarps nine months later. No authority has told this group what their fates will be. Their shelters, usually made of plastic or nylon, are variously sweltering in the daytime heat and wet and muddy in the torrential night rains. Protection against thieves and rapists is non-existent. According to an extensive new study, 40% of camps have no water, 30% have no toilets, and only 20% have access to education, medical care, or psychological support. With near-total unemployment; with food aid suspended since April; and with virtually no outside assistance; hunger, illness, and poverty are on the rise.

“Tighten our belts, we can’t take it any more,” loudly sang Sainte-Anne and 200 or so others in front of the prime minister’s office on October 12. “Tighten our belts” is not a metaphor in Haiti; it refers to the belts or ropes that people bind tightly around their waists in an attempt to dull hunger pangs.

The demonstrators continued their call-and-response chant:

“Heat under the tarps is brutal, we can’t take it any more.
We have fever, we can’t take it any more.
We’re being raped, we can’t take it any more.
We have no water, we can’t take it any more.
We have infections, we can’t take it any more.”

This was the third demonstration for a response to massive homelessness in as many months. “Each rally has been larger than the last,” said Reyneld Sanon, a leader with the Force for Reflection and Action on Housing (FRAKKA). “People are starting to stand up for their right to housing that is, after all, guaranteed by the constitution.” The protests are convened by a coalition including a housing rights group, a human rights group,[3] and committees of camp residents.

Sainte-Anne said, “I’m old, I’m going to die, but I don’t want it to be from hunger. I don’t have a husband. I don’t have children. I’ve been sleeping in the street since my house in Martissant fell flat. The government has to do something.”

At least three recent demonstrations, led by labor groups and grassroots organizations, have called for raising the minimum wage from $3.20 (125 gourdes) a day for export assembly work to $12.82 a day (500 gourdes). Last year, after the Parliament passed legislation to raise the minimum wage for all workers, factory owners complained to President René Préval. He refused to implement the law. Instead, a compromise agreement raised the salary of factory workers producing for export to only $3.20 a day. “You couldn’t live on that before the earthquake. But costs have risen so much since then, it’s really impossible now,” said Gerome Dupervil, an advocate for workers’ rights.

Another series of rallies has taken place on October 1, 14, and 15 in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.N. logistics base. Demonstrators were protesting the annual renewal of the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), which has been here since President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s ouster in 2004. The force includes almost 12,000 armed personnel. Its current annual budget is $380 million.

MINUSTAH troops have been charged with killings, arbitrary arrests, and human rights violations. They are currently suspected in the death by hanging of a young man, Gerald Jean Gilles, in the courtyard of a MINUSTAH base in Cap-Haïtien on August 17. MINUSTAH personnel claimed that the youth killed himself, a fact disputed by family and friends.

Activists interviewed say their call for MINUSTAH’s departure is based on the force’s violence, its ineffectiveness in accomplishing its mission, the waste of money, and the undemocratic and colonial nature of the operation in a sovereign nation. The actions have been convened by a coalition including a media network, human rights and housing rights groups, and committees from various camps.

Asked what she and others in Haiti’s social movement want, Jetty Jenet said, “We’re calling out for help to make the authorities hear us. We’re all dying.” For nine months, Jetty has had no income and has lived with her children under a plastic tarp in Cité Soleil. “But we’re people, too.”